I’ve been involved in politics for a long time as a Republican, and have been able to name the winner fairly early, missing my call only a few times over the years. not this year. I think I do know what’s happening and I don’t like it.

We don’t need GOP front-runner Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton in the White House. Trump is a great financier with his billions of dollars, but knows nothing about foreign policy. Interaction with other nations is a necessity for any president.

From my experience, Clinton says only what she thinks most voters want to hear, whether it’s good or bad for our nation, deftly switching back and forth. No way is she going to say something she knows is needed if she thinks most Democrats don’t want it.

On the GOP side, the tea party wing (the “my way or no way” wing) appears to want to hand the White House to Clinton on a silver platter. Effective politics requires working together, “you give me this, I’ll give you that” bargaining and get the parties to stick to it. Ronald Reagan was great at this in his two terms.

There are some things most people know nothing about. For example, under President George W. Bush, the allied nations new Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It was nerve gas, but none was ever found, which is correct. What most people don’t know — nor would those who do know say it — a captured Iraqi brigadier general said the nerve gas was destroyed by the Iraqis themselves, and they surrendered crawling on hands and knees asking forgiveness. That’s an insider telling the truth.

Study what the current candidates have said and promised and select the one you think can serve our country best, then vote for and support that candidate’s campaign. This is a free country and I want to keep it that way, and I hope you do, too.

T.N. “Ted” Oglesby
Gainesville

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