It's the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the first primaries in the 2016 election cycle, and pundits suggest that the likely party nominees will be Donald Trump for the Republicans and Cankles for the Democrats. The latter is really nothing more than an extension of the Inevitability Tour, the notion that Cankles destiny is to be the first female president of the United States -- scandals be damned. Yet the constant drip of emails released by the State Department and the attendant FBI declarations about the sensitivity of the emails released wear away at that inevitability.
Who among Republican candidates can overtake Trump? Anything's possible, what with the ever-present media watching and waiting for any missteps, listening for any misstatements, scrounging for any scandals heretofore unknown. The ever-mercurial Trump could himself decide that he doesn't need this, that the way he can make America great again is by making himself even greater, albeit in his own eyes and those of his doting followers. Given his present standing in the polls, however, that is as unlikely as it is that Cankles will admit the errors of her ways.
Another of the Republican candidates could catch fire. Bernie Sanders, the delusional Larry David of politics, could poison enough voters' minds to overtake Cankles. There could be a cataclysmic event that turns it all around for one or several candidates on both sides. And the Brits, always so helpful about poking their nose into our politics -- see, The Guardian, 2004 election -- could sway tens, if not hundreds, of potential voters with their advice.
But at this distance, with all things being otherwise equal, it looks like Trump versus Cankles.
This puts me in a bit of a conundrum. It is beyond apparent that I loathe Cankles and all for which she waffles. From her disgusting husband to her pampered daughter to her myriad scandals, there's nothing remotely recommendable about this woman. As always, I reiterate my disclaimer: I'm all in favor of a female president, just not Cankles. Of all the possible female politicians on which to stake history...For crying out loud, Sandra Day O'Connor was an excellent Supreme Court Justice. Madeleine Albright was stellar as Secretary of State. Don't inject Nancy Pelosi into this as first female Speaker of the House; that wasn't a position for which the electorate could vote.
Cankles would be a trainwreck of a President, a veritable dumpster fire from the beginning of her tenure to the end. She would bring even less to the office than did her predecessor. She cannot be elected POTUS.
Does that mean Trump is the better alternative? In a perfect world, no. He's a showman, a businessman, an egotist and a bully. He speaks in broad platitudes without providing any specifics. Although the National Review is turning itself inside out to discredit Trump's claim to being conservative, I don't think there's a true conservative out there -- or at least one that's electable as such. But Trump irritates as much as he entertains. I don't care about his beef with Megyn Kelly -- although I had no trouble with the question she asked him that spurred the spat; if people chide President Obama for not appearing on Fox, the same should be true for Trump -- but I do care about his rhetoric, his dismissiveness, his churlish behavior. I applaud his treatment of the MSM, generally, and I like some of his ideas -- I can find not one position with which to agree with Cankles -- but the thought of him being our representative gives me chills, and not the good kind.
So it boils down to the typical election-year choice: The lesser of two evils...on steroids. I'm sickened that I may be in this position, again. In 2000, I voted for Mr. Bush over Mr. Gore because I was convinced that he didn't believe that he knew everything, as did Mr. Gore. I was right, but Mr. Bush made mistakes nevertheless. This time, both prospective candidates believe they have all the answers. In either case, this points to being less of an inauguration of an elected official and more of a coronation of an extremely conceited individual hell-bent on making history.
If it comes down to it, I will vote for Trump, very reluctantly. I have no love for the man. But I don't loathe him to the same extent as I do Cankles.
ABC. Anyone But Cankles.
(c) 2016 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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