election 2024 – Michael Pellegrini

I was truly heartened when Joe Biden stepped aside. That was a very classy thing to do. I voted for Biden in 2020 and I would have voted for him again this year. But frankly, he didn’t have a chance against Donald Trump. There’s so much riding on this election, it’s just nuts. Kamala Harris for President
My preferred candidate to run against Trump would’ve been Michelle Obama. Based on polling from last July, she had the best chance of winning – nearly a ten point margin. But Harris is a good candidate and the way she’s put her campaign together on the run was beyond my expectations.

She’s the only candidate running who is actually qualified for the job of president. In her four years as vice president, she’s grown into the job. The problems she had initially with staff turnover and negative publicity have all but faded away. Her background as a prosecuting attorney, as attorney general of California, as a US Senator and finally as vice president have been good preparation for her to assume the job of president. She has the temperament, the intelligence, and the wherewithal for the job.

Continue reading “Kamala Harris For President”

Dear President Biden:

I voted for you in 2020. I think you’re a good, honorable person and are eminently qualified to lead the country. I think you speak the truth. I think you’ve done a great job the last four years – within the limits of what’s possible after inheriting the truly gargantuan mess created by trump and the pandemic.

But I don’t think you can win this coming election.

The questions of your age and ability to perform the duties of president have been hovering over the campaign for most of the last year. Your performance in last Thursday’s debate confirmed everyone’s worst fears. You let trump run roughshod over you; you didn’t fact-check most of his horrendous lies; and you devolved into incoherence at several points.

Sure, everyone is allowed one bad night. And one bad debate doesn’t necessarily negate four years of your good work. But perceptions are everything.

By and large, the greater majority of people don’t care if you tell the truth, or if you know how to do the job. They’re interested more in appearances; they want a strong, forceful leader; stupid superficial things that don’t really bear on job performance. And they’re motivated by their own base self-interests.

Trump is an exceptionally gifted liar; clearly, he’s a pathological liar. He’s eminently believable and he’s promising everyone the moon. So in an era where most people get their news on social networks, YouTube, or from friends, trumps lies go unchallenged.

As stated earlier, one of the worst parts of the debate was that you didn’t fact check him; by your omissions, you de facto legitimized what he was saying.

This coming election Is probably the most consequential contest the nation has ever had. As you have suggested, it portends the potential demise of our democracy, if trump is elected.

Continue reading “An Open Letter to President Biden”