Mike Bloomberg is the best Democratic candidate to beat Trump – Bangor Daily News

By Bill Libby, Opinion guest column February 26, 2020 1:05 pm

Ive spent 43 years of my adult life serving our nation and state beginning with my commissioning from the ROTC Program at the University of Maine, serving in Vietnam and concluding as the adjutant general of the Maine National Guard.

It has been eight years since my retirement, and I now feel I have an obligation to serve again.

Simply put, Donald Trump must be denied a second term. It is time for those of us who care deeply about the future of our country to speak out, and do what we can to ensure that our current president, who I regard as reckless and corrupt, does not get another four years in office.

I am supporting Mike Bloomberg for president. In my judgment, he is the only candidate who can beat Trump. The president represents an existential threat to our country. Trump has made political decisions regarding our military and security that have weakened this country at home and abroad.

Ive considered all of the candidates running and come back to one thing who can win on Election Day. Bloomberg has the proven ability to govern as he did as mayor of New York City, to bring us back from the brink from a potential crisis that will take decades to recover from.

Bloomberg isnt a partisan; he is a data driven guy who will pursue the right answer for America, not the partisan answer. As he wrote in a 2018 column supporting Democrats in their attempt to win control of the United States House of Representatives, I have always believed that we should put the country before the party. Too many politicians practice the reverse, with terrible consequences for the American people. In a state where 33 percent of registered voters identify as Democrats, 27 percent as Republicans and 35 percent as unenrolled, Bloombergs beliefs of country over party will resonate.

I was a student at Lewiston High School when John F. Kennendy came to town, campaigning for the 1960 presidential election. I often dig back into his legacy for inspiration and often use a quote that seems appropriate for this time: Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Most people forget what followed in that speech, given in 1958 at a Loyola College alumni banquet: Let us not seek to fix blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

I accept my responsibility for the future during this election cycle to deny Trump a second term by supporting the only Democrat who can defeat him in November, Mike Bloomberg.

Major General John Bill Libby served as head of the Maine National Guard and commissioner of the state Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management from 2003 to 2012. He served in Vietnam and joined the Maine Army National Guard in 1976. He was awarded the Bronze Star, a Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.

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Mike Bloomberg is the best Democratic candidate to beat Trump - Bangor Daily News