At press time, what most disappoints me about the 2020 Presidential Election is, actually, the electorate. Sure, Joe Biden has so far garnered north of 73 million votes–an all-time record–but more than 69 million have voted, inconceivably, after everything, for the incumbent. An incumbent who, at press time, is dishonoring the process with lies, lawsuits and the insistence that, in some states, the vote count be halted. In some states!
It does not get more un-American than that. I mean, why be upset with foreign meddling when the incumbent is willing to do his own election dirty work? But this is off topic, and has been much made mention of.
My bone to pick is with the electorate. How, after all the lies and scandals, the trashing of norms, an impeachment, nepotism, emoluments, cabinet turmoil and thousands of undignified tweets–each starting with the 2016 campaign and continuing yet today–can more than 69 million benighted souls still have voted for this man?
I thought his mishandling of the pandemic alone, with a death toll surpassing 235,000, would be his undoing.
And now this man, desperate as the mail-in vote in Pennsylvania and Georgia may be swinging the election from him, goes on national television, from the White House briefing room, to maintain only those votes cast in person or received by election night are legitimate. Or, as he phrased it, “legal.” All while we are still in real time here, counting–ironically–the first votes last because an unprecedented 97 million chose to avoid the coronavirus by voting via mail.
So maybe it’ll be his undoing, after all.
One thing is certain. During the actual counting it was unseemly of him to say anything whatsoever. The proper time for him to launch his machinations is after the vote has been tallied. Then, he can demand a recount in every state; then, his team of attorneys can attempt to cast doubt on any amount of ballots.
Still, we wouldn’t be in this pickle if we simply picked our president by the popular vote. There would be no incessant wrangling, no flinging of falsehoods, no vigils in front of the television. The time has come to change–especially, somehow, if the incumbent, having lost by four million votes, again wins the electoral college.
Like four years ago, it would be telling four million Americans they don’t matter a damn.