Tuesday, August 02, 2016

The Houston Chronicle Endorses Hillary and Nails it

The Houston Chronicle has decided not to wait and has joined the Daily News in endorsing Hillary Clinton while blasting Donald Trump.

"The Chronicle editorial page does not typically endorse early in an election cycle; we prefer waiting for the campaign to play out and for issues to emerge and be addressed. We make an exception in the 2016 presidential race, because the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is not merely political. It is something much more basic than party preference." 

"Any one of Trump's less-than-sterling qualities - his erratic temperament, his dodgy business practices, his racism, his Putin-like strongman inclinations and faux-populist demagoguery, his contempt for the rule of law, his ignorance - is enough to be disqualifying." 

Oh yeah, that pretty much hits the nail on the head but they're not simply going against Trump.

"Americans know Hillary Clinton; post-Philadelphia, they're even better acquainted with "the real Hillary Clinton," as her husband phrased it. After her quarter century and more in the public eye, they know her strengths and her weaknesses...As President Obama noted, she's the most qualified person in years to serve as president - 'and that includes Bill and me.' The only candidate to come close is George H.W. Bush...On the issues, there's no comparison in terms of thoughtfulness, thoroughness and practicality."

In 2012 I could understand why someone could prefer Mitt Romney to Barack Obama. In 2008, if it wasn't for what turned out to be a disastrous choice in Sarah Palin for VP, I could also understand someone choosing the clearly more experienced John McCain over Obama.

But this time around I cannot understand how anyone with any degree of decency as a human being could possibly support Donald Trump.

A vote for Trump is a vote against all of the positive things this country stands for. Are we perfect? Of course not. We're not even close, but we're trying.

Trump is asking us not only to stop trying but to move backwards. I refuse to do that.

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