Trego's Mountain Ear

The difference explains so much of our political and voting decisions. Back in 2016, I had a choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. She had been active and in offices – I knew what she offered. Trump, while a famous face, had no political record. If I evaluated the two and went to describe them mathematically, it was a choice between a negative number and a zero. Somehow, the difference between bad and worse is greater than the difference between good and better.

I’ve spent a lot of my life around government – both government employees and elected officials. Never have I thought “My life would be better if these folks just had more control over me.” The difference between bad and worse.

I have friends who looked at Trump in 2016, and weighed him as worse than Hillary. That doesn’t match my decision – but it is no reason to write them off. Here’s the thing – we have over 330 million people in the United States. Taking out the foreign-born and folks under 35, we still have at least 100 million people who meet the requirements to be President. Since I started voting, here are the choices I have had:

Richard Nixon vs George McGovern

Jimmy Carter vs Gerald Ford

Ronald Reagan vs Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan vs Walter Mondale

Bill Clinton vs George H.W. Bush

Bill Clinton vs Bob Dole

George W Bush vs Al Gore

George W Bush vs John Kerry

Barack Obama vs John McCain

Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney

Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton

Joe Biden vs Donald Trump

Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris

The first President I remember was Dwight Eisenhower. I liked Ike. Still, by 1968 it was a 3-way race – I recall the comment: “Nixon, Humphrey, Wallace. Three strikes and you’re out.” I don’t recall who said it.

By 2020, the two major parties had simplified their presidential campaigns. The Republicans ran Trump and wore red caps. The Democrats pointed out that Joe Biden wasn’t Donald Trump and came up with stories about Trump. I remembered when platforms were an important part of the elections. Then 2024 came along with rinse, lather, repeat. The outcome was different – in 2025, Trump came in prepared. A Trump win in 2020 would have accomplished far less of the MAGA agenda than the win in 2024. I’m convinced that there is more distance between bad and worse than between good and better.