Bad? Or Worse?

(Updated) I do not recall anything like this in my lifetime. I am not talking about the pandemic. Although that will impact the issue. The choice for President in the next election is like choosing between bad and worse. The only question is which candidate is bad and which one is worse. I admit to being conflicted.

I would not normally be talking about the next election this far in advance. This post should not be taken as an endorsement of either candidate. It should only be taken as an analysis of what makes each one so bad and what issues one should take into consideration when making their decision.

Republican Donald Trump, the incumbent, is certainly the most outrageously bad President in my lifetime. There is little doubt in my mind about the terrible character flaws he inflicted upon this high office. 

Flaws that include an inability to understand basic science (Lysol injections, anyone?); a denial of reality with respect to the serious nature of the pandemic; the impulsive penchant for tweeting anything that tickles his fancy - no matter how ridiculous or false, a vindictive character that attacks his critics with an unprecedented  vengeance; his inability to communicate with any nuance often sounding racist or antisemitic (although I personally believe he is neither.)... He is a narcissistic personality never missing an opportunity for self aggrandizement - whether deserved or not.

He has an uncanny ability to divide the country - which is more polarized than ever. Even though that was true before he took office, it has been multiplied many times over since. He has alienated half the country more than any other President, while at the same time uniting his base more than any other President ever came close to doing with their base. 

It isn’t only about his demeanor. It affects how he governs. Refusing to listen to the advice of his own experts when making decisions, more often governing from his gut than from the expert information presented to him. 

His primary concern seems to be getting re-elected. Not the welfare of this country – although I’m sure he considers it one and the same thing. Although unproven he has surely broken the law more than once in that pursuit. Getting re-elected seems to be behind every decision he makes.  I could go on, but I think this paints enough of a picture of how terrible he has been as the leader of the free world.

On the plus side (for those that lean politically conservative) even though the President’s political philosophy is self aggrandizement and not really conservative - his policies have definitely promoted a conservative agenda. 

That includes a roaring economy (until the pandemic brought it to unprecedented crawl);  a reversal of a trend away from religious values (which is kind of ironic since his character hardly represents anything biblical);  an unprecedented pro Israel policy; a reversal of a terrible nuclear deal with Iran that freed up billions of dollars for them to spread terror all over the world while promising to wipe Israel off the map. 

(On that score while it may - and I emphasize may - have slowed down the race to build a nuclear weapon for a 10 year period, 5 of those years have already passed. Which means that in 5 short years Iran will be a thriving economy and free once again to pursue becoming a nuclear power. The restoration of sanctions is crippling their country. But Europe (the EU) is - for selfish economic reasons - still honoring that deal despite the fact that Iran has all but abandoned it and resumed enriching uranium.)

And let us not forget his aggressive policy with respect to developing and distributing a COVID vaccine. Operation 'Warp Speed' should provide us with a vaccine in record time - to just about everyone's surprise! Perhaps even by the end of this year according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Now let us look at the Democrat,  former Vice-President (under President Barack Obama) Joe Biden. Although he has some character flaws of his own, they are nowhere near those of the current President. By comparison Biden is a saint! His demeanor will certainly be more presidential.  He will surely restore the dignity and honor to the Oval Office. Which has been destroyed by the current occupant. He will surely not be totally guided by self promotion. 

However, his policies, both domestic and foreign, will surely return to those implemented by the President he served.

On the domestic side he has promised to raise taxes on major corporations to at least what they were when he was Vice-President. That will surely have a negative impact on the economy.

On the foreign policy side he has promised to restore the horrible deal with Iran. That will give them an economic boost so that in less than 5 years when the deal expires they will resume their race to become a nuclear power. Only they will be in a much more economically viable position to do so.

With respect to Israel he has promised to restore the policy in place when he was in office. Even though he has promised to support Israel which includes financial aid - and military and intelligence cooperation, rhetoric about settlements being the primary impediment to peace will resume. We can also expect more abstentions on UN Security Council resolutions condemning Israel - allowing them to pass!

I don’t know which is the lesser of two evils here. I know it is easy for partisans on either side to say how obvious the choice should be. But for me it is not that obvious. Those who place character over everything will say that choosing Biden is the obvious choice. It is an understatement to say that the country is not served well by Trump, a man of low moral character who is so consumed with himself.

I hear that and even agree with it. We have definitely been hurt by that. 

But I loathe the thought of returning to the polices of the Obama administration. Because that too will be bad for the country. And for Israel. Although it will be great for Iran.  Those who support Trump consider the choice to be a no brainer. Believing it foolish to vote for Biden and restore his 'anti' Israel policies.. Each side sees the other side as other stupid, immoral, or worse.

No clue which direction to go. Both are bad? But which is worse?