I know it is disgusting. I would be inclined to go for trump if the descriptions are correct. You can put the first one in a straitjacket. The second is the more slippery of the two. Actually, you could flip the adjectives and it would be a dead heat.

End here?

We might end this here but that would not be fair to those who expected an article. The substance below is designed to explain why the terms in the headline are at least conceivable. We are not in a normal time. We are floating on an unfamiliar surface. We are part punchy, part sad, and several parts afraid of what will come next.

Here is the dope

There is a substantial spectrum of opinion on Trump's mental state. I offer the tweet below as the most recent evidence that this is not a diminishing concern. Conferences have been held. Statements have been made. Google at your own pace and be prepared for many corroborations. Trump's mentality is on the minds of many in the mental health field.

Trump is not about to be declared insane. But, the reality of the problem he poses is accentuated by the pregnant term malignant in the tweet above. This refers not merely to what may be transpiring in Trump's head, but to the mood of the country which is tangible and which has its own limits.

The structure of this article points to the difficult choice that confronts those who want Trump gone.

The Pence conundrum

If Pence was a humble foot soldier with an open mind, Trump might be gone in a nanosecond. But, that is not Pence. He is a theocrat whose notion of America is to make it as close to a theocracy as possible, with the Bible as the reigning text and the Christian Creed as the litmus test.

We have no idea whether a majority of Americans would cotton to this narrow notion -- essentially the establishment of a national religion. But, the mere prospect may be the best protection that Trump has. Read the article embedded below for some fearsome indications of what would be in store in a Pence presidency.

Moving forward

The way beyond both men is successive victories at the polls in 2018 and 2020. With that in mind, here is something to encourage those for whom the choices above are anathema. A minister has just given us a text that says in a few words the precise things we too might say if we must do battle with Trump supporters to win back the country.

The partisanship is not going to end and the stakes remain immense. We do best by facing the worst and thinking ahead.
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