Biden or Trump? Neither! We need better candidates. Our upcoming primary elections must rid us of this pathetic pair of presidential nominees. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I’ve harped on this topic a number of times earlier (see here, here, and here), but the situation continues to needle me. And I’m not alone. Most citizens feel the same way I do.
According to a recent CNN poll, President Biden has a job approval of only 39% (see here). And 61% of those polled said they disapproved of his performance. Biden’s negativity seems to be related primarily to our inflationary economy, surging crime, international turmoil, and the uncontrolled influx of illegals at our borders.
Ex-president Trump, Biden’s chief competitor, hardly glitters in comparison. Of those polled, only 42% had a favorable view of Mr. Trump, while 54% expressed an unfavorable one. Trump’s record when president likely plays a role in his low rating, but there is no doubt that his labile personality and revengeful nature contribute to his unpopularity. I have lost count of how many of his former allies he has turned against.
More reasons:
Other crucial factors contribute to the unpopularity of these two. Both are oldsters with diminished brain power. Biden leads in this downward mental race in my opinion, with Trump running not far behind. Both are also vindictive, with Trump, I believe, outdistancing his rival in this category. Both know they are unpopular. So, why don’t they give up their selfish goals, drop out of the race, and benefit us all?
It’s worth recalling that Trump holds the record for presidential impeachments, having collected two (half of the four in U.S. history), but Biden may be closing in. It seems likely he will face impeachment early next year regarding the string of foreign payments made to his son, Hunter, and other members of the Biden family (including himself?).
Legal problems as well:
Trump, of course, is also entangled in plenty of legal problems. According to an October report from The Hill (see here) he is defending himself against a total of 91 criminal charges spread among four state and federal criminal indictments. Separately, he is also a party in more than a half-dozen civil lawsuits.
The legal noise is not as loud for our current president, but he and his family are under investigation by the House Oversight Committee for the millions of dollars collected by Biden family members from foreign countries, most of these proceeds having made their way through shell companies.
Final thoughts:
After skimming lightly over a number of each candidates drawbacks, it’s perhaps not surprising that the same CNN poll mentioned above also reported that neither man is viewed as much of a straight shooter; just 42% thought Biden is honest and trustworthy while only 33% felt the same way about Trump.
So, after considering the obvious flaws of each candidate, why should we rush as numbly as lemmings toward yet another contest between these two uninspiring individuals? We undoubtedly could identify hundreds of men or women (or even thousands) far better qualified to lead our country through its cauldron of present-day problems. Let us begin the search! Qualified volunteers will be welcomed.
So who would be your pick for next president?? Very curious.
Good question! None of the other candidates now running light my fire enough to actually campaign for them, although, to be truthful, I haven’t watched any of the Republican debates, and the sparse field of announced Democratic or third party candidates are not tempting to me either. I would prefer some middle-of-the road candidate, one who speaks honestly and ranks the country above personal goals. Sadly, such a person may not even consider running. The political split in Washington is wide, and sad to behold.
It seems to me that over the last 20 years or so we have moved into the habit of choosing some of the most incompetent and/or undesirable among us to lead us. I continue to be mystified by this phenomenon. I wonder if this is due to a combination of the influence of the media and the academic world in our political universe.
You make some interesting points. There is no doubt that the media is biased, and most of that bias is definitely leftward. The same bias appears in universities. I saw recent data on the donations of faculty to political parties, and it went overwhelmingly to Democrats. In 2022, Ivy League faculty gave nearly $2.5 million to Democrats, while only approximately $112,000 went to Republicans. And Harvard Professors gave just under half a million dollars to Democrats and only $8,600 to Republicans (1.7% of total). For the University of Pennsylvania it was even less. UP Professors gave just 0.4% of their donations to Republican campaigns. These all clearly are educated individuals, but university faculty members in the 1930 were also well educated, yet they leaned strongly toward Communism, clearly not a good path if one looks around the globe.