I have never been as disheartened about a Presidential election as I am about this one. The quality of the candidates this year is as low as I have ever seen. I do not know if misery loves company, but I am definitely not alone in my feelings. The Real Clear Politics Average Favorable/Unfavorable Rating for Donald Trump is 34% Positive, 58% Negative for a net rating of -24%. For Hillary Clinton, the RCP Average Favorable/Unfavorable Rating is 37% Positive, 55% Negative for a net rating of -18%. Both averages were based on polls taken between May 1-31 .(http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/clinton_favorableunfavorable-1131.html). As has been noted several times, these are the highest net negative ratings of any Presidential candidates since this statistic started being tracked in 1984. To add further insult to all this, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll noted that about 80% of those who gave Trump a negative rating went ahead and gave him a Strong Negative rating (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-election-2016-shapes-up-as-a-contest-of-negatives/2016/05/21/8d4ccfd6-1ed3-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html). Same with Clinton. For the record, I am solidly with the majority of my fellow Americans on this.
All of this reminded me of the words of a former colleague of mine at UMB, a man who I still consider to this day the best investment manager I have ever known. He liked to say that those investment managers who lost less money than their peers in a down market were nothing more than the best horse in a glue factory. And what happens to the best horse in a glue factory? To be the "least bad" choice in a plethora of bad choices still makes you a bad choice.
Clearly, the majority of voters see this as a very negative year for Presidential candidates. Let us face it: many of who vote for Hillary Clinton will do so because they do not want Donald Trump to be President. Many of vote for Donald Trump will do so merely because they do not want Hillary Clinton to be President. Boy, that's both exciting and inspiring, isn't it? In other words, regardless of who wins, the voters will be voting for that candidate that they feel is the best horse in a glue factory.
As for me, I have no intention of voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Nor would I vote for Bernie Sanders. I might look at the Libertarian candidate, Bill Johnson and his running mate William Weld. And they have lots of baggage on them, too. But I am not going to vote for the "least bad" choice merely to make a choice. Give me a person of integrity and intelligence worthy of the office. Give me a candidate who believes in me, and others like me (i.e. the American people), and is willing to unleash the creative energy and power of us all. Give me a candidate who does not want to micromanage my life, and give me a candidate who truly believes that America is unique among the nations of the world, that the idea of the "American Dream" is still alive and kicking.
Do not give me the best horse in a glue factory.
