CARLTON FLETCHER: A dream world with no Trump, no Biden

I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes, And just for that one moment I could be you. Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes; You’d know what a drag it is to see you.

— Bob Dylan

I know the suggestion is going to be ignored, but still, it needs saying.

Poll after poll that has been conducted since about 2022 show that the overwhelming majority of American citizens — around 70%, and these are people of all stripes, people who label themselves Independent, Democratic, Republican — do not want Donald Trump and Joe Biden to be the choice when it comes to the 2024 presidential election.

Yet, here we are, a few months away from Election Day, and it’s a foregone conclusion that these two bumbling and mumbling geezers are going to be our choices.

As the realization moves toward reality, I can’t help but ask myself … why?

Why are we the people, the supposed “bosses” of these, as Don Henley said, “tired old men that we elected king,” and the ones who choose our elected officials with our votes, content to throw up our hands and say, “Oh, well, I guess I’ll vote for the lesser of two evils … again?”

Yes, the primaries are approaching, and those of us who stand the party line will dutifully vote “D” or “R,” or we’ll hold our noses and vote for our personal lesser-evil candidate. But what if we decided to do what we know is right — what we feel deeply in our hearts — and demand that our party put someone else up for the important office?

Let’s be honest: Neither Trump nor Biden is capable of holding the office they’ll seek. Each has proved it. Yet we’ll put one or the other in office at a crucial time in this country’s history.

Biden appears to be a decent enough man, but there’s no question that he just doesn’t have the capacity to govern that the position requires. Trump is a trainwreck of a human being, a contemptuous person who puts personal interest above every other single human being in the country. He not only has no real grasp on the issues facing the country, he is willing to risk America’s interests and laws to suit his own purposes. (It also might be noted here that he will spend much of the next couple of years doing court time, facing 91 criminal charges … not that that matters, of course.)

And this is our choice.

I know it’s a pipe dream, but I have a dream that Americans are going to wake up — en masse … look, I know that’s about as likely as Marjorie Greene having a logical thought, but this is my pipe dream — look around at what lies ahead and decide that they’re going with neither of the above on Election Day. In my dream, both candidates are so humbled by the rejection of the American populace, they slink away to their respective compounds and live out their days in seclusion, where they can hurt no one else ever again.

American history is littered with people like Trump and Biden, some of them decent folks who were led astray by the big bucks and big responsibilities of the White House. But there have been, along the way, decent people who sought the presidency for the right reasons and stepped aside with certain amounts of dignity when it became apparent they were not fit for the position.

To expect such selfless action from Biden or, especially, Trump, would be the height of foolishness.

Here’s the thing about that: When people run for the presidency — even blowhards like Trump — they say they want to do what is best for America. That unique opportunity is available to both candidates right now. They could leave a lasting impact on the future of this country by taking one simple action: bowing out of the race and allowing the next generation of leaders the opportunity to try and turn this ship of state around.