America will stand at an unprecedented political crossroads on Nov. 8. Our presidential choice is between an admittedly flawed but highly experienced and tested leader, Hillary Clinton, and a man who deserves to be labeled a dangerous bully, Donald Trump.
It befuddles us that smart, informed people with good intentions still regard Trump’s bid for the presidency as a viable option, or that protest votes should default to third-party candidates. We respect their opinions, but there is one choice, and only one choice, if America has any hope of sustaining its world leadership position and upholding the ideals laid out by the Founding Fathers.
That choice is Hillary Clinton.
The eyes of the world turn to St. Louis on Sunday as Washington University hosts the second debate between the two major-party candidates. The Trump option was off the table for this newspaper well before the first debate on Sept. 26 because the Republican had already entrenched himself in blowhard, reckless rhetoric thick with racism, misogyny and intolerance.
People are also reading…
The first debate erased any hope for Trump’s redemption. No one with his record of unstable behavior, so mean-spirited and so wholly lacking in self-control, belongs anywhere close to the Oval Office. Libertarian Gary Johnson has drawn much attention as a potential option. He has no chance, and his knowledge of issues beyond America’s shores is appalling. Marking the ballot for Johnson, or Green Party candidate Jill Stein, would constitute a wasted vote.
We acknowledge that Trump’s hard-core supporters probably disregard us as an anti-Republican newspaper that never seriously considered his bold plans and aspirations for America. We did consider those plans, as did every other major metropolitan daily newspaper in the country — including some that have never in this century veered from staunch support of the Republican Party.
Not all have come out solidly in support of Clinton, yet each has come to this same conclusion: A Trump presidency would be a disaster. No major daily newspaper has come out in support of Trump. Not one.
Trump has eliminated himself from serious consideration because of his antics and bizarre pronouncements. Trump cannot seem to finish a complete thought. He is inarticulate to the point of incoherency. His understanding of world affairs is embarrassingly naive.
He offers lofty promises of jobs, economic prosperity, safe streets, border walls, mass deportation and trade protectionism. When pressed on how to pay for it all and balance the budget, he consistently responds that savings from elimination of waste, fraud and abuse in government will cover everything. That is patent nonsense.
Trump proposes massive tax cuts under the false promise of generating jobs through trickle-down economics. He would abrogate trade accords, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, under the promise that such action would create American jobs. In fact, killing those accords would raise domestic prices and eliminate jobs.
Just look at the snippet of his 1995 tax return where he claims a nearly $1 billion loss. How could Americans entrust him to manage the budget of this nation?
Trump’s record of financial overextension and bankruptcies suggests business incompetence, not success. He was born into wealth and has never known the kinds of true hardship that millions of Americans face. A 1973 Justice Department lawsuit accused Trump and his father of refusing to rent to African-American tenants. A family history of racial bias hardly represents American values of fairness, equality and simple human decency.
Clinton is no angel. This newspaper has criticized her extremely bad decision as secretary of state to route official emails, including some containing classified material, through a personal server housed in the basement of her home. Her response? “That was a mistake. I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility,” she told ABC News.
That’s a big difference between the two. Clinton has committed blunders big and small. She is far quicker to acknowledge error, apologize and move on. Trump knows little about regret. He has made two apologies in this presidential campaign, the first expressed in the vaguest possible way, referring to some unidentified people he might have offended.
Did it apply to all of the women he insulted? The disabled? Blacks? Hispanics? Muslims? Gold Star parents? Veterans? Nobody knows.
His second apology, on Friday, was for vulgar and offensive language in a 2005 recording that strongly alludes to sexually predatory behavior.
Against Trump’s backdrop of disrespect and insensitivity, he deserves to be disqualified in the minds of voters who worry about the nation’s steady slide toward incivility. This man must never serve as a leadership model for America’s children.
None of this means Clinton deserves the vote simply by default, reduced to “lesser of two evils” status. Rather, her qualifications for this job are unequaled. She has the White House experience serving as first lady for two presidential terms. Clinton has served with distinction in the U.S. Senate, and with even greater distinction as secretary of state, where she traveled to 112 countries and covered nearly 957,000 miles.
Her intricate knowledge of international affairs is unsurpassed. We await the moment when serious debate questioners challenge the two candidates on complicated issues such as Syria or Ukraine. Because Trump lacks depth, the best he can do is fall back on catch phrases and diversionary references.
Since her days at Wellesley College in the late 1960s, Clinton has immersed herself in public service. Nothing in Trump’s résumé even hints at a motivation to serve anyone or any cause other than one leading to his personal enrichment. He has never held elective office.
Where Clinton leads, Trump engages in narcissistic self-aggrandizement. Where Clinton exercises tough diplomacy, Trump tries to threaten and bully.
Where Clinton would maintain a presidential demeanor of dignity and respect, Trump would cheapen the presidential seal and draw worldwide derision.
The presidency is the most revered office in the land and America’s most precious possession. In Donald Trump’s hands, it would be a plaything.
Clinton understands what an awesome responsibility it is to lead a nation because she has spent the bulk of her adult life participating in that very endeavor. That’s why she remains: America’s only choice.
