False Dichotomy

Sloppy thinkers opine that the 2024 election between Biden and Trump is a choice between the lesser of two evils. They may dislike either candidate for a variety of reasons, but to say they are both evil is a false dichotomy. Biden is a decent human being who sincerely wants to do the right thing and has done many right things as well as some wrong things (hello Anita Hill). The problem for him, and all of us, is knowing what is the right thing. Not always easy to say, and sometimes those who say it loudest say it wrongest. Many people say many things about Trump, but no one ever accused him of being a decent human being. Those inclined to defend his decency and desire to do the right think have to get over—or around, or under—some high hurdles, such as his bragging that he can grab women by the pussy and get away with it because he’s rich and powerful; and his subsequent conviction for doing just that. Or taking young children from their parents and putting them in cages to discourage others from immigrating. These are not indicators of decency.

Biden has expressed remorse for the way he handled the Anita Hill hearings, and his many appointments of women of color (Deb Haaland is my favorite) indicate that he has learned and grown to a certain extent. Trump makes a point of never expressing remorse, perhaps indicating that he is incapable of learning and growing, and his female appointees tend to have long blonde hair.

Some of Biden’s admirers might say and even believe that he is an honorable man. Trump’s admirers might say that he is an honorable man, but would they believe it? Again, there are high hurdles to overcome. Slandering a woman whose pussy he grabbed or lack of remorse for putting young children in cages are higher hurdles than his border wall, which, by the way, Mexico did not pay for as promised, that is, as Trump promised; Mexico only laughed. Trump’s defenders—admittedly they are many—might argue that many thousands of citizens prove their belief that Trump is an honorable man by sending small donations to his presidential or get out of jail campaigns. Do suckers buy snake oil because they believe the grifter who peddles it is an honorable man? Or because they are desperate for a cure? Or because the peddler has charisma, a quality Trump has, according to about a third of the population, while Biden lacks charisma, according to just about everybody.

Clear thinkers, then, will see the choice in the election as between a decent man with no charisma and an indecent man with charisma. Is charisma a positive characteristic in an indecent person? Look at 1930’s Italy and Germany.

Trump’s recent conviction on 34 counts in New York is due to another characteristic of this indecent man: He’s a cheapskate. Had billionaire Trump paid the porn star with some chump change he must have lying around his many mansions there would have been no crime, no charges, no conviction. But no, he’s a cheapskate and illegally wrote it off as a business expense. Now he’s a cheapskate felon.