Did you vote for H. Ross Perot in 1992? #POTUS #Election2016

Election 2016

I'm guilty. I voted for Perot. I've regretted that decision ever since. If I and others who voted for Perot hadn't we might not have ever suffered through the embarrassment of the Bill Clinton Administration and the threat of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Imagine that. Now that we are faced with two unqualified candidates for President, I am once again tempted to cast my ballot for the third party choice, Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party. Dare I?

The election of '92 was a crazy affair. George H. W. Bush should have won. Few imagined that he wouldn't. Teddy Kennedy didn't believe he could be beaten. That's why Kennedy refrained from throwing his hat into the ring. He was going to wait for the end of Bush's second term when he'd have a chance of winning. Yes, Bush was that popular. His coalition of nations had not only chased Saddam Hussein and his minions scurrying back into Iraq, but also reminded the world of America's supremacy. The Pax Americana established by this nation's ascendancy over the evil empire of the Soviet Union was reaffirmed. No other President had such high approval ratings at the end of his first term.

But George H. W. Bush was vulnerable. Although a war hero, he was patrician, the product of America's intellectual elite. Although he had been Ronald Reagan's Vice President, the Reagan Republicans and the Reagan Democrats, as well as the Reagan Independents, never forgot the contentious primaries during which Bush had besmirched their hero. That he had belittled Reagan's “Voodoo Economics”.

Thus, when H. Ross Perot strode onto the arena like a bandy rooster, the Reaganites fell in love with him and voted for him. Sadly, they split the Republican vote allowing Bill Clinton to win, and Teddy Kennedy would have to wait eight more years, an eternity for an ambitious politician.

Who the hell was Clinton people asked? He was the fool from Arkansas who thought he could knock the popular President off his perch.

Well, here we are again. Do I vote for anyone but Hillary or do I vote for the dark horse, Gary Johnson. What other choice have I? Trump.

As Hillary might read from the teleprompter, “Sigh”.

Gary Johnson is a member of the “whack-a-doodle” party, the Libertarians. Have you seen the photos from their convention? Probably not. Few pay attention to them. However, to be fair, Gary Johnson is no “whack-a-doodle”. He's a serious candidate. As former governor of New Mexico he had succeeded in politics as no other Libertarian has. That counts for something, doesn't it?

The Libertarian platform is largely defensible. They take some issues to extremes, but are generally consistent in their defense of basic American values of liberty and constitutional rights. I see not such policies in either the Democratic or Republican parties.

So there you have it. Do I vote for Johnson and risk throwing away my ballot as I did with Perot. If enough of us waste ours, Hillary is sure to win. I can well imagine Republican and Independent voters casting their ballots for the Libertarian. I cannot imagine any circumstance under which a Democrat of progressive Leftist would. Can you?