Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 8
By Claude Salhani- Trend:
The 2016 US presidential election season will go down as one of the dirtiest and most aggressive campaign in the history of the United States. For the past 18 months the candidates spent more time, effort and money to portray their opponent negatively than they did in addressing the real issues facing the nation.
Vital issues that directly concern the American people such as creating more jobs, boosting the economy and safeguarding the nation against the growing threats of international terrorism were relegated to the back- burners of political debates where instead the two candidates focused on the personality of their rival.
So trivial were some of Trump’s remarks that some journalists compared him to a fourth grade school boy who whenever he fails to get his way throws a temper tantrum. Campaigning for the presidency in the US is a long and expensive process where the opponents leave no stone unturned as they try to dig up whatever dirt they can find to discredit their adversaries and to influence the voters accordingly.
The object of the campaign is to convince the voters which candidate is better suited to steward the nation for the next four years as the candidates crisscross the country aboard their private jet airplane or aboard specially designed busses. Watching all this unfold on live television gives the country an idea which candidate is better suited to handle domestic and international issues.
Judging by the performance of both candidates during the last 18 months it is pretty clear Clinton remains heading shoulders above her opponent in terms of competency, experience, tact and practically every other domain the president needs to deal with’
Despite all the lies and accusations of sexual harassment, Tax fraud etc. etc. that surrounded Trump’s candidacy, the country is so closely divided amongst Democrats and Republicans is still not clear who is likely to be the next president of United States.
These long months have shown outreach candidate likely react under pressure in the face of serious domestic or international crises.
On the one hand is Hillary Clinton, someone with a proven track record as a politician and as the country’s top diplomat. Since her early college days in Chicago Hillary delved into politics at one level or another.
She started out in local politics and married Bill Clinton who later became governor of Arkansas and then president of the United States. Now she hopes to become the first woman to be elected president and she would also be the first wife of a former president to become elected to the highest office.
During the televised debates Hillary remained calm and in control of her emotions, never losing her temper. Rather she tried to discover things that irked her opponent and acted upon them. It was a good reflection of how she would perform, if elected, on the International political scene, in dealing with foreign and domestic problems, in both friendly and unfriendly countries.
On the other hand is Donald Trump, someone with absolutely no experience in politics and an outsider to the traditional Washington circle. Indeed, it is partially on that note that Mr. Trump, or as President Barack Obama calls him, “the Donald,” is basing his presidential campaign.
Donald Trump lacks political experience but compensates through is huge ego, larger than the Trump Towers he owns.
Other than to say that he can fix everything Trump has yet to review or outline how he would go about fixing the economy. He promises to double every American’s income but does not say how he would do it.
He frightens many Americans who see many similarities between his rhetoric and similar speeches made previous dictators in the 1930s 1940s in Europe.
Trump Does not support criticism and has asked his followers to beat-up those who disagree with him at his rallies
On the moral front he has lied about this businesses, has avoided paying taxes, end he has been reported to have behaved in ungentlemanly ways towards women. There are number of cases of sexual abuse filed against him.
As a former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is well aware of international issues such as the Palestinian issue, the war in Syria the continuing situation in Iraq. She’s certainly better versed in the issues surrounding the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the problems with Armenia versus Azerbaijan, Russia and so forth.
Trump said he would build a wall to separate Mexico from the United States. He promised to deport millions of illegal immigrants for which he will create a special police force.
There is little doubt that a Trump presidency would alienate the United States to much of the world.
Claude Salhani: journalist, author, political analyst and TV and radio commentator is one of the most knowledgeable voices on the Arab-Israeli issues, the Greater Middle East, Central Asia, terrorism, and political Islam.