Regretting

AN HONEST EXAMINATION of American presidential history reveals, perhaps surprisingly, that Hillary Clinton was by far the most qualified presidential candidate in U.S. history, with the possible exception of John Quincy Adams, who was essentially groomed for the job by his president father. Hillary had similar advantages, in terms of preparation. In fact, her preparation, in terms of resume experience, is superior to all other candidates who ever ran for the nation's highest office. Even now I can hear the derisive laughter and dismissive conservative contempt, from people who know little about the American presidency, and have little desire to learn more. A friend and fellow Democrat suggested that Hillary was a poor candidate. If so, only because she was weakened and compromised by decades of smear attacking by the right wing conspiratorial attack machine. the result of all this was that her negatives were a high as her positives; for every supporter she had, she had a hater. After twenty five years of accusations, Hillary remains clean, for now, and probably forever. Those who hate her hater her so desperately that they invent crimes for her to commit, and use their fabrications to justify their hatred, which to a large extent derives from latent misogyny. Had Hillary been elected, it is not difficult to imagine that we would not now be trying to decide whether to remove a president for blackmailing another country, nor would be have at our disposal an enormous litany of lies and deceit, all well documented. The nuclear arms treaty with Iran would be intact, and our relationship with them would be good. We would still be a part of the Paris climate change agreement; leaving it was among Trump's greatest policy follies. With regard to "Ukraine-gate", the position of Trump supporters is no longer that he did nothing wrong, and that he indeed did, but that it was not bad enough to warrant impeachment and removal. Their defense has undergone a considerable evolution, as the evidence against the president becomes proof. Whether or not John Bolton testifies, John Bolton is going to be heard, and if he confirms, as he is expected to, Trump's extortion scheme, we the American people will know, if nothing else, that the Democrats did not fabricate their accusations against him.