November 2016 Is Coming: Tick, Tock … Tick, Tock

If you are an American living abroad, as I do, you are naturally very conscious of the world’s opinion of the USA.

The question now sometimes asked directly and often implied is: How can a country of over 300 million people, the richest and most powerful in the history of the world, one that, once upon a time, produced Jefferson, Lincoln, the two Roosevelts … even Truman, Eisenhower and LBJ … end up having nothing better to choose from now than Trump and Hillary?

Donald Trump appears like a nightmare product of a poorly digested meal. I find myself much more worried by the masses of people who would support him enthusiastically than by the Donald himself. When he has gone back to his golf courses these people will remain and perhaps, someone more subtle and even more evil than Trump will find many more effective ways to exploit them.

That leaves Hillary.

I don’t like Hillary Clinton, I never have … or Bill for that matter, although he may have been the most naturally gifted politician ever to sit in the White House, he may have also been the cheesiest too. That odor of ripe Camembert follows the Clintons wherever they go.

Obama too has been quite a disappointment for me. I agree with Cornell West, that he is a “Rockefeller Republican.” Having said that, he and his family have had a very beneficial effect on America’s image around the world. “Elegant” is the best word to describe Barack and Michelle Obama. As to his “legacy,” he will probably be remembered as much for what he hasn’t done, like not sending ground troops back to the Middle East, as for achievements like Obamacare, which is pitiful when compared to any European country’s public health system.

For me the choice between Trump and Hillary is clear: Hillary Clinton may reek of Camembert, but Trump reeks of sulfur.

The biggest danger now is that many of the supporters of Bernie Sanders, among whom I am numbered, dislike (loathe) Hillary even more than Trump supporters do and if, as is nearly certain, she is the Democratic candidate, many Sanderistas may either stay home on election day, or go out and vote for a third party candidate or … even vote for Trump. In sufficient numbers this fugitive vote might end up putting a renegade villain escaped from a Marvel Comic into the White House.

The third-party option is the one that worries me most. Remember: this sort of bickering leading to Ralph Nader’s votes in Florida was what brought us George W. Bush … and next to Trump, Dubya, is Joan of Arc.

The American system has been so constructed as to be very resistant to change and it is a two party system. At this moment, the Republican Party seems about to commit suicide and it would be a shame if the Bernie supporters did anything to impede their Trump-led self-destruction.

After the Republicans destroy themselves in November and the Democrats take back both houses of Congress, then would be the time to split the Democratic party to left and right, not now.

 

Originally published at David Seaton’s News Links.

Content posted to MyMPN open blogs is the opinion of the author alone, and should not be attributed to MintPress News.