Comparing the Character of the Presidential Candidates

Character matters in a president, or in any public official for that matter. At least as much as matters of basic policy—a person can be wrong on the issues, but if they are of sound character they can be trusted to do the right thing and put the country and its citizens before themselves.

Republicans during Bill Clinton’s Presidency noted—correctly—that his numerous scandals and appalling personal conduct demeaned the office of the Presidency, and moreover tarnished the nation’s trust in him to place the interests of the United States above and beyond all other interests. That trust is essential for the president, or any other holder of high office, to govern effectively.

Many Republicans today seem to have forgotten their own charges of two decades ago, and have turned a blind eye—and in some cases actively defending—the numerous moral failings and character flaws of their own nominee. They were correct in 1998, and the same holds true today.

Many, including the Republican nominee, level similar attacks on the character of the Democratic opponent—and many of these, too, are justified. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have scammed, lied, and cheated their way through decades in the public eye, with scandals so numerous and well-documented it would be both redundant and futile to list them again here.

Character matters, which is why both nominees are so eager to avoid concrete policy debates in favor of more personal attacks. And both are largely correct. Such charges are far from unprecedented in American political tradition, stretching back to the time of the Founding, and Americans have a right to trust their Commander in Chief to place country ahead of personal ambition.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have both consistently demonstrated that they cannot be trusted to do this simple task—whether through defrauding thousands with Trump University, denying security requests for U.S. consulates in order to perpetuate an electoral narrative, or any of the other dozens of possible examples. We need to remember that we have the freedom to not vote for either of the two ethically-challenged candidates in the race, and instead choose someone we can actually trust to do the right thing.