Photo credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

He comes across to me as a whiner and just generally unlikeable. I can’t see him as president, not at all.

I think DeSantis not showing up to greet President Biden in Florida shows a real lack of class.

Was he not taught basic manners?

The State of Florida had just been battered by a hurricane, and the president came to Florida offering help. 

Biden’s team and DeSantis’s team had been working out scheduling and logistics in the days prior. Then, at the last minute, DeSantis said he wasn’t going to come after all. 

How ridiculous. 

The President of the United States comes offering help and you’re not willing to even show up?

Florida’s U.S. Senator Rick Scott, a Republican, showed up, as did other Republicans. That’s more like it.

Pundits speculate that DeSantis didn’t want to be ridiculed by Republicans the way Chris Christie was when President Obama showed up in New Jersey, offering help after Hurricane Sandy in 2016.

Obama came to offer help, and Christie was thrilled.  He gave Obama a gentle “hug” as a gesture of appreciation. 

Why shouldn’t Christie have been appreciative?  His state was in trouble and he was doing what he could to maximize help. Not showing appreciation would have been totally inappropriate. 

Have we really arrived at a place where Republicans can’t accept help from Democrats and vice versa?

We had some big wildfires here in California a few years back.  Donald Trump came to see the damage and he was warmly received by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.  The two are very different in terms of their politics, but they treated each other with respect, they surveyed the damage together, they said nice things about each other — and Trump sent federal aid. 

This is how it should work. When someone does you a favor, you say “thank you.” 

I have a friend who lives in Florida who thinks DeSantis is a good governor.  I’m not sure I get it. DeSantis seems cranky all the time — mean-spirited, even. He has zero charisma.  And now, let’s add to that, no class.

Polls tell us Americans like presidents who appeal to our better instincts, who offer a vision of hope.  It’s no accident Democrats revere JFK and Republicans found inspiration in Ronald Reagan. 

When JFK got shot, Republicans everywhere wept.  Reagan won two landslide victories with significant help from Democratic voters.

I am sick of the politics of personal destruction, pettiness and grievance.  I know I’m not alone. 

I know this is hard to fathom, but I believe America will soon change — in a good way.  I think 2024 is going to be so nasty that Americans will finally say, “We’ve had it, it’s time for a change.” 

I’m hoping in 2028 the Republicans nominate a modern-day equivalent of Ronald Reagan and the Dems nominate a contemporary version of JFK. 

It’s time to hear two, more positive visions for America’s future.  Let’s focus on real policy differences, not who engages in the more clever personal attacks. 

Should Donald Trump be elected again, he will drag us down with his politics of chaos and destruction. He might even end democracy as we know it.

President Biden is too old and Kamala Harris doesn’t inspire. 

It’s time for a new generation of leadership.

Let’s start by making “good manners” a minimal qualification to run for office. 

Acknowledgement: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author.