When it comes to politicians, it seems like most of them get corrupted as soon as they get into office, even if that wasn’t their intention to start. I think the long-term key to gaining greater liberty is in educating people about the benefits of liberty. However, it can still be important as to who is elected to office.

It was very important who the governor of each state was in 2020 and 2021. Most of them declared themselves to be dictators and ordered lockdowns. But some were worse than others. For me, it made a difference living in Florida in 2020 and 2021. If there had been a governor other than Ron DeSantis, things could have gone very differently.

At the level of the presidency, it doesn’t seem like anything ever changes for the better. But it is hard to believe there could be a bigger disaster than Biden. I’m sure there could be, but it is just hard to imagine.

Dementia Isn’t the Problem

I was watching Gutfeld recently on Fox News. It is about the only thing I see on Fox News now with Tucker Carlson gone. They were discussing Biden and what they would say to him if given the opportunity.

A couple of people on the panel said something to the effect that there would be no point in talking to Biden because he wouldn’t understand them. They are basically saying that he has dementia.

That is not the response I would have given. I probably wouldn’t bother talking to Biden either, but it isn’t because he has dementia or wouldn’t be able to comprehend what I’m saying. It’s because he is evil.

There would be no point in trying to reason with Biden because there is no point in reasoning with a criminal unless you have some kind of leverage. If you are just giving advice, then the criminal isn’t going to take your advice unless it benefits him in some way.

Maybe that is the only possible way to approach someone like Biden. As an example, you could say that if he wants a good legacy and to be well liked, he should find a way to negotiate peace in Ukraine. Maybe that would have worked with Bill Clinton, but I’m not even sure that Biden cares about his legacy at this point. If he did, he wouldn’t be following the orders of his handlers on every single point.

You Can’t Cure Dishonesty

If someone is incompetent, you can at least hope to get through to them. You can hope that maybe some competent people will help them out. Someone who is incompetent may accidentally get things right at times too.

If someone is dishonest, it is hard to change their personality. You would have to change them from an immoral person to a moral person. It’s not impossible for someone to change, but it’s unlikely.

Perhaps everyone is dishonest at times in their life. At the very least, you don’t share everything in your mind. But there is a level of dishonesty where you literally don’t care about other people or what happens to them. Your whole life is a giant lie.

Joe Biden is one giant lie. Anything he says of importance is likely a lie, or at least there is some kind of spin to it. The only time he isn’t lying is when he is threatening his enemies (e.g., MAGA Republicans).

So I would much rather have a moral and honest person in office than an immoral person. It is best to have someone who is competent and moral, but I would much prefer a moral person over a competent person who isn’t moral.

I’m not sure which is worse – an immoral and incompetent person (like current day Biden); or an immoral and competent person (like the Clintons).

The Presidential Candidates

Dave Smith isn’t running for president on the Libertarian Party ticket yet. He is smart and moral (even if his language isn’t always clean). He truly does want to advance liberty for the good of humankind.

Taking out Dave Smith, let’s talk about the major party candidates running for president.

I think the most honest person who wants to see America thrive is Robert Kennedy Jr. I have heard and read him enough to know that he really does care about other people and the future of our world. I think he gets some things wrong politically, but I see him overall as being competent too. But just the fact that his heart is in the right place puts him at the top of the list for me.

I struggle with the next person on the list. Donald Trump has a giant ego, and sometimes I do think he cares more about his own image than he cares about the direction of the country. But the two things aren’t mutually exclusive either. He wants a thriving and peaceful America so that he can brag about.

And while Trump has his moral shortcomings, I do think he is somewhat honest for a politician. That is one of the main reasons the establishment hates him so much. They especially hate him when he is honest about foreign policy and the so-called intelligence agencies.

Ron DeSantis is really hard to read. I have no idea if he is a moral person. But like Trump, I think he would want to see the country do well, even if it is just for his own image.

A lot of libertarians like Vivek Ramaswamy, but I do not trust him. He says he is 90% aligned with libertarians, but I don’t really believe it. And even if true, the other 10% is egregious. He wants conflict with China, and he wants to bomb Mexican drug cartels.

I believe Ramaswamy is changing his message constantly and catering to his audience when he speaks. If he is on a libertarian podcast, he will sound more libertarian. So I can’t really trust him.

All of the other Republicans are absolutely terrible. Some are more competent than others, but they are all immoral. I can judge that just from their foreign policy views. Christ Christie, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, and Tim Scott are all terrible. Even if they are smart, I would never support them.

Of course, Biden is evil, so I would never support him even if he were competent.

Conclusion

If you ever detect dishonesty coming from someone running for political office, your instincts are probably correct. You shouldn’t support them, even if they seem to be saying some of the right things.

Have you ever known anyone to become more libertarian once they get in office? Maybe it’s happened, but I can’t think of any recent examples.

Most people go the other way. If we ever got a President Ramaswamy, he would quickly forget about getting rid of the Department of Education, and he would focus on all of the areas where he is really bad.

I have slight hope that if RFK Jr. were to become president, he would actually attempt to make peace in the world.