HARD CHOICES

Author's note: Trill is a fictional female acquaintance who makes it possible to write in a style that is comfortable for me.



My Dear Trill,


     What took you so long in bringing up this subject? When it comes to two inferior candidates for the presidency, how do you choose? By all appearances these days, quite far in advance of the election, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the frontrunners in the Democratic and Republican parties respectively. Hillary Clinton, darling of Wall Street, rails against Wall Street in her campaign speeches, and elicits no response from the financiers. In a world governed by tacit, or covert understanding, they know she doesn’t mean it. Then there is the issue of mishandling of classified material while she was Secretary of State, for which she may yet be indicted.

     The Clintons shamelessly used the presidency to amass a fortune, much of it from speeches, paid for handsomely by the financial community. Contrast this with one of America’s great presidents, Harry Truman, who with his wife Bess, left Washington with only their personal belongings, not even a pension.

     The dominant and regrettable Clinton legacy is deregulation by Bill Clinton, which set the stage for the financial collapse of 2008 and cost taxpayers $700 billion to bail out the financial houses and causing countless mortgage foreclosures and loss of retirement investments.The gutting of the Glass Steagall Act, which served the country well since the great depression gave financiers and banks the freedom to take big risks with client’s money. Hillary states that she would not reinstate Glass Steagall.

     The opposing candidate, Donald Trump, deal maker, television entertainer , hotel magnate and casino operator, approaches the public with a line that horrifies even the Republican party, which is frantically trying to displace him. But he is the elephant in the room and may prove impossible to remove. Rumored association with the Mafia in his earlier years may yet prove to be his undoing, but maybe not, as he will argue that it is the way you do business in New York, with no apologies necessary. A billionaire himself, he says nothing about the merits of wealth distribution, which ultimately will be necessary if he is to deliver on his grandiose promises. The road ahead will be difficult if he is elected, as he has already earned the scorn, and even worse, of nations he has verbally abused and insulted.

     I can hardly guess how all this will play out, Trill. My own view is that the country needs somebody in the mold of Franklin Roosevelt. That man is runniing too, in the person of Bernie Sanders. It remains to be seen whether he can surmount the tough opposition by the Trump and Clinton admirers. If Clinton emerges the winner, the nation will once more be led by a hawk. Her judgment and background are particular worries - voted for the Iraq war, which cost millions, killed and wounded hundreds of thousands, and left a nation in ruin. Also the architect of a now failed nation, Libya, as she promoted the overthrow of Ghaddafi. 
If Trump is the winner, It's Katie bar the door, as the nation will be under the leadership of an unschooled and unpredictable politician.