Common sense sorely lacking

It’s encouraging to read about independent-minded students at the High School for American Studies establishing the blog “Uncommon Sense” (“Students find their voices through blogging,” Dec. 24) Its name is a spin on the school’s official publication, Common Sense. This is appropriate because common sense is uncommon nowadays.

Fearful Democrats have expressed a preference for a lesser candidate, Hillary Clinton, instead of the common-sense candidate, Bernie Sanders. He thinks Middle East ground battles should be fought by the ground troops of Middle Eastern countries, not American troops. He would more strongly regulate Wall Street, more strongly support working people and make the rich pay their fare share of taxes. She has expressed no willingness for tighter regulation of Wall Street or increasing any taxes. She voted for the Iraq War and has expressed a willingness to send more American troops into the Middle East.

The wife of a president who had a terrible record on the environment refuses to take a stand on the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which Sanders opposes.

Democrats who fear Mr.  Sanders is un-electable give Ms. Clinton a 61- to 30-percent lead in a Quinnipiac poll of likely Democratic primary voters. When they polled all voters to see whom they’d vote for when those candidates are pitted against Donald Trump, Ms. Clinton bested him 47 to 40 percent, but Mr. Sanders beat him 51 to 38 percent.

Back in 1988, Jesse Jackson was considered unelectable. But he finished a strong second to the man who would get the Democratic presidential nomination, Michael Dukakis. Al Gore finished a distant third.

But Bill Clinton considered Gore electable and chose him as his running mate in 1992. He rode into the vice presidency on Mr. Clinton’s coattails. But Mr. Gore made a terrible presidential candidate in 2000. For those who say that election was stolen, it would not have been close enough to steal if the Democrats had a decent candidate.

Common sense would question those who would tell us not to vote our conscience but to vote for the person they claim is electable.