As the news came in tonight that Ted Cruz was officially suspending his campaign, clinching what was already basically clinched, that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee for President, an old baseball quote ran through my mind. Multiple time, former Yankees manager Billy Martin was once asked about comments made about him by former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and former star outfielder Reggie Jackson. Martin, with his usual eloquence, on whether he believed the two said, "Well, one's a born liar, and the other is convicted." Welcome to our 2016 Presidential election!
On the surface, this will be a tremendously significant election. Hillary Clinton will be the first woman ever to be a major party nominee for President. Donald Trump will be the first true political outsider, a non-politician, to be a party nominee since Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the first ever business person. That's important on many levels. But let's face it, neither of those things mean squat when it comes to being President. To be honest, I'm not really sure what really matters when it comes to being a credible President, but I know this. Character, and particularly, honesty, has to be a part of the make-up of someone who serves in the office honorably and effectively.
Both candidates have been in the public eye for decades, and so very little is not known in regards to either of them. Both are controversial and polarizing, generating strong emotions both positive and negative. Both have been ruthless in climbing the ladder of their respective professions. Both have been highly successful. And both have a long history of as Patty Loveless once sang, "trouble with the truth."
I am unsure if there is such a thing anymore as an honest politician, at least on the national level. The mere task of the rings that need to be kissed and promises made to become an elected official can easily overcome honesty. Not to mention the cash that flows to influence opinion and win an election. Our political system is a broken mess, and we the people are the ones ultimately accountable, as we are the ones who have cast the ballots for continuous corruption. The bible tells us that "you reap what you sow," and so here we are, faced with an election choice between two of the most truth challenged candidates of all time. We've brought it on ourselves.
On the Democratic side, not one credible candidate to oppose Clinton even decided to run. Hillary was anointed by the Democratic machine to be the nominee after falling in line behind Barack Obama in 2008. And in spite of this, she is still losing primaries to an avowed Socialist in Bernie Sanders. Voters under the age of 35 loathe her in her own party. Exit polls in contests that Sanders eventually lost showed the Democratic electorate trusted Sanders by margins of 80-90% over her. Hardly an endorsement of her perceived honesty.
On the Republican side, Trump is the product of the total lack of trust in the Republican party as a whole. The voters feel betrayed, and have staged a revolt. They have been lied to one to many times by those they have cast their votes for, and have decided #neveragain! So they cast their votes, in what will be record numbers, for a man who literally says whatever pops in to his head. Trump could say one thing definitively, and then ten minutes later, say the exact opposite, and it doesn't matter. The message is now received, better the liar we don't know than the ones we do.
As we look towards November, I don't think there is any doubt that we will be witness to perhaps the must dishonest, underhanded, dirty, vicious campaign in most of our lifetimes. It will be one that fits our culture perfectly, six months of reality TV on the nightly news and Internet. It will probably be highly entertaining in a morbid way, but that's not exactly what we should be looking for when it comes to a Presidential election.
And so it begins, Election 2016, Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump. Our nation, on an economic, moral and spiritual slippery slope at stake. In my mind we have one hope, reflected in the writings of the Apostle Paul in "One" Corinthians. Paul states here that "God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." We are faced with a choice between two "foolish things," let us pray God has mercy upon us.
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