Ed Holloway: Presidential candidates lack character

As I contemplate the upcoming presidential election, a thought recently struck me. If someone were awakening today from a 20-year coma, and one of the recent presidential debates was their first view of the election, I believe they would wonder what had happened to the country they love. It would make a great Lewis Black routine, except, it is way to serious to laugh about over a drink.

I’m not sure which is more deplorable, the Democratic Party leadership which seems to have lost its morality, or, the Republican Party, which appears to have no leadership at all.

I am hopeful of one potentially positive result from this election. Perhaps it will, finally, encourage us to regain our bravery.

To remember, there is nothing wrong with saying to a candidate, regardless of his or her political juice, “No, you cannot lead our country, the substance of your character does not represent the United States of America.”

We have to take responsibility for supporting candidates of both high character and leadership quality. We now know that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be our next president, something I still find hard to believe. Come on folks, we are better than this.

I believe our next president will be a one-term president, so we have four years to redeem ourselves. Let us not waste the next opportunity.

This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Ed Holloway: Presidential candidates lack character."