Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

We can be sure that in the race to pick the next president, if it is between President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, one thing is certain. The nation will have an old man in the White House who will have to contend with an even more dangerous and changing world. One can say that both men are “experienced” in the position of having served as president. Nonetheless, the argument will be how “competent” each man is now that both of them are past the age that most Americans would prefer their president to be. Supporters on both sides of the political spectrum will say that their guy “is the right man”, as it depends to whom one is talking. Somewhere lost in all of the back-and-forth, the facts of what each man has done will be diluted to each other’s advantage. Perhaps more so on the Trump side because the ex-president has so much to lose if the does not win. Speaking of facts, there is no guessing which candidate will be fact-checked more than the other candidate. In between the fact-checking, there will be the talk of an election “being stolen”, “witch hunts”, “being treated unfairly” and “making America great again”. The voters should want to hear what each man was able to accomplish while in office and lay out a vision of what he wants to do more for the benefit of all citizens. However, as we have already seen, sometimes the voters will not go the way of conventional wisdom. Unless Father Time or a serious health issue occurs knocking one or both out of the race, the nation would be once again under a Biden or Trump presidency. While the talk has been about Biden and Trump, the conversation about who the candidates will pick as their running mate is starting to create a little buzz. It would appear that President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have worked well together. Both are experienced, having served as a senator early in their careers. Biden served as vice president to President Barack Obama for eight years, giving him a wealth of knowledge of the inner workings of how the White House operates from a personal perspective. The same can be said about Harris, but the criticism of her has been harsh leaving many among conservative media saying that Harris would be “a disaster” for the nation if she became president. The same is being said about Trump and what would happen to the nation and the world if he regains the presidency, but all one hears from conservative media is that America will be made great again. The burning question that is going around is who Trump would select to be the running mate. Forget Mike Pence, as that bridge was burned a long time ago. Would Trump pick Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis and would they accept? Despite all the talk from Haley trying to hang in there as she gets ready to face her biggest test in the South Carolina primary, she probably would accept. She knows that Trump despite him not talking about his age, is her ticket to be president. DeSantis on the other hand is known in the political world as “damaged goods” after having run one of the worst political campaigns in recent memory. Throw some other names in the pot such as Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Kari Lake from Arizona, Chris Christie(?) or would Trump do the “unthinkable”? Is it even remotely possible that Trump would pick Tim Scott as his running mate? We have already had an “ebony-ivory” in the White House and it is believed that history will be kind to what they accomplished. Scott has already shown his “love” for Trump by actually saying it on stage the night of Trump’s New Hampshire victory. He showed his loyalty to Trump by snubbing his nose at Haley when he openly endorsed Trump in the South Carolina primary which may be do-or-die for Haley. Haley is the one who put Scott “on the map” when she selected him to fill an unexpired S. C. senate seat where he has been since. Trump didn’t seem to care that Scott threw Haley under the bus which should be a reminder in the back of his head that Trump to save himself, has no qualms in throwing Scott under the bus if it will suit him for political gain. Scott has said that he is “not interested” in the position which is kind of ironic since he was supposed to be serious about becoming president when he was campaigning. All of a sudden, vice-president is not good enough. Scott and any others who are asked to be Trump’s running mate should well remember what Mike Pence went through. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.