Most presidential elections leave me grumbling how tired I am of voting against the worse of two evils, and longing to vote for someone. This is the year.
That is not to say there’s no compelling reason to vote against Donald Trump. There are many – and almost every day there are more. Happily, though, there are some good reasons to vote for Joe Biden.
Reasons To Vote For Biden
Breadth and Depth of Relevant Experience
With eight years as Vice President and many years before that in the US Senate, Biden’s background in two of the three branches of government is an enormous advantage.
Domestically and internationally, Biden knows the issues, the opportunities, the dangers, and the players. He has institutional knowledge and skill, a sense of what works and what doesn’t. Even mistakes and stumbles from the past can be teachable moments, for those, like Biden, open to learning.
The strongest resume of relevant experience since George H. W. Bush makes Biden a candidate ready to govern immediately upon taking the oath.
Devotion to the Constitution and the Rule of Law
Biden gets it; the reverence isn’t feigned. No policy position is as important. In matters large and small, he’s not the kind of guy to ignore his oath of office. It may not have seemed a big deal, but during last night’s town hall from Philadelphia, he eschewed presidential overuse of executive orders. He’d be the first president in a while with that approach.
So many offices and functions of the Executive Branch that must be apolitical to operate have been politicized blatantly. Restoring their integrity will be at or near the top of Biden’s essential to-do list.
Decency
Biden is a good person. In a better time, this would be a prerequisite, taken for granted in anyone seriously considered to be running for president. In these times, however, decency counts as a noteworthy advantage.
Integrity
(Ditto on this as normally a prerequisite.) Considering Biden’s worst moment in this regard ironically underscores his fundamental honesty. In an attack ad we’ve all seen countless times, it is telling that they had to go back 33 years for a clip of Biden responding to a question defensively, claiming academic achievement he hadn’t attained 20 years before that. It is cringe-worthy, but Biden’s worst moment wouldn’t have registered as noticeable if done by his adversary. More on that below.
Relationships
Few aspects of life are more important than relationships formed and nurtured. The significance is magnified on the national and international stages. Genuinely worthwhile relationships take patience and hard work, and this is where decency and integrity really count. Possessing all these requisite traits makes this factor Biden’s strongest suit.
Even better than his knowing the players in every realm, the players know and respect him. This consensus builder understands that the President’s most important power is the power to persuade (Presidential Power, Richard E. Neustadt, 1960).
Bipartisanship
When given grief for talking to the “enemy” across the aisle, Biden explains as patiently as he can that this is how things get done. It’s OK to shut up and listen once in a while, without giving up your fundamental principles. Not only is it possible to learn something – about their position and yours – but it can lead to discovering a better solution for all concerned.
If there is merit in anything that’s been done in the last four years, Biden is one politician who might just retain and build upon such items, rather than ditching them out of spite.
Deliberative Decision Making
Joe Biden knows what he doesn’t know, a key component of wisdom. He seeks expertise, listens, and carefully considers alternatives before acting. If anything, he’ll have to guard against being too deliberative before taking action. Given the enormous stakes involved in what comes before a president, this approach would be an important improvement.
Strength in Core Beliefs
Biden’s willingness to give and take for prudent problem solving does not extend to basic principles and core beliefs. Nice try with that “sleepy”, “weak”, and “Trojan Horse” stuff, but Biden would not be the Democratic candidate without HIS beliefs and principles defeating those he is accused of espousing.
Race and Social Justice
No Johnny-come-lately to these issues, Biden has earned trust in this area. It will take most of what he brings to the table in judgment, empathy, honesty, consensus building and experience, but the time seems right. It should be straightforward to get this done, but it just isn’t. He presents the best opportunity to take significant steps toward real justice. The fear-mongering ads against him are predictably false.
On Trump-Haters, Never-Trumpers, and the Like
It’s worth pausing to examine one of the least persuasive and most annoying tactics employed by defenders of Donald Trump. Point out anything done or said by the Donald that is clearly wrong – morally, legally, or factually – or criticize him for anything, and expect to be dismissed quickly as a “Trump Hater” or a “Never-Trumper”. (Other versions include “I get it; you don’t like the guy” or “Ignore what he says and concentrate on what he does”.)
The implication is that one must have suffered an affliction, or taken a blow to the head and awakened loathing Donald Trump. Worse, it’s as if that retort explains anything. The tactic is designed to accomplish two things. First, it is a condescending put-down. Second, it gives the Trump defender something to say without addressing the merits of what’s wrong with Trump.
This has cause-and-effect backwards. Observers of what Trump says, and even worse what he does, conclude based on overwhelming evidence that he is both a terrible president and a despicable human being. Disliking him as thoroughly as anyone ever encountered, while resolving never to vote for him, flow directly from rational analysis of observed fact. It’s not that he’s a bad president because he’s not “my kinda guy”.
Let’s use me as an example. I resolved on Inauguration Day to give him a fair shake, on the merits, cognizant of his having a personality I tend not to appreciate. Would he glance around the Oval Office, feel the gravity of the responsibility and the opportunity for accomplishment, and (at least attempt to) rise to the occasion? Well, no, apparently; not for an instant. That has proven tragic for countless reasons.
Reasons To Vote Against Trump
This section writes itself. It was tempting not to bother writing this as being too obvious, but it feels instructive to gather a number of the reasons in one place.
How can such a spectacular collection of character flaws and personality disorders have been amassed in one person? Niece Mary Trump points to Donald’s father, Fred. Other plausible explanations are lacking. A childhood impoverished in ways not financial is still cause for sympathy, but at some point people must take responsibility for the adults they have become. Unfortunately, Donald Trump doesn’t take responsibility for anything – other than credit for good things he had little or nothing to do with accomplishing.
Contempt for the Constitution, Ethics, and America’s System of Justice
Many of the reasons not to vote for Trump are disqualifying for the presidency all by themselves – but none more than this. Books have been written on the topic, with many more undoubtedly to come. Their remarkably consistent portrayals of Trump, as a man and as president, lend these books collective credibility, regardless of their angle.
Trump’s pursuit of self-interest has comprised an all-out assault on basic American principles – among them separation of powers, judicial independence, checks and balances, the integrity of elections, equal protection, transparency, and (soon to come) the peaceful transfer of power. Previously unthinkable conflicts of interest are to this president no more than the spoils of attaining the office, perhaps the main reason to run. Even more alarming is his yearning for, and pursuit of, autocratic power.
Hero worship of Vladimir Putin
Could there be a worse hero/mentor to an American president than KGB thug Vladimir Putin? The disgrace at Helsinki was the end for a fair number of people who had supported Donald Trump. (That more of them didn’t turn away then is disappointing enough to deserve its own post, as do many of the points here.) Much has been written elsewhere on the topic of Trump’s extreme and bizarre deference to Putin, most recently in his refusal to address Russian bounties on US troops. The personal fawning is embarrassing enough, but this is substantive; let’s address one aspect.
President Trump’s behavior in the international arena has been called erratic, puzzling and impulsive. It’s been all that and more with respect to American interests. When viewed through the lens of Russia’s ambitions, however, a clearer, more consistent picture comes into focus. When prosecutors finally get to sift through the wreckage of the Trump administration, this should be high on the list of items to probe. Anyone looking for reading material will find the Mueller Report more relevant than ever.
Abandonment of Allies
Nothing gladdens Vladimir’s heart more than Trump’s systematic weakening of America’s alliances and influence around the world. Vacuums created by our lessening presence are filled eagerly by the world’s bad actors, like Russia, China, Iran and Turkey. Our allies wonder what is left of the America they thought they knew.
It seems clear that a re-elected Donald Trump would waste little time withdrawing the US from NATO, for example. This would be the piece de resistance for Putin, the jackpot that makes his considerable investment of effort and resources assisting Trump’s campaigns a bargain.
Mendacity
Donald Trump is adept at every form and technique of dishonesty. He didn’t invent lying, of course, but the scope, the nastiness, the audacity, and the sheer volume of his lies are unprecedented. If they ever open a Dishonesty Hall of Fame, Donald Trump will be the Babe Ruth of its first induction class.
Prior to Trump, a good way of describing a compulsive liar was one who lied when the truth would serve him better. Here again, Trump is special. Simply put, it’s never the case that the truth would serve him better. Because of who he is and what he does, the truth has been Donald Trump’s enemy for as long as he can recall.
He has been lying so much for so long, he seems incapable of uttering a declarative sentence that is completely true. It’s fascinating to watch, actually. In the middle of a statement that might contain a kernel of fact, he catches himself just in time to salvage his words from the truth.
Before leaving the subject, two other aspects of Trump’s dishonesty are worthy of mention. First, he is a master at projection. That is, he falsely accuses others of the illegal or unethical acts he is actually doing or planning to do. As one of countless examples, Trump can guarantee the election will be “rigged” because he is doing everything he can to rig it.
This tactic is clever. It puts the falsely accused on the defensive; moreover, being the first to accuse serves to weaken any allegation of the same wrongdoing against the accuser, even if true.
Then there’s the cowardice with which he lies. The worst of Trump’s whoppers usually are presented in one of two ways. Either Trump pretends merely to relay what others are saying (“People say that…”, “Everyone knows…”etc.) or he’s merely asking a question (the lie followed by ???????). Leave it to Donald Trump to lie in ways that are themselves intellectually dishonest. It’s no compliment to observe that there’s never been a president like him.
Ignorance
No one knows all that is needed to be a good president. That’s not ignorance, but the reality of taking on a really tough job. But Donald Trump is proudly, willfully ignorant. Regardless of the expected participants, the setting, or the issues at hand, he doesn’t know and he doesn’t want to know. At this point, Trump’s rages against anyone trying to brief him in detail, or tell him anything he doesn’t want to hear, are legendary. Consider the caliber of people who’d be left willing to work for this man in a second term.
Business Dealings
One of the strangest myths about Donald Trump is that he’s a business genius. At a time when the only competition was 2,200 miles away in Las Vegas, Trump managed to go down in flames with casinos in Atlantic City. By all accounts, Trump University and the Trump Foundation were little more than frauds. Worst of all, his decades of dishonorable business dealings sent innumerable honest, hardworking small business people to ruin.
Living and working in New Jersey, I have heard dozens of first-hand stories of Trump dealings over the last 35 years or so. They’re all essentially the same; the next good one will be the first. By 2019, before COVID-19, it was dawning on some US industries – like steel – that Trump was bad for business (December 2019 Fortune magazine).
Negotiating/deal-making
Using bluster and bullying on our allies and a sort of inane flattery (that works only with him) on our adversaries, our master negotiator careens from one interaction to another, either not caring or not realizing how he’s being had. He single-handedly raised Kim Jong-un’s status on the world stage several levels without getting a thing in return. As a result, North Korea has accelerated their nuclear program during Trump’s watch.
Meanwhile, he would have you believe he has tamed China with his tariff war – the main effects of which have been to raise prices and hurt more American businesses. So intimidated by Trump are the Chinese that they are more aggressive than ever regarding Hong Kong, the South China Sea, and Taiwan. The world is more dangerous than it was four years ago.
Race and Social Justice
In effect, Donald Trump has been telling white supremacists and neo-Nazis to “stand by” for his entire presidency. He simply made it explicit during the nationally televised debate. We all know what that means, and no one more than the white supremacists and neo-Nazis. They have received the message loud and clear. A worse president for the healing needed in this realm, again, can scarcely be imagined.
Conclusion
For a while after it became clear that Biden would be the candidate, I joked that he would win because there were two reasons to vote for Joe: (1) He wasn’t Donald Trump. (2) He wasn’t Hillary Clinton.
I’ve come to relish the opportunity to vote FOR Joe Biden, though. His strengths are oddly, uniquely designed to address the mess awaiting him and to begin undoing the damage. Whether voting for Biden or against Trump, though, the person deserving the vote is the easiest decision of my lifetime. Not for nothing, as they say, was Donald Trump desperate to run against anyone but Joe Biden.
Like the rest of us, Joe Biden is far from perfect. Some mistakes will be made. Even if not a superstar, though, Biden has a real chance to be a good president, giving us what we need in a perilous time. That might make him the best we’ve had in a while.
Meanwhile, down the ballot: Over the years, whichever party wins the presidency, it has seemed desirable for the other party to have either the House or the Senate. Not this time.
The indefensible abuses of power by Donald Trump (and his Senate Republican enablers) deserve total, unmistakable repudiation. A presidential landslide combined with new faces in the Senate would send clear assurance, to both our emboldened enemies and our appalled and apprehensive allies, that America has lost neither its values nor its collective mind. That would be a first step in restoring order.
If the required no-doubt-about-it message is delivered, it also needs to be understood by the Democrats taking the reins. Elections have consequences, as they say, but we don’t need one batch of serial abusers of power replaced by another. After four years of unrelenting Republican wrongdoing, it seems almost unfair to ask Democrats to play by the rules, restore decency, and forego payback. Unless someone does it, however, what is to become of the erstwhile United States? It should be a badge of honor to right the ship.
Meanwhile, whatever real Republicans remain with their sanity and consciences intact have the unenviable task of taking back their party from the lunatic fringe and the craven enablers. Talk about needing to undo damage!
The message has to be: We don’t care who you are. The only way to attain power and then keep it is to deserve It – by behaving and performing well. That message must come from us (We the People) every election at every level, every time.
That’s our job.
Ken Bossong
© 2020 Kenneth J. Bossong
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
From Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes (1935)