A candidacy worthy of hope
If you have seen the video by Bruce Springsteen expressing his views on the presidential election you will remember that at the end, he said that he has only one vote and that it is among his most precious possessions.
I have no doubt that people who read newspaper editorial pages or, for that matter, just newspapers in general share that sentiment.
This nation is stronger when its citizens exercise their franchise but also take a little time to inform themselves about the candidates and issues. It is not so much to ask.
Over seven weeks, I have written a series of columns about the issues in this presidential campaign, hoping that the information would be useful, not necessarily to persuade.
I am well aware that a large majority of voters in this country made up their minds about the candidates long ago and nothing will sway them from those choices.
Of course, after decades in the news, on television and in politics, former President Trump should be well known to all. However, I am a bit puzzled by those who still say they need to know more about Vice President Harris. The information is out there but what I find interesting is that we have watched Harris grow before our eyes. She had been identified more than a decade ago as someone who was destined for the national stage, but her first attempt at the White House five years ago quickly faltered.
The person who gave her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was a much more self-assured, confident, and more fully formed national leader.
To the question, “Is she ready to be the president of the United States?”, the simple answer is no one is ever completely ready for that awesome responsibility. Do we forget that Trump had never held any political office and was a self-promoting businessman and reality TV star with an instinct for playing to people’s fears and prejudices when he assumed the presidency?
Many of us decided after his first term that Trump had demonstrated his unfitness for the office by his mendacity, his lack of knowledge, his lack of empathy, his numerous failures and — most importantly — his refusal to honor his oath to the Constitution.
His constant lies — well documented by numerous fact-checking organs — bother me a great deal because when someone lies to you, it means either that they think you are stupid or that they don’t respect you. With Trump it seems to be both.
His resume of convictions, impeachments and indictments would seem to be disqualifying. This nation has had populists before like Huey Long, for example, but such individuals were always regarded as not having presidential qualities. Something has changed.
Trump is 78, refuses to release his medical records and has shown signs of cognitive decline on the stump. Shouldn’t that matter?
However, I think what has bothered me the most is the thinly veiled racism, particularly when speaking about immigrants. When he charges that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of our nation, he appeals to the darkest recesses of our natures.
Some will vote for Trump out of party loyalty, though the Republican Party has become something unrecognizable to an Everett Dirksen or a Charles Percy or a Ronald Reagan. Too many will vote for him out of fear and not hope. Some perceive him as a strong leader, but in our diverse nation, strong leaders don’t seek to divide as he has.
Our nation thrives when we embrace a common story about who we are and where we are headed. It should never be a story of victimhood. Vice President Harris has tried to tell a forward-looking story I can embrace with hope.
• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86. His new book “American Dreams: The Story of the Cyprus Fulbright Commission” is available from Amazon.com.