I hate to be a gloom and doom pessimist, but I fear the worst may happen and...

[muriel_volestrangler]

169. Realistically: she'd be way better than Trump (or Cruz, Kasich) on policy and tone; so would Bernie

There is a larger gulf between the qualities of the major candidates of the 2 parties than I think there's ever been. Trump and Cruz are worse than even Dubya or Reagan (Kasich probably ranks with those 2).

Trump has the biggest ego of any major candidate ever, and his life revolves around satisfying that ego. While he can make proper decisions if the fancy takes him, and he can appoint competent advisers and underlings, he frequently doesn't, because everything is seen through the prism of what makes him feel good about himself. He has no concept of diplomacy, and would be unable to work with a Congress of any form, or with any foreign governments (even Putin).

Cruz is a fundamentalist fanatic, who would appoint a cabinet of fundamentalists and do his best to bring back the days of the Salem witch trials. That he has got so many Republicans in Congress to hate him indicates he cannot do diplomacy either.

With either of these as president, the USA would see its international treatment look like North Carolina's disaster with the idiotic bathroom law - everyone boycotting it where possible, trying to withdraw investment, looking elsewhere for allies, generally giving up on it as a lost cause.

Threads like these are 'virtue signalling'. A Bernie supporter wants to say to others "look, I love Bernie so much that I'll say Hillary is almost as bad as Trump". It bears no relation to reality, and, if taken seriously, would indicate they are clueless about politics and the nature of Trump, but helps identify them as a True Believer in Bernie.