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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

A Gift Rejected

AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS PIECE APPEARS IN THE RECORD ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

They are released from the constraints that bind those schooled in political speak. But candidates Trump, Carson and Fiorina have taken those freedoms as license to talk not of lofty goals and ideals but of hatreds and vilifications.

Trump finds villains at every turn and condescension in every phrase, Carson  has condemned everyone from the President to all Muslims in terms that demonstrate the depth of his prejudices and misconceptions, and Fiorina grossly misrepresents the truth of her personal achievements and her political understanding to try to amplify her knowledge and gravitas.

They have been given a gift these three, the opportunity to rid us of the conventions that stifle and smother our political discourse. But they have not taken advantage of their unique position and have delivered neither fresh ideas nor smarter conversation.

If we were looking for a change from the same old same old, this was not what we had in mind.

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