After six months of snakes and snails, alligators and mosquitoes, bugs and bats, lizards and the like, I have returned from my annual sabbatical in South Carolina. It is good to be home. But what turmoil our country is experiencing right now!
As my regular readers (both of them) know, I was not happy with the picks for the next president put forward by the two primary parties and a third party. I am still not happy that our current president was betrayed by his former colleagues, which fortunately was not the literal ejection from the leadership that Julius Caesar experienced. The effect was the same.
In any case, I have concluded that I am the best person to run for President of the United States in the 2028 election. Unfortunately, no one agrees with me. Even my beloved wife of some 40 years (MLWOS40yrs) has withheld her support. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle recently had a similar experience. After the debacle of the attempted assassination of our former President, she testified before Congress that she was the best person to lead the service going forward. They didn’t buy it, and so ends a promising career. I feel bad for Kim and Joe, but being in the public eye can be brutal, as I can attest, having written this column on and off for a quarter century.
If things stand as they are now, I will vote for Donald J. Trump in November. I say this with some reluctance. I watched the last day of the Republican National Convention. Many speakers expressed their belief that God redirected the bullet that shattered his ear to save the former president and restore America to greatness. I have a hard time with that. It is possible that the Lord saved Donald because he was a Presbyterian. My father told me from a young age that the world is divided into two groups: Presbyterians and others. I have been a practicing Presbyterian all my life and have felt the protective presence of the Almighty many times. So it is possible.
Anyway, I liked some of President Trump’s statements, but I’m not sure he can keep his promises. Creating lasting peace in the world would be quite an accomplishment, but I’m not sure anyone can do it. He said he would make sure there was little crime in inner cities. That’s a tall order, too. I didn’t like his plan to impose tariffs on auto imports. While that’s good for automakers, tariffs are always paid for by consumers. I’m more of a free trade advocate. And controlling inflation is going to be difficult while you have tariffs.
However, I like his aforementioned determination to make America great again. While I still think America is great now, one of my old bosses used to say, “Even a Ferrari needs maintenance from time to time.” While I agree that the southern border needs to be closed, I’m not sure we should send everyone living here illegally home. Can’t we keep the good ones and send the bad ones away? So Donald Trump may not be an ideal candidate, but imagining the current vice president as our new leader gives me goosebumps.
So let’s hope for the best and look forward to 2028. I’m in. I’ll be the same age as President Biden is now, so age won’t be an issue. But I’ll forego the “protection” of the Secret Service. You know I’m right.
Don R. Haven is a retired Marine officer and retired high school teacher who divides his time between Granville and South Carolina. He can be reached at 740-504-8793 and [email protected].
