The Elephant in the American Room
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed John D. O’Connor.
These are serious times for Americans. Mass murders, declining public safety, inflation, border chaos, a drug epidemic, and national security concerns are in the forefront of the consciousness of most Americans. These issues constantly divert our civic attention. What mental oxygen that remained has recently been consumed by the seemingly partisan indictment of former President Donald Trump, causing an exacerbation of the fiery tribal wars in our society.
What is urgently needed is leadership to harness the national will, bringing society together to mobilize itself toward broadly acceptable solutions. The ideological underpinnings of such solutions can vary between and among those of conservative sensibilities and those with traditionally moderate liberal principles. All of us want safety, national security and a strong economy. None of us wish the Chinese Yuan to become the world’s default currency, overtaking the dollar. Suffice it to say that our country is far from a place of benign normalcy.
But that is what voters projected when voting for Joe Biden in favor of the chaos and drama surrounding Donald Trump. That he ran in 2020 from his basement, with almost no campaign rallies or personal appearances, allowed us to project onto Biden the moderate, if bumbling, political persona he had displayed for almost fifty years. In this milieu, that absence was comforting, assuring many of moderate “normalcy”. But it also enabled many to ignore the deals Biden struck with Progressives in the Sanders-Warren wing of the Democratic party. And it prevented close examination of the physical health and mental acuity of this candidate. Finally, suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story hid evidence of potential compromise of Biden through his son, even if Biden himself may or may not have been directly corrupted.
With Trump’s indictment, Biden can foresee a 2024 victory, given the increasingly strong possibility of Trump’s nomination. Trump’s camp can see as well that a weak Biden augurs success for him.
But in these uncertain times, do we need another matchup of these two flawed candidates? Moderate Democrats wishing to preserve their legacy might be well advised to save their party and principles by demanding an alternative. If this is in the offing, conservatives should as well consider nominating a candidate who will preserve both a decent shot at victory and a stronger Republican party over time.
Now is the time for decent people constituting the broadest swath of the electorate to shout loudly and demand improved candidates. Our present leadership is not getting the job done, and another Trump-Biden matchup will not promise solutions to an overstressed, increasingly endangered society.
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