Taken Aback at Vicious Presidential Campaign

My focus in this article is the campaign within the Republican Party for the presidential nomination in 2016.  I am a Democrat and, frankly, can't see myself voting for any of the GOP candidates.  That's not to say that I am happy with the Democratic choices given me, either.  I can think of several experienced and capable people who would be better than dynastic Hillary or socialist Bernie...but I have to play with the cards I've been dealt...the best simply chose not to run this year.  And seeing what's been going on in the "other" party, I don't blame any of them for staying out...

Donald Trump, with his almost constant insults and childish behavior, has set the vicious tone for the Republican presidential campaign when poll after poll showed that a plurality of this party's voting base identified with Trump's nastiness.  The meaner he spoke, the more popular he got.  Finally, other candidates, realizing what it took to appeal to this rabble, began to return the Donald's insults as well as starting off against each other.  But Trump continued to lead the field of candidates into the primary season and clearly has a large plurality of the delegates so far.  Yesterday Mitt Romney, someone for whom I feel absolutely no warmth or sympathy, decided to give a speech denouncing Trump, point by point.  Romney wants the voters in the different remaining states with primaries or caucuses to pick whichever candidate has the strongest chance to beat Trump in each state, the ultimate goal being to go to the national convention with no one having a majority of delegates that would seal their nomination.  Then, the "insiders" (including presumably Romney himself) could broker the convention to select a more controllable establishment nominee (including presumably Romney himself). What a joke this all is: if Trump does end up getting the Republican nomination, all the Democrats will need to do is just keeping replaying Romney's speech in their ads...

Donald Trump is who he is, a known quantity for many years, and I can't blame him for his tactics...especially when he seems to get a boost in the polls whenever he speaks in insulting and/or vulgar terms against other candidates, the media, demographic groups, or anyone who criticizes him (which in Trump's narcissistic worldview equates to treating him unfairly).  I agree with Romney, though, that Trump is too emotionally unstable to be trusted with our nuclear arsenal and at least for that reason alone should be rejected for president.  The fact that he also wants to squelch opposition by making it easier to sue anyone who criticizes him, though, is insane...especially considering that Trump should be the defendant in any such lawsuits, not the reverse...

I don't like Trump for his instability and demeanor.  But I also don't like teabaggers like Ted Cruz for their rigid ideology and refusal to work with others for the greater good.  And I really, really dislike the Republican establishment that has done everything it could to stonewall everything President Obama has tried to do... for example, more than 500 Senate filibusters in the past seven years, many against legislation and nominations of which the Republicans approved but decided to oppose, for no other reason than to go against my duly-elected President.  I have my own concerns with the Democrats as well (especially on the far left), but I feel that they are currently the party of reason and pragmatism, while the Republicans can do nothing but obstruct and insult...

This all having been said, I recognize that each of us has to reason out this political process for ourselves and that it is O.K. to arrive at differing conclusions.  Which candidate will make the best president? I say vote for whichever party or candidate that you think will do the best job...I don't claim to have a lock on the "correct" answer to that question, I just have my own opinions on the subject...