Switching Horses Midstream

Even great presidents can fall to events in their administration. Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, depite being the right move to heal the nation, was seen as Nixon getting off, and an economic recession that began in his administration sank him and Jimmy Carter, who also had to deal with nuclear issues and the Iranian Hostage Crisis. George H.W. Bush was criticized for passing new taxes despite his promise not to, overshadowing his achievements. Each of these presidents served only one term.

When Abraham Lincoln ran for president in 1864, his slogan urged voters not to switch out their horse midstream; that is, to change leaders in the midst of a crisis like the Civil War. This worked, but as shown above, has failed to hold true when americans are unhappy. And, unlike the men above, Donald Trump is far from a great president. During his first three years in office, he rode on an economic growth that first began under the Obama administration, an administration in which nearly 15 million jobs were created (in comparison to Trump's 5 million). He has rolled back environmental protections, wasted government money and increased the national debt, and fought against LGBTQIA+ rights and racial justice. This year has been one of conflict not seen since the 1968 election, in which the war in Vietnam and the race riots nationwide led to a shift in power from Democrats to Republicans.

Trump's inept handling of coronavirus has led the the worst economic quarter in the recent past and the deaths of 200,000 Americans, and his response to racial conflict has, unlike something Johnson can be credited for, been to spout lies and conspiracies and brutalize peaceful protestors rather than seek systemic change against injustice. Joe Biden is currently leading in the polls for the simple reason that 2020 has been a horrible year and the 3 years prior were mediocre at best. We can and must switch horses midstream, allow history to repeat itself, and vote Donald Trump out of office.