For one last time during this sorry campaign, I must comment on the contestants for president of the United States. Their debate last Wednesday confirmed my opinion, shared many times in my columns over the past 12 months, that neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump should be president.
I won’t rehash the debate, because professional pundits have thoroughly discussed the debate already. The scoring of debates reminds me of boxing matches when, unless there is a knockout, the final point score is always a surprise. The professionals have the advantage of staffs of people taking notes contemporaneously to make the pundits appear smart on camera. I have the liability of a 70-year-old memory prone to lapses. So instead of analyzing the debate point-by-point, I will give my overall impressions.
My impression of Donald Trump is that of an amateur who has just turned professional. He has the energy of youth, but he is prone to major mistakes. Hillary Clinton has lived her life in the political ring and it shows. She knows from long experience which blows to meet and which blows to dodge. All she had to do was avoid a knockout and she wins. Trump didn’t knock her out so she won the debate.
The prospect of Hillary Clinton wearing her iconic pantsuit in the White House seems less bizarre than the sight of Donald Trump’s first lady wearing her lingerie in a photo shoot from her modeling career. There is nothing wrong with pantsuits or sexy lingerie, but one seems a bit more dignified than the other for occupants of the White House. People who accuse me of never writing anything positive about Hillary Clinton should take note of the following: every day she looks more and more like Mamie Eisenhower. I apologize for this irreverent and mostly irrelevant paragraph. A little humor seemed needed at this point in the worst political campaign in my memory.
My first political memory comes from the 1956 campaign between the incumbent, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Adlai Stevenson. Both men were substantial and dignified. Neither claimed any corruption on the part of the other. No one brought up the sexual past of either candidate or the candidate’s spouse. I’ve often wondered what a person from the 1950s would think of us and our politics today. I understand that my perspective is different from the perspective of women and most minorities. Point taken. I wish, however, that we could be more high-minded than we are today.
For whom will I vote? That question probably is not bothering most people in this area, but it does bother me. I will not vote for Hillary Clinton, a congenital liar. I will not vote for Donald Trump, who reminds me of Benito Mussolini. Both these flawed people are out of the question for president. After all these months, I will write in the name, Paul Ryan, for one simple reason. That simple reason is that no matter who wins, our country will suffer. I won’t accept any responsibility for inflicting either person on America. In 20 years, if I’m still alive, I don’t want the shame of admitting that I voted for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Now, more than at any other time, I fear for my country.

Michael Waldron is a retired lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army, who was born and raised in Niles. He previously served on the Niles Community School Board of Education. He can be reached at ml.waldron@sbcglobal.net.