We have a lot of time to evaluate our potential presidential candidates if you think in terms of the next national elections. However, as we are reminded on every television newscast, state primary elections are not far away. The political polls are constantly evaluating the Republican candidates and make a big thing of any shift in the poll numbers. It just adds to the headaches.
Have you considered the basis for your choice of Republicans? Even Democrats have to feel the onslaught of the Republican controversy because one of them might even win in November. Consider the following list of items we need to evaluate in our November choice: the economy, our foreign policy, immigration, the war on ISIS (or ISIL), Iran's nuclear development, the threat of radical Islamic terrorism in America, our relationship with Israel, police brutality and race relations in the inner cities, global warming, etc.
And, the list will probably grow as more and more we are affected by international events that we were once able to ignore. Who has the ability to lead this nation? Can we sort through the campaign rhetoric and actually determine who is best suited to stabilize our internal problems while restoring our position as the most powerful nation in the world? Do you wish Trump was a bit more modest and gave some indication he actually knew what he was saying? Could a medical doctor rise to the position of the most powerful man in our nation? Are relatively young senators like Cruz and Rubio ready to deal with our nation's problems when our governing bodies, of which they are a part, have been so ineffective? Can our nation stand another Bush or another Clinton? It is coming soon to a voting booth near you -- the question is who?
Trying to understand what is happening in our nation today is way past my pay grade. Can we as Americans actually have a meaningful election a year from now and elect a person who can lead this country out of its wilderness of political unrest? Is there a candidate among the announced crowd from both parties, who can heal the division that continues to grow and is fueled by an overzealous television industry? Haven't we learned that the quest for the presidency brings out the strife of political party rhetoric which is in itself enough to cloud the truth of our nation's condition even in the best of times? Now we are faced with a war within our inner city population that is revealing racial discord. It has shown us we aren't perfect. Even though we have the world's greatest resources for dealing with those problems, we lack leadership to bring about healing and change. Compound that with the promises of presidential candidates all claiming to be the "appointed hope" if elected. Then mix in a few terrorist activities and the media has a field day with "Breaking News."
How many of the people we see marching in protest to a policeman's killing of a black man actually know the circumstances of the situation? What percentage of them are there to film, on their cell phones, any situation that develops and can gain them a moment of fame? Are there some among them brought in from outside the area to stimulate unrest? What kind of leadership does that city, and our nation, need to deal with each occurrence? Is he or she among the candidates that have offered themselves?
The news media has given the Trump campaign more free air time than, more than likely, all of the other Republican candidates combined. If I want to know more about Mike Huckabee's campaign, I have to research it on line. Bernie Sanders has some ideas that sound as off-the-wall as what I hear in Trump's interviews but he gets very little attention. The Jeb Bush campaign, for all of its publicized financial resources, is virtually unseen. No one is complaining about the Koch brothers' contributions now because campaign finances is not a hot topic. And, we probably won't hear much about Hillary's email problem until the general election.
This is turning out to be one confusing campaign cycle. Who would have expected this six months ago?
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Editorial on 12/16/2015