Trump may be flawed, but Hillary may be lethal

I have been reading the series of articles on Donald Trump written by Uyless Black. I am impressed by Mr. Black’s approach to the subject matter at hand. His assessment of this candidate is pretty much in line with what most people in this country think. Mr. Trump does indeed display strong narcissistic traits as described by Mr. Black. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine those traits on display in the situation room of the White House.

Mr. Black has fairly pointed out the fact that these traits are not uncommon among presidents great and not so great. You could even make an argument that some of those traits are necessary in order to survive a presidential race these days. Mr. Trump has proven his ability to stave off all opponents on the strength of his bombastic and self-absorbed approach to politics. It is also true he has risen to the top on the wave of discontentment sweeping this nation.

It is difficult to argue with much of what Mr. Black had to say. Theodore Roosevelt is at first cited in these articles as an extreme narcissist and then quoted extensively by Mr. Black. Kudos again to Mr. Black for seeing the difference between personality and accomplishment. I find the Roosevelt quote “the most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency” to be the most telling. Who can argue with that?

This leaves but one question in this current race for the highest office in this land. Who has proven to be the most indecent of the two people vying for that office? You have the narcissistic personality of Mr. Trump (which we all agree is over the top) or the absolute immoral behavior of his opponent. My question for Mr. Black would be this: Is it more narcissistic to speak of yourself in unrealistic terms or to be so self-absorbed and greedy that you do everything in your power to get your agenda satisfied? Is it acceptable to commit criminal acts, carelessness with national security, and downright theft of taxpayer dollars through misuse of power and even stealing from the White House because you feel entitled to do so? This woman has consistently shown intent to have things her way at any cost. While the Donald overlooks his often narcissistic words, this woman expects everyone to overlook her extreme narcissistic actions.

You see, Mr. Black, I do not disagree with you on the issue of Mr. Trump but I cannot support your decision on who to endorse. If decency were the only issue I would not give my vote to either candidate. Unfortunately one of these two despots is going to be elected. We know exactly what Mr. Trump’s opponent will do and she has proven over and over again that she is bad for this country. I wish we had the choice between a morally decent candidate and an immoral despot, but we do not. As painful as it is to say I will take my chances that under pressure, this narcissistic loudmouth might rise to the occasion and follow in the steps of others who have gone before him. The alternative is sure suicide for this great nation.

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Bill Bohannan is a Hayden resident.