The other day, I was remarking on honesty, and dishonesty. It would be hard to imagine that the Republican party could field a nominee as dishonest, as untrustworthy, as the Democratic nominee. And it would be hard to imagine that the Dems could field a nominee as dishonest, as untrustworthy, as the Republican.
Presidential politics in 2016 has been a race to the bottom.
A reader of ours sent me a quotation from Theodore Roosevelt:
… while the remark of one of the founders of our government, that the whole art of politics consists in being honest, is an overstatement, it remains true that absolute honesty is what Cromwell would have called a “fundamental” of healthy political life. We can afford to differ on the currency, the tariff, and foreign policy; but we cannot afford to differ on the question of honesty if we expect our republic permanently to endure.
No community is healthy where it is ever necessary to distinguish one politician among his fellows because “he is honest.” Honesty is not so much a credit as an absolute prerequisite to efficient service to the public. Unless a man is honest we have no right to keep him in public life, it matters not how brilliant his capacity …
I wonder whether Hillary Clinton could beat any opponent but Donald Trump. I wonder whether Trump could beat any opponent but Hillary.