Election '16: Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Señalización de lugar de votación en California. 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the eve of the most important presidential election in our lifetimes--they say that every four years, but some elections stand out more than others--we have two candidates we have known about for decades via the almighty boob tube.  In the course of the last year or so, the more we've seen of them this campaign, the less we like.

Donald Trump, the real estate mogul whose brash talk and TV reality show skills won him the Republican nomination, is loud and obnoxious about his causes while most party regulars are bailing or can't be seen with him.  Women can't stand him because of his unflattering comments about them.  But he has his fans among mostly white males who are sick and tired of being passed over in the name of political correctness, and seeing their jobs moved overseas.

Trump has taken so many potshots at so many targets--women, minorities, the media--and responded to crises such as the release of the "Access Hollywood" sex tapes and his declining to release his income tax returns in such a way that would sink any other politician.  Because Trump is not a politician and has mostly self-funded his campaign, he can say anything he wants with the media lapping up every word.  And there's nothing the Republican Party can do about it.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee who has been First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State, has been a polarizing figure in and out of Washington for the past quarter century.  Yet she's managed to survive every political and personal scandal involving her and her husband, former President Bill Clinton.  She's been the subject of an FBI investigation into whether her private e-mails contained any classified information.  Twice.  And both times the FBI has chosen not to prosecute her because they couldn't find anything incriminating.

Still, the timing of the latest investigation--just days before the election--has eaten away at Clinton's once-huge lead over Trump, which is now down to a few points (though the networks tell us she has a comfortable advantage in the Electoral College).  Clinton's biggest challenge, besides the trust issue, is in not taking the states where she's leading for granted.  Why else is Trump and his running mate Mike Pence making last-minute stops in Blue states like Minnesota and Michigan if he doesn't think he has a chance to pull an upset?  Maybe the election results won't be as "rigged" as he thinks it might be if he wins.

Issues?  Are you kidding?  Give us more about Trump's alleged relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, building a wall to keep the Mexicans out and forcing them to pay for it, disputes with past beauty pageant contestants and others about his alleged treatment of them, and his grand plans to "Make America Great Again".  Give us more about what's in Clinton's hacked e-mails, Bill's talking out of turn at campaign appearances, and alleged financial improprieties at their "charitable" foundation.  The Islamic State and the economy can wait.

It's all too much for the average voter to take in.  But this is what happens when big money and brand name candidates come together, because no sane person wants to run for President.

Some of you who do not wish to see either Trump or Clinton in the White House will probably be voting for either Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein of the Green Party.  Good luck with that.  Just don't be surprised if you end up getting blamed if the wrong person gets elected.

Now that everything's almost said and done, there's only one thing to do if you haven't done so already:  Go out to your polling place and vote for the one person you can tolerate the most for the next four years.