Did you happen to notice it is an election year? Okay, that was a bit snarky but if I weren’t following the cable news, political websites and social networking I wouldn’t know anything. Then again, I am following cable news, political websites and social networking and I still don’t know anything. Perhaps in my 50 years on this planet I had my head in the sand, but I really can’t remember an election year where so little positive was being reported. No wonder so many Americans are thinking about not voting at all. It’s not that I agree with that sentiment, but I can definitely relate. I am genuinely tired after watching cable news and reading political “reporting” on the internet. I can sit here and shout, “Shame on you cable news!” Or I can get on me soapbox and exclaim, “Let’s hear about the positive attributes of the candidates and not the negatives!” As I discovered, if you want to find positive things about any of the candidates, you have to really do your research.
What I discovered is there are indeed positives about all the candidates. Truly, there are! However, I’m going to ask you to discover them for yourselves. I know who I’m voting for and I have my reasons. But my reasons for not voting the other candidates, truly doesn’t have anything to with any meme, broadcast news story or any other rhetorical smear I read daily. My choice, in my opinion, is simply the most qualified to head the Executive Branch of our Federal Government.
Have you ever had to hire someone? Sitting in a managerial position and having the power to give someone a job or not isn’t always a pleasant one. I recall too well the many resumes I looked through before deciding who to call in for an interview. Then, after the first set of interviews, there was whittling down to a select group who I felt best fit the position. There was sometimes a second interview where, usually, my choice was made. What were the criteria I used? I quickly found out that there were usually many people who were qualified on paper. Their experience and education were usually very similar. In the case of radio where I was doing the hiring, there was also the quality of their work. That too didn’t always weed out people because there were some very talented candidates. I usually came down to sitting across from them and talking. I didn’t believe in standard interviews, I usually like to just chat. And that’s where, after all the other criteria was met, I would make my subjective decision as to who to hire. So in the case of hiring someone to be President, I kind of think of it the same way.
From the start of this election process I looked at the many candidates and who I felt were qualified. Party or gender was irrelevant. I quickly was able to narrow it down to about six individuals on both sides of the aisle. And that was simply a matter of a good resume that best fit the POTUS job requirements. Then I imagined interviewing these people and finding out a little more about them. How effective might they be? Is what they are proposing, good for the country? Watching all the debates, and I only missed one or two, I was able to see some true candidates appear. Unfortunately, the candidate I felt was most qualified at this point in our history, didn’t get the nomination. But that’s all part of the system we have here in America. So now we have candidates who weren’t my first choice. But we do have qualified people who I feel could head the Executive Branch effectively. And I’ve made my choice.
I’m purposely not saying who I’m voting for because I don’t want to turn this into a back and forth battle of he said/she said. I’m writing this because perhaps it’s time for all of us to reevaluate why we’ve decided to vote the way we have. And if you haven’t made the decision yet, imagine you’re running a company and you had to choose one of the people out there as your successor. And don’t necessarily look at the negatives, look at ALL the positive attributes and qualifications and go from there. As I discovered from hiring folks, there were always things about people that could sway me from hiring them. But, there were just as many positive things about them to help me make the decision TO hire them. What do you think? Is it possible to stop posting horribly negative things about the candidates we don’t like and start informing people about the positive qualifications our candidates have to take over as President of the United States?
paulspositivespin 
Jul 18, 2016 @ 20:16:14
While I agree with and appreciate your assertion that looking for positive qualities to proactively support in the candidates is useful, I don’t agree that positive/negative evaluation is an either/or choice. We don’t have to express the negatives in such an emotional manner, or exclusively through insults and exaggeration, but it remains true that both this year’s major party candidates have atypically serious character flaws we would be unwise to ignore.
Mr. Trump’s reputation as a business philosopher rests primarily upon a best-selling book he did not write himself (The Art of the Deal), and his reputation as a successful entrepreneur appears to be highly exaggerated. He seems unable to admit ever making mistakes, as every human must sometimes make, and he hides evidence of his assets that would settle the question of his true wealth and charitable contributions. These ethical detriments do not erase the virtues of his enthusiasm and energy toward building things and employing people, but lying still matters. We need to estimate the man’s quality dispassionately from both the positive AND negative sides of the spectrum.
Mrs. Clinton has a long, estimable record of public service in many capacities. However, just like Trump, she has been known to exaggerate her accomplishments, and lie about her mistakes unless confronted by concrete evidence. It’s virtuous that she does admit her flaws and behavioral mistakes IF confronted by incontrovertible facts, but why must we always back her into a corner before she can admit and apologize for them? It creates a strong impression that she is dishonest as a matter of habit.
I do admire the accomplishments of both major party candidates in their careers. However, I can’t find myself able to consistently admire either of them as people, and I wish to be able to generally look up to those I cast a vote for to become President. Much of a president’s role involves representing the true concerns of US citizens in the world, and publicly before the nation. How can someone who has difficulty representing themselves honestly and transparently do that? I care as much about character as about competence. I may have to cast my vote for a third party candidate this year, to remain ethically consistent.
Jul 20, 2016 @ 19:41:00
Thank you so much for your well thought out response to my post! And although highlighting negatives of an opposing view, or in this case, person has always been a part of debate and forensics I was simply asserting what seems to be an overabundance of negativity this election cycle. But, like you, I too feel character is important. I just wish ALL candidates, and the news media, would spend more time on platforms and issues. Thanks again for your comments!