Election Forum: Your responses to our 'Case for the Union'

A week ago, we offered our advice on the presidential election.

We said we respect the message of Donald Trump's constituency but find Trump himself to be dangerously unfit. We endorsed Park Ridge native Hillary Clinton.

We also solicited your views. The response has been varied and enormous - in the letters we have received, the comments on the editorial on dailyherald.com and on the Daily Herald Fans Facebook page.

So we've had our turn. Today, the turn is yours. The responses to our endorsement are collected below. Individual letters also appear at www.dailyherald.com/discuss.

The primary mission of the Opinion page isn't so much in the editorials we write. It's in the daily forum we host for civic debate.

We hope you are challenged and engaged by today's discussion.

Insulting, dismissive

Let's assume you are not a sinister dark force, but you are both insulting and dismissive. You have no obligation to tell us how terrible a candidate is. I think the swath of middle America can figure it out for themselves. You then go on to sugarcoat Clinton's record. You call her crime a misuse of government email. What she, the Department of Justice and the FBI did was a pure and simple act of corruption. I guess if your name is Clinton, you can get away with a major crime. So much for equal justice under the law. Sorrym but you are part of the media elite. You also have a low opinion of your readers.

Cornelius Dell'Aringa

Streamwood

Reality is showing

I want to commend the editors of the Daily Herald for one of the most thoughtful and well-written editorials I have ever read. Not that it matters. This election has been over for weeks. As long as the Republican candidate had 15 other candidates to goad and insult, nobody took a real look at him. Now in the real election, we see who this egomaniac really is.

You nailed every despicable personality trait that he possesses.

Over the past two weeks, I did a personal survey of men I know, guys' guys. I asked them "in your entire life, have you ever known any man that used the language that he used on that video to describe what he would do to women?" All 16 men spoke without hesitation, "Never."

He gave "lockerroom" a bad name.

Thanks again for the wonderful editorial that took a lot of personal courage to write.

Jack Halpin

Arlington Heights

Baggage, not a resume

Totally disagree with your endorsement of Hillary Clinton. You contributed achievements to her resume that she did not do.

The C.H.I.P.S. Program was created by Sen. Kennedy, the Adoption/Safe Families Act was created by Sen. Chaffee and the Redevelopment Project for the World Trade Center involved numerous local business members, of which Hillary Clinton was not part.

Additionally traveling numerous miles as secretary of state with no accomplishments to show off is not an achievement.

What Hillary Clinton does have is baggage full of criminal activity for which she has avoided getting indicted on a charge of. The recent activity in the destruction of 30,000 government emails "after" being given a subpoena to preserve them for the U.S. Congress' Benghazi subcommittee is a felony.

Five members of Hillary Clinton's secretary of state staff have pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid being prosecuted, and Hillary Clinton responded "I don't recall" 29 times during the FBI Investigation surrounding her email server and destruction of those government documents.

Donald Trump may not be the best politician, but he doesn't have felony indictments hanging over his head, nor can he be blackedmailed by foreign governments if they obtain hacked-into government emails, as it does appear Clinton's email may have been hacked by foreign government as the FBI Director admitted.

Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate, and puts the United States of America at risk if being elected president.

Raymond Kohn

Wheeling

We still must vote

The Daily Herald endorsement of Hillary Clinton was exactly what we readers should expect of a newspaper written and edited with integrity and professionalism.

I have no doubt that its editors' natural bent was to endorse a candidate more representative of change in line with the basic values the Herald strives to represent. No such luck - you had to pick between a relatively cautious extension of much of the past eight years and a candidate who is the antithesis of the basic values we try to instill in our children.

Bravo. You did the right thing for the right reasons. However, Americans have yet to vote and the outcome is still uncertain.

I see in today's broadcast news that Trump and other Republicans are jumping on the one bandwagon they may have left: the failing fortunes of Obamacare. They point to rising premiums and shout "I told you so!" They say it must be repealed and replaced with a better, lower-cost model that will still meet the insurance needs of middle Americans, including those with previously uninsurable preconditions.

Despite the headlines trumpeting large premium increases and decreasing numbers of insurers, I urge my fellow voters to stay the course. Do not fall for this last-ditch strategy to sway undecided voters in the last days before November 8.

Why? Because Republicans have no alternative other than a set of well worn platitudes; because Republicans, foremost among them Peter Roskam, brag about defunding critical elements of the Affordable Care Act, like that which provided a safety net for insurers to prevent exactly the problems we are seeing now.

All their criticisms focus on the insurance side. They say nothing about the billions of dollars being saved due to provisions of the ACA that require systemic change and reduce Medicare expenditures. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater!!

I encourage everyone to read the endorsements of responsible journals like the Herald and the Atlantic magazine. Vote accordingly.

Peer T. Lykke

Barrington Hills

Issues outweigh words

Your endorsement for Clinton is, in my opinion, the incorrect candidate to endorse.

Trump is a wild card, but I believe would make a good president in leading this country. His rhetoric is foolish much of the time, much of it because he is too "thin skinned."

When you compare the relevant issues facing this country - illegal immigration combined with sanctuary cities, energy, the economy including high corporate tax rates, stifling regulations for many of our businesses, supreme court, Islamic Terrorism (are we still allowed to say that?), health care, erosion of religious freedoms, erosion of free speech, crime (including the liberal view that our police are systemically racist), and on and on and on ... I vote for Trump on all of these issues facing our country.

Clinton, and the (rapidly) far left-leaning Democratic Party are running this country into the ground. Most of their policies do not work. Look at the cities and states in financial chaos.

The common thread is they have all been controlled by Democrats for decades. Look at the increasingly desperate communities in our inner cities. From crime to education, Democratically controlled areas are a complete mess.

I do care about Trump's rhetoric. The real issues facing our country, though, far outweigh Trump's words.

Mark Hulfachor

Elgin

Alternatives not irrelevant

When I was reading the Daily Herald's article "The Case for Our Union: Our Clinton Endorsement" from Oct. 23, I was pleased with the direction the article was going. I thought the article had an edge by explaining the division of our nation, and the problems we, as Americans, face. But then I came to the line following the mention of Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein. It read: "And even if they were, [fit for presidency] they cannot win."

I am deeply irritated with the popular belief that someone other than the Democratic and Republican Party nominees cannot be elected president.

Perhaps that is why they haven't won in the past: People don't vote for a different party because they think it won't matter. If more people voted with the belief that anything is possible, things would change.

I would have thought that the Daily Herald would have had a more positive viewpoint.

Jessica Redmond

Hoffman Estates

Respected the reader

The endorsement of Hillary Clinton by the Daily Herald reinforced my fundamental belief that she has earned the position of president of the United States. I salute the quality of the journalism, the excellence of the writing and the thoroughness of the presentation.

I personally read the endorsement twice - the second reading out loud to hear and "taste" the flavor of this piece.

I have always held the Daily Herald editorial board in high esteem. It influences my thinking yet honors any personal differences I might have with its positions. But Saturday's endorsement was a masterpiece of writing and a salute to the staff - not because I happen to agree with your position but because you brought dignity to a sullied campaign with which we have been bombarded.

You honored the reader and spoke to us as though we, too, are intelligent readers and informed voters. I thank you. Know that the work you do reminds us that dignity and excellence in the media still is alive and well and has found a home in the Daily Herald.

Joanne Rooney

Arlington Heights

No vote for president

As a boy and young man, I lived 12 years under Hitler's dictatorship, followed by five years under communism in East Germany. Since I became U.S. citizen in 1965, I have voted Republican based on my experience with big, powerful government. Now I am facing a dilemma: I cannot vote for a vulgar bully, I do not want to vote for a big-government Democrat, a Libertarian who doesn't know what Aleppo is, or for an environmentalist who believes that man can change the climate. Probably, I will have to skip the presidential vote and vote for the rest of the ticket.

Alexander Borges

Naperville

Tapped into hatred

Well done! A very well written and thoughtful endorsement. As an "undereducated," retired woman who happens to be on the other side of the aisle politically, I found your opinions to be fair and heartfelt.

Although I don't tend to vote Republican, I have never felt so strongly about a GOP candidate. My dislike for him started with the birther movement and his disrespect for our president. And then he started his campaign and verified everything I thought he was.

He has tapped into a hatred that has divided our country even more than it already was. He says that he wants to make America great again, but I don't believe for a minute that he really cares about America. He cares only about himself.

He will do anything to get what he wants, which is to win, even at the expense of anyone in his path. He is dangerous. Thank you for recognizing that. The only thing left to say is that we are only as good as the sum of our parts.

As Hillary says, "Better together."

Lauretta Cohen

Lombard

Tired of division

"The Case For Our Union: Our Clinton Endorsement" was masterful. Let's retire our obstructionists and inspire our villages.

I want to celebrate on Nov. 8, I am tired of division. There is a lot of work to be done together to solve our big challenges and I am sure she is aware of our confusion and suspicions. Let's listen to her voice of experience and respect her love of our country.

Mrs. Clinton's "private" emails discussing diplomatic plans did not end up in the hands of our enemies as did many of our national documents. If you wonder what she was doing as secretary of state read her 2014 book "Hard Choices."

Ellen McDonald

South Elgin

Who's most trustworthy?

In deciding who should be president, there are two questions I consider. One is, "What is the purpose of government?" The second is, "Who is the person I trust to do this?"

When I consider the place of government, I believe limited government is best. Yes, we need government to care for our country and help with the unfortunate, but we need more freedom for the people to give and do without so many governmental regulations. Encourage private development and philanthropy.

When I consider the person I can trust to do this, I find it hard to trust Hillary Clinton because of all the clandestine things she has done. Even though I did not vote for Donald Trump in the primaries, I believe he is more trustworthy than Hillary.

He wants to restore many good values and freedom of religion.

Also, I had a Democrat friend from Chicago. Her husband worked in the precincts. She told me her husband and other Democrats crossed over in the primaries and claimed they were Republicans so they could vote for Republicans who couldn't win in the general election. That way the Democrats could win.

If this has been happening for 20-plus years in many places, I have to believe they did this to get Donald Trump as the Republican candidate. So to beat them at their game we must vote for Donald Trump to stop the Democrats' tricks.

Rebekah Marcy

Wheaton

Trump can save country

In regards to your endorsement of Clinton, I believe you got it wrong. I am endorsing Trump because I believe he can save this great country we live in from the downfall that it is headed for.

There is no way I could vote for Clinton. She is a habitual liar and extremely corrupt. Sixty-two percent of the voters think that she is not honest or trustworthy and is being protected by the FBI, The Justice Department, the State Department and the news media.

There is more damning evidence coming out every day, but it is hard to find it in the news. What Clinton did with her private server is unforgivable and if it was hacked by a foreign government, she would be subject to blackmail.

She owes a lot of favors to all the big-money donors that contributed to her campaign. She said that her biggest enemy is the Republicans and that half of Trump's supporters are a basket of deplorables and are unredeemable and then goes on to say that her main goal is to bring the country together.

I am 73 years old and politically savvy and have never seen our country in this state of affairs.

Tom Niewerth

Mundelein

Can't forgive her

Hillary Clinton did not make mistakes as you called them, but made willful decisions to avoid detection of her corruption.

As a Navy veteran who worked with classified intelligence, I cannot forgive her for purposely placing our nation and operatives at risk by putting our highest level of classified material on an unprotected server. She should have immediately lost her clearance and should be in prison. The intent was clear.

She left our people to die in Benghazi. She fabricated lies about a stupid video.

She believes in open borders and will flood this once-great country with thousands of unvetted refugees, many of whom believe Sharia law is above our own Constitution.

She wants socialist health care. You gave yourself away with your fawning over the worst president in history, whose policies she will continue and even make worse.

WikiLeaks is doing the job our so called journalists should be doing.

One does not amass $150 million as a public servant without being corrupt.

So many more criminal activities I could list from her past. Your endorsement sickens me.

George W, Smith

Naperville

Media dividing country

I enjoyed the Daily Herald's Oct. 22 endorsement, perhaps pitiful plea, for the election of Hillary Clinton as president.

It was refreshing to see the Daily Herald bemoan the divisions in our American society. All that was missing was an apology from the Daily Herald for its role in dashing America to bits through its fomentation of cultural diversity/divisity for over a decade.

I will be disappointed with the outcome of the 2016 presidential election no matter who wins. The American public can only "choose the form of the destructor."

But, after conclusion of this election process, I will miss hearing, reading and watching the Fourth Estate stew in its own juices for the Divided State of America, which the media, itself, has created.

Richard H. Skiba Jr.

Palatine

Covered all bases

Very well-written piece. You covered all the bases. As a long time subscriber, thank you.

Bill Bickley

Mount Prospect

Trump will rock D.C.

I am a woman, and I support Donald Trump. According to the media, I shouldn't. However, this election is not about whether Trump respects women nor, for that matter, whether Clinton respects men. It is not about making history.

This election is about respect for our Constitution, for American citizens at home and defending our Constitution abroad and respect for the sensitive, secret information we entrust to our leaders.

The Republican-Democratic party (Repub-O-Crats) are playing a carefully crafted game of "good cop-bad cop" as We The People are losing our country.

Trump will rock Washington, D.C., to its foundation, and, according to our Constitution, rebuild it ahead of schedule and under budget.

Kathryn Godlewski

Fox Lake

A shameful record

I was shocked Sunday by your endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President.

You echo the Clinton campaign, speciously attacking Trump's character with lies, baseless accusations, and exaggerations, while totally ignoring Clinton's ineptitude as SOS, her public lies and cover-ups.

You describe Trump as a narcissistic demagogue with no record of public service, who "disdains the press" - probably the real reason you follow "every major newspaper in the country" in repudiating Trump.

You characterize opposition to Clinton as exaggeration, vicious political attacks, conspiracy theory, jealousy and sexism. You characterize Clinton's failings as "shortcomings," mistakes, too secretive, prone to "defensive falsehoods,"

You apparently totally discount Clinton's blatant fabrication about "landing under fire" in Bosnia, "ducking as we rushed to our vehicles"; her lies about the Benghazi attack which killed four Americans, claiming it was a demonstration against a nonexistent movie; and, under Congressional questioning, screamed, "What difference at this point does it make!?" (Easily goaded)?

You reduce the documents "stolen and exposed by WikiLeaks" to "Clinton campaign emails," totally ignoring the classified and Top Secret documents stored on her home email server, sent to associates with no security clearance; documents she destroyed after being subpoenaed by Congress. You ignore her inability to recognize classified or secret documents; you ignore her inability to remember anything, testifying under oath 21 times for 25 required questions, that "I have no recollection."

You ignore FBI Director Comey's sworn testimony that she lied to the FBI and the Congressional committee about those matters. You ignore her support of NAFTA, TPP and TISA, which are destroying our economy and subjecting us to the control of the WTO and the UN.

Yes, we need Trump, who has no such record and who cares about our Constitution.

Marvin Schulgen

Lombard

An insult to founder

The Daily Herald's motto is "To fear God, Tell the Truth, and make money" - H.C. Paddock. Well, with your endorsement of Clinton, Paddock must be revolving in his grave. No truth here, just more lying by the media for Crooked Lying Hillary. I have lost all respect for your newspaper, and your biased columnists. You have made a mockery out of Paddock, your founder, and should be totally ashamed.

Ernie Yates

Huntley

Endorsing corruption

Your endorsement of Hillary Clinton focuses a great deal on her physical characteristics and glosses over the glaring flaws in her character, her actions and her vision of what this country needs to keep it from slipping into mediocrity.

While the press and tons of money coupled with the dirtiest campaign tactics in history have targeted Trump, questions about the serious blunders, obvious coverup to avoid prosecution, corruption, deceit, and very questionable agenda to get the country back on its feet have been brushed aside by most of the liberal media.

With Hillary as president, we will have endorsed the political corruption in Washington and reached the low point in the deterioration of the presidential office of the United States.

James Robinson

Arlington Heights

A service to nation

Our thanks and immense gratitude for your Sunday editorial, "The case for our union." You have rendered us a national service by your scholarly, impartial and factual analysis. This is one of the best editorials I have read in my life. I am urging everyone to read it. My humble regards to you. I'm a 20-year Daily Herald reader, an engineer with 65 years service, 87 years old.

Narayanan Sankaran

Mount Prospect

Diversity not respected

My husband, an attorney and real estate developer, and I, an educator, author, and professional speaker, both enjoyed reading "The Caser For Our Union: Our Clinton Endorsement." We appreciated all the points you made, which were substantial and factual. Thank you.

However, we both noticed and were disturbed by the second sentence in the third paragraph in the second column: "Please, we're your neighbors. We travel the same streets, send our kids to the same schools, worship at the same churches, feel the same community pride, worry about the same things ..."

We discussed that we were troubled by "worship at the same churches." One of the ugliest and most disturbing facts that has emerged from this divisive presidential campaign cycle is the fact that people still have not learned to acknowledge, nor do they respect other individual's diversity and religious choices.

Please note that we do not all worship in the same churches. Many of your readers worship in synagogues, mosques, and temples. Please also note that many of your readers do not send their children to community public schools. They chose to send their children to schools that complement and support their religious beliefs.

We hope you will take our comments about cultural and religious diversity into consideration.

Sheila and Jordan Glazov

Tower Lakes

Is this OK?

Not great choices in this election - a career politician and a wealthy New York businessman. Both flawed character wise. However, if you are OK with a candidate who destroys evidence after being served a subpoena by the U.S. Congress and then can't remember anything when questioned about her email boondoggle, if you are OK with a candidate who is best known as a congenital liar, if you are OK with a candidate who calls the relatives of the four courageous Americans killed in Benghazi liars, if you are OK with a candidate that promotes late-term abortion, if you are OK with a candidate who calls millions of American citizens deplorable and unredeemable, if you are OK with a candidate whose election campaign crew disrupts their opposition's rallies with paid goons, if you are OK with a candidate who said she was "dead broke" when she and her husband left the White House in 2002 and couldn't afford multiple home mortgages and an Ivy League education for her daughter, if you are OK with a candidate who was "dead broke" when she left the White House and is now worth over $200 million, if you are OK with a candidate who wants to expand the now imploding Obamacare with ridiculous premiums and deductibles, if you are OK with a candidate who would not release the transcripts of her speeches to the "fat cats" on Wall Street, if you are OK with a candidate who will change the direction and culture of this country for decades with progressive and secular Supreme Court appointments, if you are OK with a candidate who wants open borders, then your candidate is Hillary Clinton.

The Daily Herald along with many other newspapers are OK with this candidate. Are you OK with this candidate?

Bill Koller

Des Plaines

Right about the media

Even though you mention Clinton has some drawbacks, you fail to hit on some of her big drawbacks.

She was told to turn over 30,000 emails, which she erased anyway. She has made mention she is far removed from the middle class and says, she tells us what we want to hear. She told the public, the attack in Benghazi was about the Koran and she told her family it was a terrorist attack. All said and done, four lives lost and she said, what does it matter? You trust a liar.

You were very lopsided about negative points on our candidates. The Clinton Foundation is a big issue that has many flaws. Contributions from other countries put them in Clintons' pocket for favors. I can go on and on why I feel she is a liar and you hardly hit on them.

Good luck with writing your paper, I think you have lost a customer of over 25 years. I feel Trump has a good point about not trusting our media.

Jerry Muccianti

Kildeer

Be part of the process

We are so relieved that the Daily Herald has endorsed Hillary Clinton. This election has been one of the most contentious of my lifetime (73 years). And while I understand very well that many are angry with politicians, it makes no logical sense to me that good, honest people would step into the fold of Donald Trump, a man who is seemingly devoid of humanity.

And try as we might to find the goodness in Mr. Trump, he continually finds new ways to shock us. But there it is.

Let's all put this election behind us and begin to practice compassion and understanding in our everyday interaction with others. And let's become a part of the process; raise our voice to be heard; expand our areas of interest - no matter who wins.

Richard May

Palatine

Clinton is unfit

The Daily Herald has endorsed Hillary Clinton, the most corrupt candidate for president in our history. Corruption from White Water, the White House Travel Office scandal, intimidation of women victimized by Bill Clinton, and inaction and lying about Benghazi. Her response to Congress. "What difference does it make now." She used her private email for classified messages jeopardizing our security in violation of the law. She misled the FBI with "I don't recall." More lies. The Daily Herald claims that Trump is "unfit." It is Hillary Clinton that is truly unfit for president.

John R. Folkers

Arlington Heights

Hope for 'undecideds'

Your endorsement for Hillary Clinton was outstanding. Unfortunately, the typical Trump supporter will not take the opportunity or time to read and ponder it. God help and protect America on this coming Election Day. I hope you helped a few "undecideds".

Nancy Stanis

St. Charles

Failure of command

Had the Daily Herald endorsed Hillary Clinton as the least bad of two very bad choices, I might have understood. But your endorsement of her "enthusiastically" left me cold.

Hillary's shortcomings relative to honesty, integrity, and judgment are well documented, so I will not dwell on those. There is another fact that concerns me even more, and that is the way she totally mishandled the situation in Benghazi.

As secretary of state, Benghazi gave her the unique opportunity to demonstrate to the American people that she was commander-in-chief material. She blew it.

Anyone who has ever been entrusted with a command understands that the welfare of the people in his or her charge is a sacred responsibility, second only to the accomplishment of the mission.

If Hillary was truly commander-in-chief material, she would have known those people needed help because it was her job to know, and she would have moved heaven and earth to provide the support they needed.

Yet, despite over 600 requests from Benghazi for additional security, she steadfastly maintains she was unaware. As a result, four Americans died needlessly and the country was again embarrassed by a foreign affairs misstep.

The primary responsibility of the president is national security. If Hillary Clinton was unable to secure a small outpost like Benghazi, how can we expect her to provide security for an entire country?

The answer is, we can't.

I will not be voting for either Trump or Clinton in this election. I will write in a yet-to-be-determined candidate who I believe is strong on national security.

My message to both major political parties is this: If you want my vote, provide me with a candidate who deserves it.

George Barney

Mundelein

Votes not wasted

I disagree with your statement that voting for a third party will help Trump or is a wasted vote.

I am no fan of Trump (or Clinton for that matter), but mathematically speaking, the only two types of wasted votes which have no effect on the final election are: Votes cast for candidates who did not win and excess votes cast for winning candidates.

If you vote for Clinton, but Trump wins, your vote was wasted. Also, if you voted for Clinton and she wins by more than 1 vote, your vote was also wasted, because she didn't need it to win.

Illinois has 20 electoral votes, and has gone Democrat for the last four elections in a row. The current polls put Clinton ahead of Trump at 47-42. Trump will not get Illinois' 20 electoral votes, it's just not going to happen.

The reason to vote for a third party, even though they have no chance of winning, is to demonstrate opposition to the two-party duopoly. Just like participating in a march against cancer, doesn't actually cure cancer, but it does make a statement that might induce other people to donate to cancer research.

Even if the third party people got as much as 15 percent of the popular vote, they could never get enough electoral votes to actually win. But if this happened, then perhaps the politicians, both democrats and republicans, would actually start to pay attention to us, the people.

That's why not voting, is not an option. If you don't vote, no one knows you didn't vote. There's no statement made.

An unprincipled vote, not voting for a third party, is the only wasted vote.

Steve Tilton

Libertyville

Doesn't support America

To Mr. Rossi - Clinton wants to "amend" the Second Amendment, in one way to make it harder for people to purchase assault weapons. People can continue to have their guns and rifles, but who needs an AK-47 to shoot a deer or defend their family/property?

And the Supreme Court will "change" no matter who is appointed. We will have diversity and different opinions. I also heard Clinton say that she will raise taxes. I also heard her finish the sentence, saying "on the upper 1 percent (million-/billionaires)", and NOT the hardworking middle class.

We work hard for our money, we pay taxes. Trump does not. He does not support America, the educational system, or the workforce.

Mr. Zitkus, I also heard Trump say he will lower taxes, for everyone, including his billionaire friends. We know HE doesn't pay taxes, which he says makes him "smart."

He doesn't have you or me in mind when he says he is lowering taxes; his "interest" lies in helping his friends.

Trump wants to bring jobs back to America? He wasn't worried about American jobs when he shipped them to Mexico (who sends us "rapists" and drug dealers), or other countries. He was a factor in putting American steel workers out of jobs when he bought cheap steel from China to build his hotels and buildings.

His suits, ties, shirts, furnishings, etc. are all made overseas, in India, Mexico, China, Bangladesh, etc.

This man does not support America. He believes in his bottom line only, not the ordinary Joe on the street.

Clinton is not perfect, but I believe she is the better choice. The whole world is watching this election. Don't make the USA a laughingstock. I support the Daily Herald in voting Democratic for president.

Mary Kay Arndt

Arlington Heights

More than bad judgment

I totally disagree with the endorsement of Hillary Clinton. It smacks of "anybody but Trump." In the listing of her "mistakes," it says "her misuse of government email was an unconscionable lack of judgment." Indeed. I believe that given a different political climate, she would have been indicted and prosecuted. I also believe this misuse was precipitated by her arrogance with respect to her exalted position as secretary of state. Yes, anybody but Trump.

Don Buck

Wheaton

Unfairly criticized

Could not agree with you more. Mrs. Clinton is all you describe and more.

You might need to add that the 30,000 or so emails that allegedly went missing, either were never there, but more likely needed to be kept strictly confidential not to be disclosed by the witch hunters. Also, no one would have known anything about the private server emails had they not dragged it out, although nothing of importance was disclosed.

Since it was shown that her server was neither hacked nor compromised, it most certainly was safer than any of the governmental servers save the Republicans servers.

One must ask why. There was no reason for her to apologize to try to keep her communications safer than the hacked governmental servers.

Mrs. Clinton has a wonderful warm smile and what others call secretive I call discreet. Why say something publicly if one needs to change one's mind later with more facts.

Benghazi - it has been factually stated that the government and we, the taxpayers - did not want to spend more money on the military. I suppose the complainers suggest for Mrs. Clinton to have flown over there with a machine gun to defend people who voluntarily accepted to stay in a terroristic and dangerous country.

I never could figure out what she supposedly lied about.

As to her opponent, no comments.

Bea Johnson

Palatine

No regard for unborn

You made a valiant attempt to appear neighborly and all inclusive in your wordy endorsement of Clinton. I don't agree with Our View that we all worry about the same things. Several very important issues were not even addressed. One being Clinton's total disregard for the lives of about-to-be born children. How can you state, in good conscious, she is a staunch advocate for children's rights? Clinton has made it clear the womb is a dangerous place to be.

Carol Dalgleish

Barrington

Trump can be controlled

Since my first presidential election vote in 1964, this current election is the most trying between two very flawed candidates.

While Trump looks and acts like a spoiled child with his verbiage and antics, I must take the stance of telling you your endorsement of Hillary Clinton is wrong. Yes, you do point out the flaws in both candidates, but I think overplayed the impact of Trump's possible actions while downplaying those of Clinton.

Trump can be controlled by both parties who will watch him very closely and hopefully move him to see a more centrist, nonconfrontational style will work best. But there are extremely important positions in this election that will affect our country well into the future and determine if we continue on the road to government intervention in all we do and a weaker America.

These are the crucial issues to consider, not personality styles. Hillary's positions on the debt, immigration, late-term abortions, voting rights, the Supreme Court nominations, the place of the constitution in our governing actions, and her outward efforts to divide this country by social class, economic class and gender class continues President Obama's style of sounding good and hopeful while undermining the social fabrics that have made America great.

Ron Entzminger

Arlington Heights

Must reading

Although somewhat short on details relative to Hillary's role in Benghazi and somewhat short on details that addressed the fact that both a congressional committee and the FBI exonerated her of any criminal intent regarding those now-famous emails, the Daily Herald's article "The Case for Our Union" was outstanding. Brilliantly written, based on informed observation and analysis and empirically sound, this endorsement of a presidential candidate was as good or better than any I have read in both national news periodicals or local news publications.

The article was pointed, clear and inviting. No matter your presidential leanings, it gave you reason to pause and think seriously and deeply about who you will choose to lead this nation.

Even if you're a Trump supporter, this article is must reading. Daily Herald, your reporters: news, entertainment, sports, and editorial staff are terrific. Thank You for being there.

Larry J. Powitz

Arlington Heights

Proudly for Trump

Respectfully, I disagree with your endorsement of Mrs. Clinton. Yes, I will proudly vote for Mr. Trump for president of the USA. And, I'll tell you what: If Trump wins, it will be my honor to double your Herald delivery carrier's Christmas gift. That alone would help make America great again. You betcha'

Mike Smith

Palatine

Simple clarity

I agree. You definitely hit the key issues and made so many good points. I don't know how you put "The Case" together with such simple homestyle clarity, reminding us there is hope for the future. We're really not crazy, just overwhelmed and confused. We spent months dealing with lies and threats and anger from so many people. We kept on saying that this has never happened before but here it is. Your "Opinion" cleared and sorted my mind and dumped the confusion dealing with so much junk. Not everyone is bad, but sometimes we let them be bad. Thank you,

Kay Leck

Arlington Heights

Shake things up

I am disappointed in your endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president for the following reasons: Hillary has been caught in many lies. She refused to defend our ambassador station in Benghazi and was the cause of four people getting killed and she lied about the cause. In her 30 year as a politician, she has had nothing but scandals. Her foundation is just a pay-to-play scam. She believes in world government and open borders. She will put at least one liberal judge on the Supreme Court. We need someone in Washington who is not part of the establishment to shake things up. The Daily Herald endorsement didn't surprise me as you are just part of the liberal media.

Bob Grens

Elgin

Leftwing agenda

Hillary Clinton has been a great advocate for women and children, but believes that it's OK for unborn children to be ripped apart for no fault of their own. Your editorial states that "She is a centrist at heart." She will instead promote a leftwing program of making people dependent upon the government, instead of promoting independence and self reliance.

Brian Cleary

Wheaton

Concern for Constitution

I respectfully disagree with your endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I cannot in good conscience vote for a person who if not for pressure from the White House and DOJ, would have been charged by the FBI.

How can you say that she is qualified? She is dishonest and prone to criminal activity. The use of a private email system was a self serving dishonest act.

She said it was approved - not! and her instructions to her employees warned against using a private system. Is "pay to play" honest?

Your dismemberment of The Donald is eloquent and full of left-wing liberalisms.

Those of us who want to "Put America First" and "Make America Great Again" are not concerned with war and bombs. We are concerned with the end of America, restricted freedom and the loss of Second Amendment rights, and the appointment of Supreme Court Judges that do not follow the Constitution.

James A. Wagner

Barrington

A critical time

I am in complete agreement with your Clinton endorsement and thoroughly impressed with your exceptionally lucid and complete coverage of all the important aspects of this decision. I am not a big Clinton fan, but this is an unprecedented and critical time to vote for the safety, stability, and stature of our country. The sad part of the situation is that due to the imperviousness to reason and facts, and adherence to a primarily emotional mindset of most of the Trump supporters, most will fail to be swayed. I'm hoping there are enough reasonable and decent people that vote to avoid the inevitable multifaceted disaster a Trump presidency would bring.

Reinhard Metz

Wheaton

Trump is off the wall

Great endorsement today. I agree that Hillary is not without faults. but how could any reasonable person think Trump is sane. This campaign should never have gone as far by calling names instead of dealing with actual facts that each candidate will say what he can do or try to do. Trump is so off the wall that even an employer would never hire him with that background. He can never answer a question directly and usually wanders off the subject. He is a egotistical maniac. He would really put our country in deep trouble. He claims that over 200 generals back him. The army has only 231 generals. Would you think that many generals would agree with him?

F. David Bohnenkamp

West Chicago

Full-out support

Your endorsement is the best-written most logically presented endorsement for Clinton I have read. I decided early on she was getting my vote - not that I'm voting against Trump, but my full out vote in her favor. Thank you for your well-written, well-thought-out editorial.

Roxanne Bloom

Schaumburg

Preserve security

Mr. Trump may have a number of ideas for improving the domestic economic and cultural issues which most of his followers are focused on. But his presidency would imperil our nation in its foreign relations if any of his bizarre ideas about the global geo-politic were to be implemented.

Ms. Clinton will unfortunately continue many of President Obama's misdirected efforts at implementing social and economic change by administrative fiat, most especially the continuous drive to morph the Affordable Care Act into a single-payer system. We already have a single-payer system in the US; it's called the VA and it is not a success, nor will a national program be.

However, under her presidency, the United States will retain or even expand its role as an international leader in its global political and economic influence, and the security of our nation will be protected by her administration.

Given these two choices, preserving our national security is clearly the more important issue and therefore a vote for Ms. Clinton is in order to preserve it.

Harv Stewart

Palatine

She's not qualified

OK, you've now had your say about your endorsement, media elitists. Now here is our feedback: There is no justification for a Clinton for POTUS from the Clinton Crime Family. She is not even qualified to be elected to any city council let alone resident.

She doesn't even qualify for a security clearance. The fix was in, wasn't it, editorial board? Just a pathetic bunch of registered liberal Democrats on your payroll - along with some squishy establishment Republicans.

The Herald has on a daily basis, been publishing any and all negative, misleading statements and stories about the Republican candidate, through the biased prism of the highly liberal AP reporters and their reporting.

The Herald, along with all media, has ceased to be fair and unbiased news organizations, and operate now as nothing more than propaganda arms of the Democratic Party and Clinton Campaign.

Your endorsement is for a failed and ineffective leader. who has no core. The Herald has by design, participated in a conspiracy to distort and suppress as many facts and information to influence and elect a gravely disturbed woman whose criminality is oozing out of all these WikiLeaks.

Truly your arrogance is breathtaking and you opine that Donald J Trump is dangerous? How phony.

The DC Complex, Media, and Entertainment industries and all liberalism is a menace and threat to our democracy.

Scott and Amy Lewis

Batavia

Sold - on Clinton

I fully agree with your endorsement. Donald Trump is an excellent sales person, however; he sold me - a Bernie Sanders supporter in the primaries - on supporting Hillary Clinton in spite of her numerous poor judgments.

Richard Bazuin

Wauconda

Not what he's selling

I am not a huge fan of the Daily Herald. It is an admittedly conservative publication. Reading its endorsements of the last couple weeks is proof enough that the paper consistently endorses mostly conservative, mostly Republican candidates.

Those who complain of the Herald's liberalism clearly have paid little or no attention to its recent endorsements, nor the endorsements it has made for the last 30 years that I have been reading the Herald.

So, considering this bent, considering the history of the Herald's Republican slant, I am surprised, I am astounded that it would make such a passionate and at the same time, rational choice in endorsing Hillary Clinton for the office of President of the United States.

Your analysis is complete and fair. Your criticisms of Clinton's flaws and mistakes are accurate, and your summary of her achievements are thorough. I appreciate an endorsement which must have been a difficult one considering the paper's conservative philosophy and the contentiousness of the campaign for the past year.

Clinton's life's work has been in service to the public, for children and for those without a voice. Trump's work has been about making money and about self-aggrandizement.

To expect that Trump would have us believe that he all of a sudden would be interested in serving the public as the leader of the nation and the free world is certainly a bridge too far.

While he has sold a lot of real estate in the past, I don't think there are too many of us who would buy a building from him at this point. And as the Herald suggests in its endorsement, we should not buy what he is selling now.

Johnston Getty

Elgin

Reality and logic

The Daily Herald got it right! Two half pages well answered why Hillary should be president and why her opponent shouldn't. Every argument against her was well answered with reality and logic. Bravo!

Mary Pat Fontana

Barrington

Difficult choice

I read your endorsement for the U.S. president. I feel you hit it right on and congratulate you for a perfect analysis of the candidates. It couldn't have been said any better! This is an extraordinarily difficult choice of candidates. Great job!

Carolyn Acuff

Palatine

Curb your enthusiasm

Since you asked, here is what I think about your "enthusiastic" endorsement of Hillary.

First, anybody who "enthusiastically" endorses either candidate lives in an alternate universe. These two candidates are the worst two candidates for president in my lifetime, and probably in U.S. history.

Sadly, the voters must make a choice between "the lesser of two evils." Polls show that a majority of Americans have negative opinions of them both.

Second, I don't disagree with most of your negative comments on Trump. He is definitely a badly flawed candidate. What is amazing is your unrealistically positive portrayal of Hillary and your "enthusiastic" endorsement of her. A majority of Americans don't like her and a majority of Americans don't trust her after watching her performance for 25 years.

You mentioned that she has traveled more than any previous secretary of state. Who cares if she has failed at everything she touched like the botched "Russian reset" and her Libyan disaster?

Even worse, Hillary's and Obama's failed Syrian policy has resulted in the death of 450,000 Syrians and 11 million Syrian refugees. You didn't mention that Pulitzer Prize winner William Safire called her a "congenital liar" 25 years ago and that is before her horrific lies to the American people about her email disaster and the risk it put our great nation in.

Worse is her gross mismanagement and lies regarding Benghazi. If a business executive ignored hundreds of warnings from a plant manager and four people were killed, he would be fired, sued for gross negligence and probably indicted.

Worse, she lied to the parents as their bodies were brought home. Trump may indeed be a bad president. Based on 25 years of actual results, Hillary will certainly be a horrible president.

Randy Rossi

Grayslake

No middle school election

I agree with your endorsement, and you hit the mark with both Trump and Clinton.

Early on in the primary, it became obvious Donald was a 70-year-old seventh-grader. I have been a seventh-grader, raised seventh-graders and loved grandchild who were seventh-graders. They are not to be trusted!

They can be lovable and charming and everyone who lives to be 20 or so goes through it. And it is OK, it is a part of growing up. But God help those who don't go through it but remain suspended there for life as Donald has.

These individuals become a great danger to anyone they have power over. They lack the necessary skills to make informed decisions while having power to rule according to their whims.

Hopefully history has taught us to recognize the absurdity of such a person's behavior. Pay attention folks. This is not a middle school election for class president.

This is a matter of real life and death.

Linda Pekelsma

Gurnee

Only possible conclusion

I applaud the Daily Herald for putting patriotism and journalistic integrity above all else. Doubtless, you will raise the ire of many subscribers in these mostly conservative Chicago suburbs, but your thoughtful explanation leads to the only possible party-agnostic conclusion; with the choice between a racist-baiting, ill-informed demagogue and a professional politician, we must vote for Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States.

Tom Lichtenheld

Geneva

Just stupid

After the Veritas Project, WikiLeaks. failed policy in Middle East, you still endorse Clinton. You're idiots. That's all I have to say. You can't fix stupid.

Patti Milici

Mount Prospect

Takeover planned

It was not surprising that the Daily Herald endorsed Mrs. Clinton.

The WikiLeaks revelations show an incestuous relationship between the mainstream media and the Democratic Party.

Saul Alinsky author of "Rules for Radicals" was the subject of Mrs. Clinton's college thesis, and President Obama writes about him in his book.

Alinsky writes about eight rules to create a Social State.

1. Control health care - Obamacare The Unaffordable Care Act.

2. Poverty - Increase poverty, 94 million Americans out of work

3. Debt - More than doubled the debt in eight years, $20 trillion.

4. Gun Control - Keep people from defending themselves.

5. Welfare - Government provide for their housing, food, income and health care.

6. Education - Control what people can read, listen to and learn in school.

7. Religion - Remove God from government and schools.

8. Class Warfare - Divide the wealthy and poor, divide greater in the last eight years.

Can you see this happening in the United States?

Mr. Trump was not my choice in the primary, but he won with the most votes, so I am for him. I am 87 years old, so I probably won't live to see the fall of the U.S. if Mrs. Clinton becomes president.

Donald C. Eggert

Libertyville