Election Near

     It has been difficult to avoid this cycle's election clamor.  Never has the country had such a choice: either a bombastic neophyte cretin(no offense to cretins) or a seasoned politician with an established record of experience, not the least as an insider for many years while her husband occupied the White House.
     Mrs. Clinton turner 69 yesterday while on the campaign trail.  mr. Trump turned 70 last June, making this pair 2 of the oldest contenders in American history.    Both have lots of baggage, one more than the other: tax returns, Wall St. speeches; the Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, Trump's bankruptcies, Mr. Trump's 3 marriages, Mr. Trump's sexual appetites and boorish behaviors(if not outright criminal); the debate faux pas's,  Mr. Clinton's participation; Chelsea Clinton's role at the Foundation, and on and on and on.    Polls now award Mrs. Clinton the Presidency, with Mr. Trump an also ran.   Congress is another story-it's in play as Republican leaders scramble  to salvage something from this unprecedented shift of voter interest.  Populism: is it really a dirty word?
      Pundits like to throw the term around: a play to voter angst; a play to voter fears; a play to voter needs/desires; a crude take on the uneducated masses.  But, it really is only a word, favored by writers as a threat against democracy as readers look south to Latin American politics for a first hand look at the results of "real" populism: Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador.
     Here in the US, populism is not much more than the voices of interest groups, those that get heard most often: labor organizations/unions; religious blocs; minority groups/blocs; and business blocs-chambers/lobbyists; and our lovable billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to name 2.
     If you're registered to vote(deadline has passed), you are ready to participate.   Plan ahead-don't let the weather affect your vote.  It is especially important in California with so many propositions on the ballot.  We'll look at some of them.