Nikki Haley for President

First, I want to publicly thank Donald Trump for saving us from nuclear holocaust, as he claimed in one of his depositions which was  recently made public.  Thank you sir!

Also, I would like to thank Barack Obama for also saving us from nuclear holocaust during his 8 years in office, as well as George W Bush, Bill Clinton, George H W Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhauer, and, so far, Joe Biden. All those men served as president of the United States since the development of the nuclear bomb, and, since there was not a nuclear holocaust during any of their terms in office they deserve our thanks. Of course, I don't recall any of those men citing, under oath during a deposition concerning possible criminal activity, this achievement, but they did accomplish it nevertheless.

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After watching the results of the New Hampshire primary this past week, and then parts of Nikki Haley's post election speech, along with a few snippets of Trump's post election victory tantrum, it dawned on me that perhaps Nikki is our best bet for unity in America. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I support President Biden. Despite the constant criticisms leveled at him for the last 3+ years, he has done a remarkable job. Remember, when Biden took office in January 2021, about 500,000 people had already died from Covid, with another half a million still to come. Yet starting in the Spring of 2021, millions of doses of vaccines were rolled out and placed in the arms of those willing to join in the fight to combat the virus. 

Whereas Trump did a great job with Operation Warp Speed to get the vaccines developed, he failed to quell the conspiratorial stories about the danger of the vaccines, thereby contributing to a reluctance among his followers to get vaccinated. Strangely, the numbers show that a disproportionate number of those very same people died, as did those living in the red states where governors also ignored the science. 

But Biden didn't differentiate red from blue states; he made sure that all the states had access to the vaccine, and, as time passed, the mortality rate declined. I have no doubt that history will praise Biden and his team for saving tens of thousands of lives by making those vaccines available.

Then, as a result of the pandemic, there were supply chain issues, amplified by the invasion of Ukraine and the boycott of Russian oil in those countries who condemned that behavior (and subsequent, and continued slaughter of the Ukrainian people). Soon, prices began to rise, and inflation plagued both America and much of the globe. In addition, the pandemic monetary assistance for those most vulnerable to the loss of jobs, flowed freely, adding to an artificial ability for everyday people to pay their bills, buy food, maintain their homes. So, while some of Biden's monetary decisions added to the inflationary pressures related to supply chain problems and the rise of fuel, it also saved millions of people from foreclosure, food insecurity, and the choice between medicine and food.

Now, compared to most western countries, inflation in the United States is lower, unemployment is still under 4%, two of the three market indexes are at all time highs, and 401K balances are up. By almost any metric, America is in as strong a position as any country, and Americans, while certainly stressed from the shock of inflation rates not seen since Carter and Reagan, are also starting to gain purchasing power due to increases in wages.

Frankly, if Trump were president today, he would be crowing about how he saved us all, would be bragging about those same facts listed above, and Fox News would be full of positive stories about America's great comeback from Covid, instead of their relentless attacks on Biden. 

So, why title this Nikki Haley for President?  

While it is clear that Trump has a stranglehold on the GOP voter, Nikki's strength in New Hampshire was among first time voters, those  registered as independent, and the few remaining Republicans who believe that Trump's bullying, his constant skirting of the law, his lack of respect for the American electorate, not to mention the felony charges he is facing, make him unfit to lead.

Nikki is certainly going to lose big in her home state of South Carolina, but there are many other states with constituencies similar to New Hampshire. Trump can and will win the GOP nomination, but the demographics of America are more like New Hampshire than Iowa and South Carolina. It is the soccer moms of the suburbs, young voters who are leery of two old men as their choice for the next president, and the over 45% of Republicans who did not vote for Trump in Iowa or New Hampshire, who, may or may not support him in November, but have certainly indicated by their votes that they are OK with moving on from him as well.    

But, and this is a gigantic possibly pie-in-the-sky but, Nikki would need to soften her position on abortion to at least support states being able to decide themselves, but certainly no national ban, would have to emphasize her plans to strengthen the border without pushing to deport the 11 million undocumented people already in America, and, the biggest of all, have Donald Trump withdraw from the nomination and endorse her.

Now, I know what you are thinking, did you recently hit your head Joe? Donald Trump will never abdicate (I use that word purposefully) his eventual nomination. He loves himself far more than his party or his country. He is not a quitter. I am sure there are many other arguments that can be made for him to not withdraw from the race, although the recent one I heard uttered by one of his supporters in New Hampshire, that he was divinely sent to save us, I discount as one which only those fully down the rabbit hole of his cult would posit.

Still, I think only Nikki can unite America at this point. Trump will never be seen as anything more than a dictator wanna be to 52% of the people (perhaps more if he is convicted of any of the felony indictments he is facing, and likely even more when, after losing his ludicrous request for total immunity, he launches into another one of his ALL CAPS tirades about the courts and how they need to be dissolved). Biden had no choice but to call out the MAGA crowd who believe that the 2020 election was stolen, and who are OK with storming the Capitol and killing elected officials to prevent the transfer of power to Biden. 

Nikki, on the other hand, has the ability to walk that fine line between side stepping the truly crazy aspects of the MAGA movement while still talking about making America great again. By adopting and co-opting the beliefs that drive people towards Trump she can seem palatable to them (as compared to Biden) while also appealing to the independents and center left democrats that are unhappy with how inflation has hurt their finances (even though, as I said, it was a global event, and ultimately handled much better in America than most places), and are alarmed about the influx of immigrants, not because they see them as a threat or consider it an invasion, but because our system is not designed to handle such a large influx. In other words, we need to control it better, both for our benefit as Americans, and for those who risk their lives to come here outside the legitimate pathways. 

Clearly, I won't be betting my house, or even next week's garbage, on this scenario to happen. Sadly, I believe that even if convicted, Trump will still be the nominee, which will drive his people to be even more loyal while spurring even more independents to vote for Biden.

In essence, Nikki is the only hope the GOP has of winning back the White House, yet their blind loyalty to and, let's be honest, fear of Trump, is stronger than their desire to win in November, and ultimately, stronger than their desire to address our nation's problems.

In a past post, I asked Donald Trump to resign the presidency rather than allow our country's divisions to multiply. He ignored me at that time. 

But, rather than being deterred, I ask him again. Mr Trump, be the great man who you wish to be. Do what's best for America, as you claim you desire. 

Withdraw from the presidential race, throw your full support behind Nikki Haley, help her win the White House, and then accept her pardon with grace. 

Just think of the legacy that will create!