By my count, it is 80 days to the 2026 election.  My prediction that this one, and the ones following, will prove to be the most dangerous and consequential in American history, and the only antidote will be a well- informed citizenry who votes.  The future is in the hands of we, the people.  As always, we will own the results, good or bad, everywhere, for every position elected.

My personal contribution, for your reflection, is here: Political Campaign 1996 & 1960.  To the reader, page 1 is a column I wrote which was published December 3, 1996; pages 2-6 was the draft of the column Nov 27, 1996, written after the November 3, 1996, Presidential election.  It is strictly my personal opinion about two specific points in time.  I encourage you to read, reflect, comment and act in the 80 or so days remaining to election 2026.

(The 1996 campaign was the first and only time in the TV era where I quit watching political television for several months beginning in the weeks immediately preceding the election.)  The trigger, not mentioned in the column, was one final bald-faced lie recited with a straight face to me and everyone else by Newt Gingrich over CNN.  It was my personal last straw.  No, I don’t remember the specific lie, but it was a whopper, presented convincingly – a con.  Unfortunately, I think it was rather innocuous compared with the stuff we’ll see shortly, everywhere, circulated by huge dark money campaigns, unbridled dishonesty, probably nefarious use of AI (artificial intelligence), misinformation presented and circulated as fact, etc.

The antidote to all of this, of course, is to refuse to buy the too-good or too-bad-to-be-true pitch.  The old caution, Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware. applies.

By now, anyone with even the slightest interest knows the lay of the political land, compared with the real world, wherever you live.  Our collective individual votes make for the outcome November 3.

Wherever you live, Vote.gov is probably as good a place as any to start relating to your own state.

If you qualify to vote, this is your country, and your and following generations future at stake.  VOTE.

POSTNOTE: the last post, Forrest Gump, has several interesting comments related to AI (artificial intelligence).  They start at about mid-post.

For the record, I am not cynical about government – which is essential to any civilized society.  I am careful who I vote for, since my elected representatives are the ones who make the policies that facilitate good or bad outcomes for the public at large.

COMMENTS (see also more below)

from Fred:  Your comments were measured and reasonable. They seem quaint in today’s US political world. I will give the nation a pass for Trump’s first election win, but It beyond reason, in my opinion, that anyone could have foreseen voters giving him a second chance.