I read in Politico that at a Trump rally in Nevada, the warm up speaker described his fantasy about Hilary Clinton and Huma Abedin driving off a cliff in the manner of Thelma and Louise. The far right seems particularly prone to images of violence in their current rhetoric. The speaker concluded with the remarks, “This is why we were born. This is a 10-day run...Attack, attack, attack. We will never accept defeat. We will never give up.”
What a different story at the Greensboro, North Carolina rally Bill Clinton had for his wife yesterday. My son took his older boy, Jack, to the event. Following the speech, Bill was kind enough to mingle among the crowd and shake hands with a few of his admirers. He gave a really warm smile, approached Jack and shook his hand. He then spent ten or fifteen seconds of his very valuable time talking to the five-year-old. He shook his hand goodby again, and asked my son if he got some good pictures. “Yes, sir.” And Bill gave a thumbs up and walked on to the next lucky supporter.
Donald Trump is big on walls. He wants to jail his opponent. He wants to evict millions of immigrants. He wants to prevent all the Moslems from entering the country. I hear Trump is also phobic about germs, and so doesn’t do much glad handing.
Bill isn’t running for President, of course, but I have been to his wife’s rallies, as well. She and her husband are people cut from the same cloth. The contrast of the warm, problem solving, people friendly candidate and the hostile, divisive, fearful Republican candidate couldn’t be stronger.
Another speech was given in Nevada recently, this one by Hillary Clinton:
“And I promise you this: with your help, I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. For those who vote for me and for those who vote against me. I will be a president for all Americans. Because I truly believe we are stronger together. This is a vision for the future rooted in our values and reflected in a rising generation of young people.” She is the candidate I want Jack to remember as President of the United States.