The 2020 presidential race has shaped itself similar to the 2016 race ─ neither candidate has shown ability or credentials that satisfy a majority of the electorate. Their choice is not to select the more qualified of two highly qualified, their choice is to accept the candidate who has the lesser disqualifications. As of October 29, the choice tends toward Joe Biden, the reasons being the former Vice-President is genuine, empathetic, experienced, and affable. His ancient ties to the conventional center of the Democratic Party give Biden a base but alienate many voters attached to the Democratic Party Left and independents of all stripes.
Donald Trump’s policies during his erratic tenure have pleased a wide range of the electorate — those tired of the continuous foreign interventions, unresolved immigration crisis, and loss of American industrial employment to overseas laborers. On the surface, Trump has brought the troops home, arranged deals with Middle East nations and Israel that show attention to Middle East happenings, and, in his own way, modified trade issues and confronted China’s actions that might reduce U.S. hegemony. Trump’s base considers him being proactive, facing the challenges, and issuing commands, while Biden is considered as a continuation of Democratic liberal rhetoric and desultory action. The reasons for rejecting Trump are due to his mendacious, deceitful, and egocentric nature, his demonstration of little care for the American public and excessive attention to himself. Constantly applauding his administration’s efforts in extravagant terms, and taking credit for all accomplishments has left doubt that any accomplishment is actually due to his efforts, especially when he exhibits lack of basic knowledge on most vital topics, one example being his statement that the Chinese are paying for the tariffs when the importer pays the tariff.
Noting the nature of the election ─ two undesirable candidates vying for the least unpleasant appearance ─ expected campaign strategy would be to reshape negatives to appear more positive and reshape opponent’s positives to appear more negative. Instead, Trump and Biden have directed their appeals to their already committed bases and not to the independent and uncommitted voters.
Trump could have gathered many more votes by doing two simple actions:
(1) By delaying a recommendation for a new Supreme Court Justice until after the election, he would have shown himself capable of compromising with the opposition, to not being polarizing, and to treating the electorate with consideration ─ let the voters decide.
(2) By admitting that the CoVid-19 epidemic demands more government effort, a national plan, and less citizen complacency, he would have shown regard for people’s health ahead of business health.
Neither action would have disturbed one vote in his pocketed base and would have changed the minds of many independent and inclined Biden voters.
Biden has not countered public approval for Trump’s unproven accomplishments.
(1) “Best economy the world has ever seen.” Biden has not stressed that almost all U.S. presidents have had the “Best economy the world has ever seen.” The Federal Reserve maintaining low interest rates and pumping dollars into the money supply and his administration’s large deficit spending are responsible for moving the economy (by an average of only a meager 2.5 percent annually) and only reducing unemployment by one percent from the previous administration, which reduced it by seven percent
(2) Entangling America from military engagements. Biden has not shown that Trump brought the U.S. close to war with North Korea, only to back off and allow Kim Jung-Il to perfect his nuclear arsenal and increase ballistic missile range so his military can threaten America. Meanwhile, leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allowed Iran to return to development of nuclear weapons, a condition that the JCPOA impeded.
Biden’s response to another of Trump’s negatives ─ mishandling of the CoVid-19 epidemic ─ has been repetitive but without substance. He has failed to produce the alarming statistics in bold words and print — positive cases and hospitalization per testing have steadily increased, and the U.S. death rate is one of the highest in the world.
A last minute Trump effort to attach the former Vice President to questionable actions of his son, Hunter Biden, may sway voters and Biden has not used available information to offset the damage. Charge that an email shows that Biden met with a Ukrainian business associate of his son is dubious and unproven. Read V.Podharsky’s message carefully. It is vague and subject to interpretation.
From: Vadym Pozharskyi
Subject: Meeting for coffee?
Date: April 17, 2015 at 6:00:51 AM PDT
To: Hunter Biden
Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent some time together. It’s really an honor and pleasure. As we spoke yesterday evening, would be great to meet today for a quick coffee. What do you think? I could come to your office somewhere around noon or so, before or on my way to airport.
Best ,
V
Pozharsky does not say he met Joe Biden; he says. “As we spoke yesterday evening, would be great to meet today for a quick coffee.” The wording indicates he has not seen Hunter or Joe Biden, only spoken with Hunter, who invited Vadym to DC and was providing an opportunity for the Russian to meet the Vice-President.
Robert Hunter Biden, in a message to his associate, Devon Archer, contradicts accusations that Biden became Obama’s emissary to Ukraine in order to force Ukraine president, Petro Poroshenko, to remove Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, rumored to be investigating corruption in Burisma, a company in which Robert Hunter Biden had been given a Board seat.
From: Robert Biden
Date: April 13, 2014 at 12:43 AM
To: Devon
…Our guy (ED: Vadym Pozharskyi from Burisma) needs to set himself up as the anti- Victor Pinchuk (coal and steel oligarch- pro Russian Yanukuvich supporter). The best way to weather the storm btw is to throw all in with the chocolate king (President Poroshenko). Even if he loses to Tymosheko (unlikely per polls as of today), Poroshenko is a safe ally that could help protect him from the vultures of the moment.
If Poroshenko’s prosecutor was investigating Burisma and endangering Robert Hunter Biden, why would Robert Hunter designate Poroshenko as “a safe ally” and support Poroshenko?
To the writer’s knowledge, neither Joseph Biden, his campaign strategists, his allies and the press have seized upon these two pieces of evidence that deflate the insinuation that Joseph Biden was involved in any corruption, due to his son’s business relationships. Relatives of presidents — Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s children, Richard Nixon’s brother, Jimmie Carter’s brother, George H. W. Bush’s son, Bill Clinton’s wife — to name a few, have engaged in activities that involved influence, but did not infer corruption by the president. Relatives of top office holders are daily approached for favors and it becomes impossible to refuse big money and determine when illegal boundaries have been crossed. For sure, FDR, Nixon, Carter, Bush, Clinton, and Biden did not financially benefit from their relatives actions.
Donald Trump has a solid base of supporters and a solid echelon of those who detest his personal characteristics and will vote for Biden. The former VP has a solid base of registered Democrats and a solid echelon of those who detest what they perceive as liberal hypocrisy and will vote for Trump. Remained to vote are those who detest both Trump and liberals and who may not vote or will choose the lesser of two evils. Trump’s and Biden’s campaigns mostly appealed to their solid bases and insufficiently addressed the doubts of the uncommitted, the electorate sector that could determine the election.
The 2020 presidential election will be remembered as having ill-considered candidates and inept campaign strategies.
Dan Lieberman edits Alternative Insight, a commentary on foreign policy, economics, and politics. He is author of the non-fiction book: A Third Party Can Succeed in America, a Kindle: The Artistry of a Dog, a Kindle: Not Until They Were Gone, and a novel: The Victory (under a pen name).
Dan can be reached at [email protected]
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