Decision Time

   With just two weeks until the only poll that really matters -- the one on Election Day -- it's time for eligible voters to decide which candidates they prefer for the various offices listed on the ballots.
   Much of the news has been dedicated to the antics and speeches of the major party nominees for the Presidency, and it's important that voters pay attention not only to these, but also to the experience, competence and knowledge accumulated by the candidates.
   Many citizens make their selection based solely on party affiliation or on personal likeability of a candidate. More important, however, is whether a candidate has the ability to do the job, not whether he or she is a nice person.
   A  record of past accomplishments should be considered, in addition to the qualities of ability, competence, experience and knowledge.    
   Nice guys finish last, the old saying goes, but putting a scheming charlatan in charge isn't a good idea either.
   The choice for American voters this year is between a candidate many people dislike on a personal level but who has a long record of public service in government as well as the private sector, or a candidate with no political experience but a long record in business featuring many successes counterbalanced by many failures, bankruptcies and lawsuits, punctuated by a storm of threats and insults.
   One candidate has been faced with many allegations, but few have been proven and the evidence supporting them is slim. Whether this candidate is a nice person is immaterial. Competence and experience is more important.
   The other major candidate has also been faced with many allegations, many of which have been documented with strong evidence to support the charges.
   Again, whether this other candidate is a nice person is immaterial. Nevertheless, many people have stepped up to say this candidate is not at all a nice person,.
   So every voter's decision should be based on experience, knowledge, competence and ability to do the job. Personal likeability is a valuable commodity and it may help in getting hired for the job, but when it comes being a chief executive, whether of a major corporation or of a nation, other factors are more important.