Comparing the apparent Republican presidential nominee to certain 1930s demagogues may or may not have merit.
A look at the 1964 race here, pitting Barry Goldwater against Lyndon Johnson, may provide a more topical insight. Goldwater lacked significant support from his own party. Many of his ultra-conservative political positions were deeply unpopular in the country.
He often strayed from script, providing the opposition with useful and effective attack ad material. Sound familiar?
Though a different era than the sixties, with different political demographics and priorities, there are notable comparisons. Civil rights (and gay rights today), world unrest (Far East then, Middle East now) and U.S.-Russian relations, were and are some of the challenges to the country.
Johnson won 486 electoral votes to Goldwater’s 52. He won 44 states to Goldwater’s six.
The popular vote was 43 million to 27 million. I have little expectation that Hillary Clinton will reach those numbers. One can hope, however, that reasonable people will select the candidate with the most experience and best qualifications to manage the issues of the day.
Sound bites and insulting personal attacks do not address these issues. Experience, perseverance and courage are necessary and available from only one candidate and it’s certainly not Sir Tweets-a-Lot.
Stephen Lentner
Florence