A hugely important vote is coming up; be prepared

It’s not personal … It’s strictly business.

We should keep in mind the famous quote from “The Godfather” when Al Pacino explained to James Caan that an unpopular but good decision must be made, even if it will be unpopular with family or friends, in a sensible and business-like manner without regard to emotion.

The 2016 presidential election forces voters to make a decision when there is no easy popular or emotional selection for the people. The selection of our next president should put aside personal circumstances, keeping in mind it’s not personal and it’s strictly business.  There’s no more important business than selecting the best candidate to lead our nation and the free world.

The voters who harbor anti-Hillary or anti-Clinton sentiments still need to look hard at the alternative before casting their ballot.

The recent debate between the candidates puts selection of the next president in perspective. PolitiFact analyzed statements made by Donald Trump and determined the majority of his were False or Mostly False while many of hers were True. PolitiFact determined that 70 percent of Trump’s assertions throughout the campaign were “mostly false,” “false” or “pants on fire.” Incredibly, it does not seem to matter that the man who is asking for the trust of the American people cannot tell the truth.

During the debate, Trump denied that he ever supported the war in Iraq and or that he had responsibility for the “birther” movement that claimed that President Obama could not serve as president because he was born in Kenya. “Denying Donald” was wrong.

PolitiFact’s fact-checking characterized Clinton’s claim that Trump’s tax plan would deliver “the biggest tax cuts for the top percent of the people in this country” as True. Trump’s plan would give the top 0.1 percent earners ($3.6 million in annual income) 18 percent of the tax cuts while the bottom 60 percent would get 16.4 percent of the cuts.

Clinton’s claim that Trump’s tax plan “would blow up the debt by over $5 trillion” according to experts was True. According to the Tax Foundation, Trump’s revised tax plan would reduce federal revenue between $4.4 trillion and $5.9 trillion and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said Trump’s plan would add $5.3 trillion to federal debt.

Clinton’s claim that Trump “started his business with $14 million, borrowed from his father” was True. A Wall Street Journal report on a 1985 casino-license application showed Trump owed his father’s businesses approximately $14 million at the time. Trump claimed his father gave him a very small loan of $1 million in 1975 to finance his Grand Hyatt hotel in 1978 but his father made many loans to his son until his death in 1999, including a $70 million construction loan for the Grand Hyatt.

Trump claimed “I did not” say that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese which was Mostly False since he said it in a Tweet four years ago. He repeated, as recently as Jan. 18, 2016, that action on climate change “is done for the benefit of China.”

Trump claimed, “You will learn more about Donald Trump by going down to the Federal Election Commission” instead of looking at the tax returns he refuses to release to the American people. The statement is False. Although the financial disclosure is extensive, it does not have a complete record of how much tax he paid and lacks financial information about his business entities. He refuses to release his income tax records although all other candidates, including Hillary Clinton, have done so.

Trump claimed that the U.S. is losing jobs because of President Obama but the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 10.5 million new private sector jobs created during the Obama administration.

The truth is revealed in the responses given by the candidates during the debate. Donald Trump is an opportunistic capitalist with business success due to his multimillion dollar background. He had multiple bankruptcies and business failures despite every economic advantage. He refuses to reveal to the American people what he earns or what he pays in taxes.

Hillary Clinton graduated Yale Law School and was a professor at the University of Arkansas. She provided pro bono services for children’s law and founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families. As First Lady of Arkansas, she chaired a Rural Health Advisory Committee that delivered medical care to the poorest parts of the state. She served on the board of directors of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women and fought against gender bias.

As the First Lady, she shaped the Children’s Health Insurance Program, helped create the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice and visited 79 countries to further international relations with the United States. She was elected Senator from New York and won reelection. She served as Secretary of State in the Obama administration and still focused attention on women’s rights and human rights. The Mother Teresa Award was bestowed on her for humanitarian efforts.

Trump founded Trump University which failed and he was awarded an indictment for fraud which is pending. Is there really a decision?

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