A week before the nation votes for its 45^th president, one verdict is already in: The nomination process used in producing the candidates is terribly broken, and needs to be fixed. Disgust, nausea, contempt and anxiety are the emotions produced by the two major candidates. They are widely described as corrupt, vicious, and partly unhinged, and this is by people who plan to vote for them. A focus group of twelve people convened by Peter Hart recently uncovered the fact that no one liked either.

A common reaction is utter astonishment that a country of more than 300 million could end up with two such despicable people. Clearly, either would lose by double digits if they hadn’t been facing the other, and the only reason most people can give for voting for either is that the other would be so much worse.