No to Clinton. No to Trump. Elect Johnson.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton became their party’s nominee by hostile takeover. Hopefully, the wisdom of the electorate will not allow that to happen to our presidency.

Every four years, voters “hire” the person who will be the president. It is a job too important to be decided by popularity contest or dueling.

In this peculiar election year, common sense leads us to a third party choice for president.

Political divisiveness is threatening the equilibrium of the federal government; we need a competent, committed patriot as president. Gov. Gary Johnson, an experienced neutral-party chief executive, has the know-how to work cooperatively with Congress to end gridlock and restore sanity and integrity to DC.

Voters have a serious obligation to vote for the individual best suited. The job description for Chief Executive is found in the Constitution (Article II, Sections 1-3). The founders envisioned the president as a problem-solver who would work to keep all three branches of the government operating in a coordinated pattern to provide effective government service to the people.

The balance of power in the federal government is designed to work for us, not the other way around. No doubt the founders relied on our judgment to choose a president who reverences the Constitutional limitations of the office, yet has the wisdom, experience and maturity to steer the ship of state successfully through turbulent political waters.

Abraham Lincoln is said to have been the most recent successful third-party presidential candidate. Perhaps this year’s troubling times require another one.

The writer lives in Bluffton, South Carolina.

This story was originally published September 5, 2016 at 3:55 PM with the headline "No to Clinton. No to Trump. Elect Johnson.."