Election 2020 – Page 5

Iowa. What We Can Learn.

First of all, thank you Iowans for hosting the first presidential nomination electoral contest. The time you have given to the process is commendable. Making the effort to listen to so many voices is a truly democratic exercise and sets an example for the rest of us.

It would be terrific if the candidates would spend as much time as they spent with you in all other states. Maybe one day it will happen. I certainly hope so.

In the meantime, what else can we learn from your experience?

The results will show your particular preferences. The rest of us will then take your advice and reevaluate all candidates and make fresh choices.

What’s good for Iowa may not be good for another state. But that’s to be expected.

From what I read, Sanders is edging out the rest of the field in your state. Very good. I’m very glad for Mr. Sanders. He is a passionate man with a sense of mission.

However, I do not think Sanders will win the nomination. If he does, then the democrats will lose to Trump, impeachment or no impeachment.

Inequality is a huge problem for the nation. We need to address it forcefully. But Sanders is not the person for the job.

Why? The man is too unbending. Two of his famous remarks come to mind. One is that in his first day in office, he will approve the idea of Medicare for All. With the stroke of a pen, Sanders imagines he can blot out the whole private insurance business. Just like that.

But it is pie in the sky. Sanders sees the pie but doesn’t realize it’s in the sky.

Getting to Medicare for All may well be a worthwhile objective but it will take time. Time to see if government is up to the task of running efficiently a program on that scale. Does the idea work for the English, you say? Great. It works for the French, too? Fantastic. But we’re neither English nor French. We like our ideas to be home baked.

The other famous Sanders remark is that there should be no billionaires in America. Well, that won’t go down well with many of us, either, and not because it dashes our hopes of ever becoming billionaires – most of us have no interest in pursuing such objective – but because the thirst for riches, with all its problems, is a motivator for ambitious men and women in our midst. Have a problem with Jeff Bezos’ riches? His company should be broken up? Maybe it should, so let’s talk about it and weigh the pros and cons. I’m all for more competition. Is Amazon stifling it? Or Apple or Facebook or Microsoft or Google? Let’s discuss it, but please don’t hand me down the pronouncement that there should be no billionaires in America. It seems toxic, as if laced with resentment and venom.

So, back to Iowa. The polling is telling us that Sanders may edge out the competition. Good for you, Iowans. You’re expressing your opinion.

But for some of us, Sanders is not even in the ballpark.

For some of us, choosing Sanders as a democratic presidential candidate, equals paving the path for Trump’s reelection. In a landslide.

Remember Nixon and McGovern?

Take Immigration and the Economy Away from Trump. Now!

There is the possibility, let’s be really clear about it, that Trump might get reelected.

It sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it, but there it is.

A man who lost the popular vote in 2016 by nearly 2.9 million votes has a chance of becoming our president for another 4 years.

Trump took the immigration issue and whipped his supporters into a frenzy. He painted a picture that immigrants where the reason they had not fared better economically. Or socially.

It was the immigrants’ fault. And he would clean house, build a wall, put in restrictions, stir as much hatred as possible so his loyal supporters could march to the polls and put in that ballot for him.

But immigration is not Trump’s issue. It is the nation’s issue. All of us should have a say in the matter.

Immigration has helped us become the strong nation that we are. A nation one hundred times better than Trump (who, while decrying immigrants, has married two immigrant women).

It should be up to all Americans to decide how to handle immigration.

It should not be up to a man who lost the popular vote.

His supporters do not represent the will of this nation.

We do need new legislation on immigration for we must be in control of our borders. But such control should be based on a consensus reached by all Americans.

Which is why I am proposing that we hold a National Referendum on Immigration.

How many immigrants should be allowed in, with what skills, from which countries, for how long a period?

After a set period of discussion on the pros and cons, then all Americans would vote on what to do about it. Then it would go to congress to be made into law.

Our democratic presidential candidates have not taken this matter seriously.

Immigration deserves to be front and center, with a sound plan to address it, otherwise Trump will do the same that he did in 2016 and stir more hatred of immigrants in his supporters.

To check him, a plan is needed. And it is needed now!

On the Economy.

Is it better than under Obama? Yes. This in spite of the dampening effect of the ill advised tariff war with China. But who blocked the needed spending to boost the economy during 2010-2015? Republicans in congress (please see Paul Krugman – The Legacy of Destructive Austerity – NYTimes 12/30 2019). The same Republicans who then, after Trump became president, chose to reverse course and approve such spending.

The duplicity of Republicans has to be exposed. Their blocking of Obama’s economic measures clearly harmed Americans’ economic wellbeing.

Democratic presidential candidates need to be very vocal on these two issues.

The harm caused by Republican policy has been devastating to the nation.

It should be front and center in the presidential political debate.

Finally, a word in support of Common Cause’s effort to Fix The Broken Electoral College by sponsoring a proposal for a ‘National Popular Vote Compact’ which is ‘… an agreement among states to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.’

To donate online please go to commoncause.org/join.

Thanks

Put Immigration Up Front

The nation will not get out of this impasse we’re living in without first putting immigration up front for discussion.

Trump identified it as a source of deep resentment in dissatisfied sections of the electorate and rode it to victory. That resentment is still there.

Democratic candidates do harm to themselves and the nation by not giving immigration a central position on their agendas.

We understand that addressing inequality will need a long conversation with the country and gradual fixes introduced as we are justifiably distrustful of quick ones.

But to give immigration less importance is to allow Trump to whip his fans into a frenzy one more time. We cannot afford it.

So long as immigration is left on the sidelines we will not defeat Trump.

Putting immigration up front will ask everyone to look at themselves and examine where they stand.

Immigration has been a powerful force in our nation. It has helped build us. We would not be who we are today without immigrants.

But we need borders too. We need limits. We need to have a say on who gets in and who doesn’t. Americans need to feel that their input has been acknowledged.

To do that we need a national referendum on immigration. A referendum on just that one issue.

Let us set aside a period of time devoted to discussing its pros and cons. Who do we let in, from what countries, with which skills, from what race?

Put every related issue up for discussion, not being afraid to look at ourselves as we know stand.

After such period then the matter would go to the entire country for a vote and then to congress who, having heard the will of the people, will put their wishes into law.

A time limit should be stipulated for the law, so that it can be revised as its effects play out.

But the nation would have had a chance to agree to something as a unit. We all would then need to abide by the results, whether we like them or not.

Why hasn’t this been discussed?

Because of what’s happened in England with Brexit. Because of it, we’re fearful that we will be painfully divided.

But we are already painfully divided. Furthermore, we are not the English.

The world owes much to that accomplished and scrappy people. In economics, in politics, in science. They were once the dominant nation in the world and yet they failed to adapt to changing circumstances and thus began their slow descent. They’re still in the thick of their downward spiral. Soon the Scots will want out of Great Britain, then the Irish, maybe even the Welsh.

The English will surely make a comeback but they have paid dearly for their mistakes. During their long downslide, they had chances to change strategy to better deal with their vast possessions but they did not. Their failures represented a failure of imagination. Let us learn from them and not make the same mistakes.

A national referendum on immigration will allow us an opportunity to examine in detail all the pros and cons of the matter and make a choice.

We are no stranger to failures of imagination in our history. The decimation of Native Americans, slavery, Jim Crow, Vietnam, and in recent history the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stand as examples.

It will take much courage but confronting immigration will give us a chance to square with our truth, and in so doing let our imagination conceive of solutions that free up our energies to create and move forward, rather than to blame and hate.

This will be my last offering on Medium.com

I will continue to post on WordPress.com at oscarvaldes.net

Here’s to Talking to a Trump Supporter

Eleven months away from the election, there’s still ample time to attempt to persuade the Trump supporter that reelecting the president is not in the best interest of the nation.

So why do I think we should not reelect Trump?

1- The president has not worked to build bridges between Americans.

Take immigration.

Over the years, the nation has benefitted enormously from the influx of immigrants. We have benefitted from the very skilled and the not skilled. Once here, the great majority of immigrants have striven to adapt and become contributing members of society. Whatever their color or shape, they yearn for a chance to make something of themselves that their land of origin has not allowed.

Do we need limits? Of course. Like we need borders.

Do we not want any immigration at all? Then let’s do a national referendum and put the matter to all the citizens of the country. We are a nation. We should decide as a nation. Trump is not doing that. He is not seeking consensus. The fact that he was elected is not equivalent to consensus on the matter. He lost the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes.

Instead of trying for consensus, the president has stirred hatred in Americans against certain groups of immigrants. That is no way of beginning to solve this problem. We have to think on it.

Remember, the unskilled immigrant may be our caretaker or landscaper today, but their children will become our soldiers, doctors and engineers tomorrow.

2- Trump’s economic policies have been counterproductive.

His 2017 tax cut overwhelmingly favored the rich. That has not resulted in a benefit for the rest of us.

The tariff war with China has weakened both our economy and the world’s economy.

The president’s impulsive and volatile style has eroded business confidence making it harder for enterprises to plan ahead.

As a result of our tariffs on the Chinese and their counter tariffs, the president has had to spend billions of dollars in subsidies for our agricultural producers. His tariffs have raised prices for all of us.

Has the stock market been higher under Trump than under Obama?

Yes. But economists agree that the stock market is not the economy. Partly due to Trump’s tax cuts for the rich, we have increased our national debt enormously and there’s a lot of money sloshing around that has inflated asset prices.

Trump inherited from Obama a sound economy that began to yield greater fruits during Trump’s tenure. The president has reaped the benefits.

3- Trump has a tendency to surround himself with people who say ‘yes’ to him. As a result he’s not getting the best advice he needs and the nation deserves. Take for instance Syria. Jim Mattis, a distinguished general who was secretary of defense, resigned last year because he objected to the president’s intention to leave Syria where the battle against ISIS was being fought. We were backing the Kurds who were doing most of the fighting.

In the absence of sound advice, the president chose to pull out our remaining soldiers on the border between Syria and Turkey to let Turkey run over and push back the Kurds. In effect we betrayed our allies. Now the area is under the control of Turkey, Russia, and the forces of the dictator al-Assad in Syria. The likelihood is strong that ISIS will again gather strength and once more become a threat to us.

4- Trump has frayed our bonds with our European allies. America has had strong ties with Europe. We went to their continent to help them fight two world wars. They are going through internal struggles in part connected to immigration, the influx of people from Africa and the Middle East. More than ever there is a need for strong guidance from America but there is none coming from the White House.

5- In his preoccupation with personal attacks and building a border wall, Trump has neglected the much needed investment in infrastructure. He has neglected investment in the education and training that his supporters need to become competitive with stronger labor forces the world over.

6- Because of his coarse behavior, Trump has devalued the highest office of our land. Maintaining the prestige of the office is invaluable in the conduct of national as well as foreign affairs.

There is no example of probity coming from the White House and we are the worse for it.

On international affairs, the president recently invited Mr Erdogan, Turkey’s president, to the White House. ‘I’m a fan,’ Trump boasted. This he said to the same man who run over and trampled the Kurdish population on the border with Syria, the same Kurds who had been our steadfast allies in our fight against ISIS.

7- Trump cannot stand up to Putin. In the presence of clear evidence, as carefully documented in the Mueller report, that Russia did interfere in the elections of 2016, our president has not mustered the nerve to say to Putin that he should never have done it, and will be severely penalized if he should attempt to do so again.

8- In the face of overwhelming scientific evidence Trump chooses to deny the ravaging effects of the burning of fossil fuels and then pulled us out of the Paris Climate Accord, where most of the world had gone to seek consensus. In effect, by his actions, he’s said to the rest of the world, ‘the US is no leader to you. We will do what is best for us in the moment. So there. Deal with it’.

I do not recall ever having a president who so willingly chose to surrender the prestige that our nation has worked so hard to attain.

To defeat Trump in 2020, we have to convince his supporters that they are not seeing things for what they are. And that means talking to them.

The better argument we gather, the more likely that we will get a point or two across.

The strategy is not to expect conversion to our position but to sow doubt, any doubt, in the Trump supporter.

Some of Trump’s supporters may not be willing to listen but some will.

Some may have interesting points of view that we need to consider.

Addressing key points with a spirit of civility is likely to foster dialogue and, perchance, reflection.

I’m posting this on WordPress, at oscarvaldes.net. I would like to invite any of you who wishes to contribute to this list to send me your suggestions. Should I choose to add your suggestion I will do so in the next edition of the blog and credit your contribution at the bottom. Or you may wish to write your own blog and start your own talking plan.

Hoping for the best, please join in.

Thanks

Oscar Valdes

I Immigration /E Economy / S Support staff/ A Alliances/ I Infrastructure / D Decorum in office / P Putin / C Climate

I E S A I D P C

The Debate in Atlanta

It was a good one. The candidates showed voters that the nation has people of substance to choose from and I found it inspiring that they all spoke of the importance of unifying the nation. They were reaching out to all Americans.

No one in particular ran away with it but I think Warren and Biden are beginning to edge out the rest of the group.

Medicare for All will be the crucial issue throughout the race. It will probably sink Sanders since he’s taken the most extreme position, that of pushing the program from day one in office. The issue could end up damaging Warren also, but she’s starting to sound a more gradualist approach so she’ll fare better than the Vermont Senator.

Biden surprised me in that he appears to be growing stronger as the campaign moves on. He stumbled once but held up pretty well overall.

Booker was spirited, as were Klobuchar, Yang, Steyer, Buttigieg, Steyer, Harris and Gabbard.

One of them will end up being the Vice-presidential candidate.

If Warren wins the nomination, she’ll likely not choose Biden as VP but if Biden is the winner, he will pick a woman from the group of Warren, Klobuchar and Harris.

Who will Warren choose as running mate? I think she’ll go with Booker, with Yang and Buttigieg having a chance at it.

The new entries in the race, Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick, have little chance to catch up. They were too late to get going.

The next debate is in Los Angeles in early December.

Warren the Intemperate

She may well win the democratic party’s nomination but it is looking unlikely that she’ll beat Trump.

In the reaction to Trump’s excesses in office, Warren is waving too frantically the banner of government remedies. Gradualism, which allows for the American entrepreneurial spirit to blossom, is being pushed aside.

In the reaction to Trump’s excesses, the democratic party ends up playing Trump’s game. A game that seeks to antagonize and divide.

Trump knows that there is a constituency in the middle that is unlikely to buy into the Medicare for All plan.

He knows that there is a constituency in the middle that is not ready to say that college education should be free.

Trump knows that the same constituency will not tolerate high taxes on the rich.

And he seems confident in the belief that, though that constituency disapproves of his conduct in many ways, when pushed, they would rather go to the polls holding their noses and vote for him, than to risk the radical changes Warren is now offering.

Will the nation be better off if health care delivery is improved and made more inclusive? Yes.

Will we be better off with greater access to college and quality schools? Yes.

Will we be better off with tax reform where the richest pay more than they do now? Absolutely.

But it needs to happen gradually.

Warren needs to have two main plans. One plan to get in, the other to gradually begin to make the changes. But she needs to get in first.

She needs to get in and by showing herself a capable president, then begin to persuade us that some of those fundamental changes must be made.

We need to see her being open to compromise, to dialogue. We need to see her open to accept that while the system needs a lot of fixing, there’s also a lot of good stuff that should not be trimmed. And it takes time, sweat and tears, to do all that maneuvering.

We need to see a politician do the politician’s work of horse trading. Simply because that’s the nature of the business. Lots and lots of horse trading. Until she proves herself capable of reaching for the best in all of us.

Telling us that she has a plan for everything smells too much of government overreach. If she stays on that track, she’ll be playing Trump’s game and will not get in.

Trump has no plan and he’s okay with that. Or, his only plan to get reelected is to defend the status quo, stirring up hatred against the incoming democratic socialists.

Warren the politician needs to step up. Warren the professor and preacher needs to sit down.

It shouldn’t be hard.

Will Impeachment Eclipse the Drive to November 2020?

The impeachment inquiry is taking up a whole lot of time and energy, whereas the outcome is very uncertain.

Trump cannot keep from making mistake after mistake, but for democrats to use up so many resources, to the point of diminishing the drive to persuade enough voters to beat him at the ballot box, is a monumental mistake.

At present, the center stage is Trump’s and he loves it, and that is not lost on the electorate who is not inclined to read the fine print in the multitude of documents to be reviewed. Soon they will be bored with the proceedings.

‘It will turn out to be a positive for me,’ Trump said defiantly in response to the announcement of the inquiry. I suspect he will be right.

Subpoenas will be issued and the many actors will take their seat in front of the panel of interrogators, but the questions and answers will be difficult to follow. I assure you there will be much frustration as the respondents give vague answers like, ‘I don’t recall’ and ‘To the best of my recollection this is all I know…’ etc.

Let us not forget that in Trump’s universe, there are two kinds of lawyers and only two: those who take notes and those who don’t. He picks those who don’t. Enter Rudy Giuliani.

Will the distinguished former New York mayor have a clear memory of what happened in his many meetings in the Ukraine? Of course not. And the interrogators will be pulling out their hair. Will Ukraine be cooperative? It depends. Do they think Trump will win reelection? Judging by the enthusiasm of Mr Zelensky, their president, Trump is faring well in that land.

There is an abundance of facts to make the case that Trump should not be reelected. But the hard work needed to persuade people to vote for a democratic candidate remains to be done.

There is a thirst in the American electorate for a person to lead us whose task is simply that, to lead. Lead us to connect with each other, to decrease inequality and increase opportunity.

There is a great desire in the American electorate for someone without personal problems, someone who can focus on the task of leadership and is not hungry for personal attention.

But it will take time to clarify the winning message that will make voters eager to cast their ballot come November 2020. There are no short cuts to get there.

Trump can and should be beat at the ballot box.

Impeachment should not eclipse the light that can take us there.

The Speech that Biden and Sanders are About to Give.

(It was written by the two and is to be delivered by them at two separate locations at the same time)

Dear fellow Americans,

At no time in our history, have so many talented women chosen to run for the office of president. At no time has there been such great need for our best publicly minded citizens to step forward.

The values that our nation holds dear, freedom, openness, fairness, strength of character, compassion, are under assault by the bigoted and the small minded.

Democracy itself being under siege, it is urgent that we join forces to fight back against those who seek to divide us and plunge us into darkness.

The two of us have a long history in politics. You may disagree with us on some matters, but we both are confident that, in our different capacities and to the best of our abilities, we have always endeavored to do the best we could for the nation.

And so it is that with both sadness and joy, the two of us would like to announce that we are no longer seeking the office of the presidency.

We are saddened because we are putting aside our highest personal ambition, which is not easy.

We are joyful because we think our decision will pave the way for a woman to become president to all Americans.

We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate who will be showered with money by the financiers and business people who want to continue to get the tax cuts and deregulations that favor them.

We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate for whom money will not be an obstacle in this election, because the affluent class of this country sees him as their best hope to maintain inequality and keep them in power .

But the unfairness we are seeing in taxes, in health care, in education, is breaking our backs and degrading the American spirit.

This is the time to stand up against those forces that keep spreading the word that if the very rich cannot keep getting richer, why then there would be no more creativity in the land.

This is the time to rise against those forces that keep telling us that if the very rich are not given unlimited privileges, why then the rest of us would not have it in ourselves to find our way to prosperity and harmony.

They are wrong. Very wrong.

We democrats, strongly believe, that when education and health care are made available to all of us, then that will release the drive and ingenuity that is needed to create a world where there is dignity alongside plenty.

And we believe, that this very special moment in our history, is just the right time for an American woman to step front and rise to the office of the presidency, leading us to unity, greater prosperity and reestablishing our place among the nations of the world.

In 1789, two hundred and thirty years ago, we elected George Washington as our first president.

During those two hundred and thirty years since we elected George Washington, we have never elected a woman president.

Two hundred and thirty years.

My fellow Americans, don’t tell us that in nearly a quarter of a millennium there has not been a highly qualified woman capable of carrying out the duties of president of this nation.

There has not been a woman president in our land because consciously or unconsciously, overtly or covertly, we consistently have thought of ourselves as better than them.

Let us be brave and admit it, for that is the first step toward healing the soul.

Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who was just as talented as you are or more.

Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who did not have ample leadership qualities.

If you haven’t then you haven’t looked. If you haven’t then you have been blind. Talented women are everywhere, they are standing next to us this moment. They are present in every field of endeavor, and they have been vastly underutilized.

It has been our loss. We cannot afford such waste.

Our current president is a symbol of the undervaluing of women. Put aside his many degrading remarks and just look at the composition of his cabinet. Out of 15 positions, only 2 are presently occupied by women. Only 2, the secretaries of education and transportation. Is this not a representative democracy?

Both of us who have crafted this speech have had good political careers. We’re not done yet. But we think that we both have had a good run and that it is time to step aside and let a woman move forward.

We are taking this position, more than a year before the election, because we believe that the electorate needs to get to know the women candidates for president. We are also taking this position partly because of our age, and there’s no turning back the hands of time.

We may have our own preferences as to a woman candidate, but we are not endorsing anyone just now.

We strongly believe, however, that during this next year before the general election, we will need to concentrate our efforts and that the less diluted the field is, the more clear our choice will become, and the less likely it will be that we squander much needed resources.

Fellow Americans, the nation needs to heal.

Our current president is tearing us apart.

We need someone with the capacity to reach out to those whose animosity is consuming them, remind them that in unity lies our strength, and so begin to build the bridges to a fairer, kinder and stronger America.

Let us make 2020, the Year of the American Woman*. By then, it will have been 231 years since we elected our 1^st president.

Thank you

And God bless America.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

*The idea that 2020 be designated the Year of the American Woman, was first proposed on 7/18/2019 by an obscure California writer and blogger who shall remain unnamed.

Dear Joe Biden:You and the Year of the American Woman

You are, today, in a very special position to alter the course of American political life. Your talents have been in evidence during your long career, reaching a high point when they caught the eye of Barack Obama, a good judge of character, who made the excellent choice of picking you as vice president. At a time of historical transition, Obama chose well, you delivered superbly, and the nation felt it could trust democrats to open a new chapter in its history.

Thank you for that.

Surely there were many moments during your tenure as vice president, when Obama sought your advice in complex matters and your wisdom made a difference.

Thank you for being there for all of us.

Personally, I remember one very special instance when you boosted the flagging spirits of all democrats. During the heated campaign for reelection in 2012, after Obama had put in a lackluster performance in the first debate against hard challenging Mitt Romney, you came back with a sterling demonstration of political savvy, debating vigorously and dominating his running mate. It was unforgettable.

Today, as the nation is roiled by the hatred and mismanagement stirred by a short sighted republican president, history has once again put you in a position to have an outsize influence in our national life. Not by you vying for the presidency, but by you helping to shift the attention of America’s electorate to a worthy woman candidate.

I am sure you have thought about this.

Never before, have so many American women been driven by the desire to put themselves in the thick of the nation’s political struggles, to endure whatever comes to those bold enough to make public their political ideas, to those strong enough to bare themselves to public scrutiny.

Never before, have women moved forward so confidently, and say to the nation, ‘we are over half of this land, we have given birth and helped nurture all Americans. We have something to say and we will be heard, for we have the capacity and vision to lead”.

What we are witnessing is unprecedented. It signals that we are ready to move to another stage in our political development, a stage where American women, long neglected and ignored, must play a central role.

It cannot be otherwise. Like Obama was the personification of a powerful force in our midst, so now is the time for an American woman to lead.

History has set the stage.

How? By our having elected, in 2016, a man who is the antithesis of good sense. A man whose instincts are against the environment, against nurturing alliances with steadfast friends, a man who has failed miserably to invest generously in Americans, so we can move confidently into the future.

With that contrast, it should be clear that 2020 ought to be the year of the American Woman.

There are, in the present field of candidates, highly capable women running for president and you, Joe, are in the enviable position of being the force that influences events decisively.

Imagine you saying to the nation that it is time for Americans to elect a woman. The force that your words carry would have a profound effect on the electorate. You would help narrow down the choices so that our energies can be better spent. The allocation of campaign funds would become more efficient, which we need because wealthy Republicans, aiming for preferential tax treatment from our president, will give lavishly to reelect him.

So now is the time, Joe, for you to bow out of the race. Now that you are on top, now that you are leading in the polls. Paradoxically, this is the best of times.

On close scrutiny, you have lost some of your former sharpness. The temptation, of course, is to deny it, to go on and on, to pretend that it is not happening.

The grueling contest for the nomination and later the race to election day will, however, be unforgiving, further exposing some of the apparent deficits. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You have made a place for yourself in our political history. Those of us who appreciate your years of service would prefer not to see you stumble. Those of us who know of your invaluable contributions would prefer not to see you leave the race because your performance has lost its luster and you no longer lead the field.

So this is the time, Joe. Right now.

I do not think that this suggestion of mine will ever come from any of the talented women candidates now vying for the nomination. Their pride wouldn’t allow it. They would rather battle it out with you. And it could be that one of them will defeat you in the contest. But even if you should be the one to capture the nomination and go on to beat Trump, I do not think that you will have the profound impact on our nation that a woman president will.

This is their time, Joe, right now. Their golden moment, and you can help make it happen.

I urge you to consider moving from leading presidential candidate to leading force in helping usher in a new era in American politics and you will shine with lasting light.

You, Joe Biden, gallant knight of a thousand political battles, can make 2020 the Year of the American Woman and help open the next chapter in our political history.

Best

Oscar Valdes

Dear Elizabeth, (3), 2020 is the Year of the American Woman.

For a brief moment I had considered that Trump would make an effort to veer to the center by toning down his divisive rhetoric and appeal to voters outside his ‘base,’ since it alone is unlikely to win him the reelection. Now I think differently.

Trump does not seem able to help himself and will play the racist card as he sees fit. But it will only hasten his undoing.

During his two and a half years in office, he has already incited enough hatred for the country to take the measure of the man. Could voters be so gullible as to take the bait again? They just might.

So let us ask ourselves this question, between a man and a woman, who’s more likely to be duped by Trump?

I think a man.

During his tenure, Trump has been offensive to both men and women, but more so toward women. Thus, I believe women who voted for him in 2016 are unlikely to vote for him again.

With strong women candidates vying for the presidency – accomplished women without the political baggage that accompanied Hillary – women voters will have before them a range of choices they have never had before.

2020 will then be the Year of the American Woman. And it could well become a campaign slogan of yours.

American women must be pursued vigorously, and reminded of how they can, through the power of the vote, have a say in altering the direction of our social and economic policies and thus the fate of the nation.

Either we continue on an isolationist path that seeks to divide and weaken the country, or we embrace a future where women will rise to positions of leadership in all walks of life.

A woman president will immediately, from day one, affect the composition of the cabinet. Immediately, from day one, a woman president will greatly influence the number of female appointees to hundreds of critical posts. And the nation will breathe easier, knowing that with a better male/female balance in the conduct of our affairs, both foreign and national, America stands a much better chance of steering an enlightened course, one that is in our best interest while at the same time remaining respectful of other countries’ concerns.

To remain a nation of the first order, actions like the current trade war are of no benefit. What will make a difference in the long run, will be to foster the creative potential of every American, man or woman, while keeping our minds and hearts open to the world.

Best

Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net

Author of Brother Donald: Letters, and Helsinki.