When asked who he would vote for, Biden and Trump, former Attorney General William Barr replied that “he would jump off that bridge when he came to it.”
Well, it looks like he needs to get ready to jump, because that bridge is right up ahead.
The good news is that regardless of how the 2024 election turns out, we will get a second term from either Biden or Trump, and then we will be done with both of them.
The more Biden and Trump talk, the more they seem the same. Just like Tweedledum and Tweedledee, they could be brothers.
- They both accuse the other of being an existential threat to democracy.
- They both enjoy the mindless support of a major political party.
- They both show signs of cognitive decline, Biden through his confusion and Trump through his delusion.
- They both misappropriated important government documents after leaving public office.
- They both are alleged to have engaged in illegal activities over extended periods of time for the financial benefit of themselves and their families.
- They both exaggerate their accomplishments and embellish their personal stories.
- They both resent being questioned.
- They both spend most of their time attacking each other’s character instead of providing a clear vision of their plans if elected to a second term.
Given how inept the Biden administration has been, we forget how chaotic the previous Trump administration was. Ineptitude or chaos – not a very good choice, and we will be stuck with one or the other for four more years.
We need a thoughtful leader who acts deliberately and with moral clarity, a leader who understands the need for compromise and who accepts that successful change occurs by taking moderate actions over time.
Neither Biden nor Trump come anywhere close to being the leader that we need. While neither will destroy our democracy, neither will they strengthen it. Either way, once again, we will have to live through a proverbial dumpster fire of an administration.
By the time that the 2024 presidential election is held on November 8th, I expect that a plurality of American voters will be so sick and tired of both Presidents Biden and Trump that if None of the Above was also on the ballot then None of the Above would win the popular vote.
When the historians look back upon this time, it is very possible that they will consider this period to be the nadir of American politics. It is both frightening and depressing how thoroughly void of integrity and higher purpose both the Democratic and Republican political parties have become.
This is a time when both major political parties are forcing candidates on the American people that no one wants. Both candidates are years beyond their prime. One candidate is angry and inarticulate, one candidate is bitter and incoherent. Both candidates live in worlds of their own delusion; they are certainly not living in the world that everyone else lives in.
Biden and Trump are both in danger of dying in office during a second term. This makes the office of Vice-President of utmost importance.
Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his vice-president for politically expedient reasons, but she has failed at every opportunity to show her ability to be decisive, to instill confidence, to make decisions, to lead through words and deeds. Could she rise to the occasion and be anything but a disaster if fate made her the first woman president? Right now, most people would say no.
Donald Trump says that he will choose a vice-president who would be qualified to be president if called upon by fate to be so. Unfortunately, because this would mean that he would have to choose someone more qualified than himself, his ego will almost certainly prevent him from doing so. Still, it is difficult to imagine that his choice would prove to be worse than Joe Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris has shown itself to be.
So, this is where we are, this is the choice that we have – angry and delusional Joe Biden, or bitter and delusional Donald Trump.
And we should be asking ourselves why this has happened.
The short answer is that we live in a society where conflict and bad behavior is seen as entertainment. We prefer to be entertained than to be made to think. We like the politicians who engage in excessive rhetoric much more than the statesman who are thoughtful but kind of boring. By and large, we have so few statesmen that we have forgotten what they look and sound like, and how important they are to the success of our democracy.
So, we are left with charlatans, snake oil salesmen, bullies, racketeers, puppets, glad handers, court jesters, and the like.
Our politicians have realized that the secret to their reelection and acquisition of power and political influence is to behave badly, wrap themselves up in their political party’s banner, and pander to special interest groups.
The lack of money prevents challengers to our established politicians from mounting serious and meaningful campaigns.
Our media organizations are more focused on financial survival than on fact-based journalism, and literally cannot afford to engage in reporting in-depth on the issues of the day if there is no money to be made from it. Increasingly, there is no money to be made without controversy, manufactured conflict, and ideological pandering.
As this election cycle plays out, one can only hope that this will be the year that the American electorate becomes exhausted by the cruel, insulting, and mindlessly superficial rhetoric that is characterizing the current presidential campaigns, and begins to demand something more substantive from both parties.