For a very long time I’ve been fascinated by politics. So, as you might guess, I’m finding this year’s election one of the most interesting I’ve ever witnessed.
It’s interesting because we have two candidates who don’t fit the mold: one, the first woman to ever be nominated for president by a major political party; the other a wealthy businessman who won his party’s nomination despite having never been involved in elective office.
I’ve never before seen such strong feelings as voters have for these two candidates. Hillary Clinton appears to have millions of ardent supporters who really love her. In their eyes, she is the most qualified, compassionate and intelligent candidate they’ve ever supported. Those who hate her, however, really hate her. They are totally convinced she is an evil woman, or as Donald Trump likes to call her, crooked. For 20 years, the last 14 in a row, Hillary has been named in the Gallup Poll as the most admired woman in the world, but now that she’s running for president, she has become a pariah to Republicans. Even some of those who think Trump would be a disaster as president still say they could never vote for Hillary.
I don’t know if Donald’s supporters actually love him, but they sure admire his wealth, his dislike for political correctness, contempt for illegal immigrants and especially his message that he’s going to give “the old America back to them.” Some perhaps simply enjoy being entertained by this candidate. You hear a lot of cheering and laughter at Trump rallies when he says negative things about certain groups or when he insults his opponents. People attending his rallies seem to delight in the name-calling, but there are some disturbing videos of the crowds where it’s obvious it’s more than delight. There is a lot more hate, overt prejudice and obscenities being expressed among those crowds than we ever see on television.
Opponents of Hillary probably didn’t listen to even one word of the many speakers praising her at the Democratic convention. And I doubt Trump’s opponents listened to speeches at the Republican convention, either. The difference between the conventions was striking, however. Dozens of speakers lauding Hillary included all of the highest ranking members of the Democratic Party. They touted her qualifications and experience, hardly mentioning Trump, while speakers at the Republican convention spent most of their time blasting Hillary, and most of the Republican establishment skipped the convention altogether.
I can’t imagine what the debates will be like. Hillary is a policy wonk. She talks about her plans to deal with the nation’s problems, and many find that boring. Trump likes to talk mostly about himself and whatever gripe he has for the day, usually about someone who criticized him the day before, which, of course, is far more entertaining than policy discussions.
Their rallies are like night and day. The things Hillary talks about have substance; the content of Trump’s speeches is pretty shallow. But his crowds eat it up because he talks about things we all like to talk about – when we’re at a bar or having morning coffee at McDonald’s.
There are at least three debates scheduled, although lately Trump has been hinting he might not actually participate. Recently, he spent a whole two weeks inflicting serious damage on his own campaign, and now there are some even questioning his mental stability. Hillary’s polling numbers are rising significantly; Trump’s are in free fall.
Although a lot of people watched both the Republican and Democratic conventions, most did not. There are millions of potential voters who haven’t a clue about what the candidates actually stand for or what they’ve contributed to America during their long careers. Most of us have listened a little to the pundits and heard a little of the political rhetoric during the last few weeks, but few have actually become well-informed about each candidate.
It’s time now to get serious about this election. I’m hoping we will all begin to pay a lot more attention to these two candidates before the campaign is over. We live in a complicated world and we have serious problems confronting us. This election is no joke.