We urge readers to vote in the upcoming presidential election, and we urge it now because the voting begins now. What with early voting and mail-in ballots, gone is the day when the election was a one-day affair.
For many elections, many voters complained of a lack of choice. Not much difference between the presidential candidates was perceived by many voters. Not so this year. The choices are clear on any number of criteria.
This is the nastiest political season we have witnessed since 1968. Its not primarily because of the abundance of negative advertising. It seems to stem from precisely the great differences between the candidates. These differences are perceived to be so wide that very few voters perceive anything positive in the candidate they will not be voting for.
As readers know, the IJN does not endorse political candidates, but we will say this: Whoever is victorious will need to engage in a sustained effort at political healing. No candidate can take the country where he wants it to go if his distrust ratings are high.
To engage is healing is not the same as reaching across the aisle. Whoever wins will have the right to assume that his policies have been approved and to pursue those policies. But it is one thing to pursue ones political program and it is something else to lead the minority of the nation that disapproves.
The presidency is a very tricky position: the president is both the leader of his party and the leader of the entire nation. More than usual, the new president will need to make an effort to be the nations leader.
This is especially so because of the way the main issues in this campaign are lining up. Of great and unpleasant surprise to both candidates is, no doubt, the great economic crisis that engulfs the nation. A campaign that began with a primary focus on a war ends (at least as of this writing) with a primary focus on the economy.
Neither candidate foresaw this and neither candidate seems particularly clear about how to resolve it. This is no criticism. We are living in unprecedented times. This is all the more reason why the new president will need to lead the nation, and not just his party.
