I have voted in 10 presidential elections and readily admit to having cast votes for Democrat, Independent and Republican candidates over those 40 years. I also admit to voting more conservative as I have aged and I do not believe this has much, if anything, to do with maturing or becoming wiser with age. I have always voted for the candidate who I believed was sincere; the candidate I thought I could trust ... the most.
I voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980 because I felt he was a good decent Christian man. I did not vote for Ronald Reagan in 1980 because he was an actor and the thought occurred to me I might not be able to discern when he was being sincere and when he was acting. I did not feel I could trust Reagan.
In 1984 I did vote for Ronald Reagan and rightfully so. Reagan had proven himself and gained my trust. He was a very effective communicator speaking with eloquence but relatable to the common man. He connected with most Americans.
In 1988 George H. W. Bush rode Reagan's coattails to the victory and received my vote. I considered Dukakis but never felt I could trust him. I just didn't feel he was openly honest ... not that any politician is ever completely honest, but I never warmed to Dukakis.
By 1992 George H. W. Bush had lost his luster and I was looking for a new candidate. Reagan was a tough act to follow and this Bush just didn't measure up, in my opinion. I was not a fan of Bill Clinton either. My personal nickname for him was Slick Willy and I thought of him as a smooth talking used car salesman. My vote went to Ross Perot, the Independent candidate knowing full well any votes cast for him could be equated to a vote for Clinton because it took a vote from Bush. Perot appealed to me because he was a straight talker. Not that I thought I could trust every little thing he said. He was just an outsider with nothing to lose and no reason not to speak his mind.
The 1996 election was a difficult one for me. Slick Willy was a gifted orator and I think did a good job in generally representing these United States, but he was sleazy nonetheless. Bob Dole was old and old guard. I just felt no energy from Dole at all. So, my vote reluctantly went to Perot, again knowing it was a "wasted" vote.
In 2000 I was just thankful we would be getting rid of Bill Clinton. Again, he was a good orator, but sleazy: just not what I wanted in a President of the United States. To be perfectly honest, Al Gore held some appeal to me while serving as Clinton's vice president. Then on the campaign trail I began to have serious doubts about the guy. Enter George W. Bush. I liked the guy and he received my vote due in no small part to his down home affable personality displayed to the people.
"W" got my vote again in 2004. While the man faced heavy criticism on some fronts, I felt he was a good man at heart. I did not agree with all his decisions, but I trusted him and his decision-making processes. John Kerry was too east coast stuff shirt for me and frankly scared me off with what was then a radical left view.
The 2008 presidential election was extremely interesting to me. John McCain was an old white man who did not exude a lot of energy. Barack Obama was a younger black man and good orator. Neither won me over completely. I had great hope Obama could be a unifying force in an America that seemed to me to be growing more divisive with each passing year. If, he could overcome expected backlash over his being black, good things might happen. On the other hand Sarah Palin, I did like a lot and thought she could make the same type of impact as the first woman vice president and heir to the presidency. In the end, I cast my vote for Sarah Palin, er, John McCain.
What I thought was a great opportunity to unite the country was being squandered by Obama to such a degree I was forced to consider if it was intentionally so. Mitt Romney as the 2012 Republican candidate was a better option at this point in time. Frankly, I have never been more disappointed in an elected official than I was with Barack Obama by this time. Definitely not a Uniter. His presidency proved to be the most divisive ... ever. The country suffered for it. Very unfortunately the country would endure continued suffering for an additional 4 years.
That brings us to the 2016 election. I was disillusioned, disgruntled and generally dissatisfied with the whole political situation in the United States at this point in time. Hillary Clinton was an arrogant. pompous bitch who had no business being in any elected position let alone the presidency. And who did the Republican's nominate, but none other than Donald Trump the arrogant, pompous businessman who had earned and lost fortunes and seemingly had no humility to speak of. What was I to do?
Well, there were several things during that campaign that had me wondering just what the hell was going on. There were the pictures of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton looking pretty chummy in past years. The Clinton Body Shop theories were in full blossom. Trump was almost completely unfiltered saying and doing pretty much whatever he was feeling at any given moment. Impetuous? Coldly calculating? Truth be told, these two candidates could not possibly be the best America had to offer, could they? I absolutely 100% did not rust Hillary. No faith or trust in her whatsoever.
Trump?
As I watched him a grudging respect with a smidgen of admiration crept into my opinion of him. It had always seemed to me that in a general sense the republicans tended to take the high road while democrats were quite willing to get down and dirty in campaigning ... and their approach to and style of governing. This really hurt Mitt Romney in 2012 when he seemed reluctant to fight back - not an image one needs when running for the presidency of the United States.
When Donald Trump came out swinging and playing the dirty politics game better than the democrats could I began to take notice. I still didn't like the guy or how I perceived he might present himself as the President of the United States, but it was almost comical watching Hillary and the Democrats try to figure out what to do with him.
The underlying current surrounding political polls that saw Hillary ahead by wide margins didn't feel right to me. Trump seemed to be building momentum and Hillary was just hanging on seemingly having completely underestimated Trump as a political foe. He was an outsider and she had spent decades consolidating good old boy power connections in what Trump was calling "the Swamp."
I still didn't like Trump as a candidate, but he got my vote because after 8 years of disastrous Obama presidency there was no way I could vote for the radical left agenda of Hillary Clinton. No trust in her or the Democrat party whatsoever at this point. I could not help thinking John F. Kennedy wouldn't even recognize the Democrat party of 2016. In fact, the Republican party is more in tune with Kennedy's presidency than today's Democrat party is.
So, here we go in 2020 and it's our current President of the United States Trump running against ... well, Joe Biden for now. I have my doubts that Joe Biden will be the eventual candidate for the Democrat party. I suspect Hillary will rear her head. I could see Michelle Obama entering the fray in some way. I'm not even convinced Bernie Sanders is completely out of it, yet. Whether one of these surface as a vice presidential running mate to Biden or as the nominee themselves will be interesting to see play out. I don't trust any of them for varying reasons. Strangely enough, as much as I hate Socialism and Bernie Sanders platform, he is the one I trust most among the Democrats simply because he freely admits to being a socialist democrat. Honesty carries weight with me.
Donald Trump ... I've grown to appreciate him more. He's still arrogant, pompous, lacking humility and completely unfiltered, but his daily press conferences have allowed America to see a different side to him. His leadership has been outstanding - he's shared the credit and taken the brunt of the blame and criticism instead of throwing his experts under the bus. Most importantly he and Vice President Pence have stated their governing philosophy openly and followed through with actions supporting said philosophy. Namely that it is the Federal Government's role to do whatever it takes to support an effort that is Locally executed and State managed. THIS is exactly how the Constitution of the United States designed our government to work.
While the media and people in general cast aspersions upon President Trump for the federal government not being prepared for the pandemic nor having a nationwide plan to combat the pandemic, President Trump has been receptive to state's needs and facilitated responses tailored to what governors from each state have requested. He has marshaled both public and private resources to work together in responding to these needs. He has mobilized the military to help meet the state's needs. He has worked with his medical and financial experts to develop appropriate responses. The dude has been on his "A" game despite the near constant criticism and partisanship obstacles thrown in his way.
He's still in there swinging at his critics and opposition in a manner that those who have made their political lives on such suddenly find unbecoming, but we are also being treated to a fatherly, grandfatherly side of our President that paints a different picture of the man. And I know this, President Trump will receive my vote in the 2020 presidential election because he is who is he. I know what I'm getting with President Trump ~ the good, the bad, the ugly. He's not always nice, but he is effective. He changes his mind, his opinion, his story and does so unabashedly. He's flexible in that regard. And he is wicked smart in more than just finance. He's running circles around the Democrats ... and the rest of the world. He really is restoring the United States to its rightful place atop the world by simply putting America first. I like that. I like that a LOT.
I still do not completely trust the man, but in a political world that has seen public trust decimated by blind partisan politics and radical agendas I feel like ... oh, I don't know ... I kinda, maybe, sorta know what I'm getting with Donald Trump. And that equates in some way to at least a small level of trust.
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