Trump is better than alternative

To the editor: This letter is in response to Jack Ronald’s personal opinion concerning Donald Trump’s candidacy for president.
A little information first on a few former presidents:
Theodore Roosevelt — Did not swear on Bible during the oath of office and did not believe “In God We Trust” should be on our coinage.
John Quincy Adams — Gave us America’s first foreign-born first lady.
Bill Clinton — No president was more unfit than Clinton for the Oval Office. He was a draft dodger, a womanizer and was alleged to have been involved in numerous deals which benefited himself and friends while governor of Arkansas.
John F. Kennedy — Was beloved by everyone but there were allegations of mob connections. It was alleged that JFK and Sam Giancana, former head of the Chicago Crime Syndicate, shared a mistress. The mistress shared this information publicly. He also had a dalliance with Marilyn Monroe that became widely known.
Lyndon B. Johnson — Was a womanizer in the greatest sense of the word.
The point here is a person’s personal life should not be the measuring stick for their ability to hold public office. It has been said, “If you don’t like the sight of your own blood – do not run for public office”.
Candidates don’t have all the answers but the willingness and ability to gather the best advisors, for the decision making process, is important.
You state that Mr. Trump has stained the Republic and the party with his candidacy due mainly, in your words, to being a bigot, woman hater, lack of honesty, fear or hatred of foreigners and ignorance.
He has not stained the Republic because voters have chosen him as their candidate. He has not stained the party. The party has stained itself by not supporting the people’s choice. They apparently think they know what’s best for the people better than the people do. I suspect it is for self preservation similar to rats debarking a ship they perceive to be sinking.
Paul Ryan was asked to be speaker of the House because it was their belief he had the ability to unite the party. He has definitely helped in its division.
The will of the people should be upheld regardless of the party’s beliefs. If this cannot be done, they should be called upon to vacate the party. There would be no takers and we know why.
Mr. Trump is not politically correct. He doesn’t get all his facts straight. He is prone to speaking before thinking, and a host of other things that can be corrected with guidance from advisors. He should not be considered unfit because of what many would consider to be minor issues.
The Democrats support Mrs. Clinton and we won’t even get into the issues surrounding her.
The Republican party should support its candidate like the two former Navy Seals killed in Benghazi. They understood it was a one-way street but they walked it anyway. They weren’t even a part of the military but they supported their country.
Republicans should support the people’s choice, with the same dedication, or resign. Mr. Trump is not perfect and lacks in certain qualities one likes to see in a statesman, but he is definitely better than the alternative.
James Coleman
Portland