Running Against Biden and Trump

THERE'S A CONSERVATIVE, Doug Burgum,running for president who, on a lengthy TV commercial, repeatedly referred to himself as a "conservative", but not a "Republican", a word he never mentioned.That in itself elevated him somewhat higher in my esteem, but still far from high. Perhaps ultimately there will be formed a new politial party, a "conservative" party, dedicated to returning to the traditional base conservative agenda of Ronald Reagan, in contrast to the the unrecognizable extremist monstrosity the Republican party of Trump has become. Burgum's message is simple and straightforeard; President Joe Biden has done everything diametrically wrong. He specifically mentions the economy, energy, and national security as areas in which Biden is deficient but he means everything, Biden has done everything wrong, by one hundred and eighty degrees. His message on the TV ad failed to articulate any alternatives to Biden's policies, which is typical of Biden's Republican critics.They offer criticism and condmnation, but no alternatives. And indeed, Biden can present strong arguments in favor of his policies on all fronts. If indeed Burgum is a third party candidate, running against both the Demorats and Republicans, he may stay in the race until the very end and may take more votes away from Trump than Biden, assuming that Trump is indeed the Republican nominee, which, incredible though that seems, seems quite likely. The economy under Biden, and partly because of Biden, is doing quite well. The only fly in the ointment is the price of gas, which Biden haters keep harping on. They fail to mention that gas prices are determined by the global market, not the American president. Anybody running against Biden, Burgum, Trump, or whomever, will have to offer more than mere anti-Biden criticisms and complaints. Against criticisms of his administration, Biden and his team will be able to counter with a solid fact base record of tangible achievements as a rebuttal. A Trump versus Biden rematch will have some fascinationg components. What exactly can and will Trump and his supporters be able to say in support of Trump's return to the White House without sounding absurd? That Trump deserves your vote, because even though he won the election in 2020, it was stolen from him, and justice demands that he be given the opportunity of completing his unfairly interrupted administration? That by voting for Trump your vote will be guaranteed to count, one way or another; either Trump will be elected fair and square, or, in the event that he loses, he will once again assemble a violent mob to overthrow the government, which this time will succeed, due to strategy and techniques improved through learning the lessons of the first failure? All Trump can so is attack Biden, which will be difficult, and tout his own record and ability to do better, like politicians running against incumbants always do. This for Trump will become very tedious, and wil lsound strange, conidering the criminal behavior in which Trump indulged during his term in office. In response, Biden and his helpers will...what? Point to the ninety one felony charges hanging over Trump's head, and ask, rhetorically, how in the world Trump could possibly govern effectively from federal prison? Do we,the American people, really want to elect a person who has engaged in election tampering, voter fraud, incitement to insurrection, and dozens of other crimes? Biden, unless he becomes diisabled through cognitive decline, will quite naturally and inevitably use these facts a weapons against Trump, and, in a saner, more sensible America, they would work like charms. The problem for Biden, and for us all, is that, as has become painfully obvious, we do not now live in a sane, sensible America, assuming that we ever have.