I hope no one asks me which presidential hopeful I'm voting for next Tuesday. (As if there's more than one viable candidate...)
It's not that I wouldn't gladly tell you that I'm proudly, enthusiastically casting my vote (more than one, if I could) for my former First Lady and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (of course). It's that I hope anyone who knows me (in real life or online) and what I value knows that I could never, would never vote for an inexperienced, ignorant, racist, xenophobic misogynist such as Donald Trump.
To me, his candidacy is a prank gone too far. I never would have believed a few years ago while watching his tacky yet entertaining Celebrity Apprentice that this businessman/reality TV host with zero political experience would be a legitimate opponent for arguably one of the most experienced (if not the most) candidates in history, a woman who has devoted her life and career to making her country better, while he's devoted his life to making himself wealthy (at any cost).
Since he inexplicably received the Republican nomination, I've hoped against hope that his stubborn penchant for unscripted loose-cannon speech would take him out of the running. Somehow, despite video and newsprint evidence (here's a primer) of shockingly sexist and racist statements and actions (straight-up sexual assault, people!), Republicans (including evangelical Christians, which I'll never understand) continue lobbying hard for Trump. (My morning commute is littered with Trump lawn signs in my conservative, gun-crazy neck of the woods. Not a single Clinton sign in sight.)
I'm not, by nature, a fervently political person. In fact, it pains me to write this, but the truth is I didn't vote in the last presidential candidate. (Which is a bit ironic because I don't oppose President Obama in any way and, in fact, think he's one of the classiest presidents of all time. Plus I love Michelle!) The only explanation I can give for forfeiting my voting privilege is that I was still reeling from the two-pronged assault of my 30th birthday paired with a fairly devastating breakup earlier that year. Simply put, I was in a funk. And when you're depressed and struggling to tackle daily life's most basic tasks, other, bigger things (like presidential elections) seem entirely beyond your grasp. (And besides, does one vote really matter? At the time, I probably didn't think so.)
Four years later, I'm a happier, healthier, wiser feminist desperately seeking a president who will make my world better. (Isn't that what it inevitably comes down to with politics?) It's personal now. I was outraged and offended as I watched all three presidential debates (DVR'd, of course, because you know I don't stay up that late) and compared the two candidates. I saw and heard Trump constantly, disrespectfully, arrogantly interrupting both Hillary and the moderator, talking in rambling circles, running over his allotted time, harping on Secretary Clinton's husband's presidential actions (NAFTA ad infinitum), and basically spending a lot of time saying very little. Clinton, on the other hand, spoke calmly and intelligently, remained on topic, and rarely interrupted Trump or the moderator.
Their polar opposite approaches reinforced my feeling that Trump has bought the Republican nomination rather than earned it through experience and knowledge. Clinton, on the other hand, is knowledgeable and prepared. We'd be fortunate to have her as president.
I've never felt as strongly for one candidate and so utterly opposed to the other. Nothing would keep me from voting next week (again, more than once, if I could) for the first female president in U.S. history. I hope you'll do the same.
