Permit me to tack one additional point onto the book-length dissertation below.

In a scenario in which there are no great options at the top of the ticket, it’s important to consider who the vice-presidential candidates are. This is especially so this time around because I believe there is a much greater than normal chance that, whichever candidate wins, he or she will not serve a full term.

Both Mrs. Clinton’s mysteriously volatile health and long-standing habit of ignoring the law mean her term could easily be cut short. I also find it easy to imagine Mr. Trump quickly getting fed up with the suffocating constraints and crushing burdens of occupying the Oval Office and simply walking away, claiming that he’d proved that he could win.

In either case, the running mate becomes President. The good news for those pondering a vote for Trump is that his running mate, Mike Pence, is a exemplary human being and would make a fine president.

Dear young Christian,

First of all, I’m sorry.

I’m sorry the two major-party choices before us in the presidential election are the worst in living memory . . . perhaps the worst in our nation’s history. Oh, how I wish we had better options. Sadly, we do not.

In contrast, back in 1980 having just turned 21, I had the privilege of casting my first vote for a president for Ronald Reagan. I never had cause to regret it. History Note: Voters back in 1800 (slightly before my time) got to choose between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson for president.

You, young Christian, are being asked to choose between, on one hand, a power-hungry, deeply corrupt, profoundly unpleasant individual who amassed enormous wealth in shady ways while treating little people like dirt,  . . . and on the other hand, Donald Trump. (It’s a joke!)(sort of)

This is, in ancient Star Trek terms, a Kobayashi Maru, that is, a no-win scenario that both tests and reveals your character.

You may think you cannot vote for Mr. Trump. I get it. I really do. But for future reference, it’s important that you know that he is in no way representative of Republicans or conservatives. He is a lifelong Democrat and a frequent donor to Democrat causes and candidates through the years, including numerous donations to the Clintons.

In fact, recently leaked emails of Democrat insiders and powerbrokers reveal that they conspired with powerful members of the media to make sure Trump got the nomination precisely because he was they one they wanted to run against.

Indeed, Trump was probably the only major Republican candidate whom Hillary had any hope of defeating. He was hand-picked by the liberal establishment to be her opponent.

Nevertheless, as I said, I get it. What I don’t get are the indications I’ve seen that you and many other young voters who sincerely love God and follow Christ are considering voting for Hillary Clinton.

Before you walk into the voting booth, perhaps for the very first time, please allow me to share a few thoughts about that.

You’re Voting for a Person, Not a Narrative

In this Postmodern era, idealistic young people tend to be suckers for a good narrative. “First woman President” is a certainlly a compelling storyline. Because . . .

Here’s the problem with that. Your romantic narrative won’t be serving as president. A flawed, twisted, broken human being will.

Eight years ago millions who really should have known better couldn’t resist the romance of being “a part of history” and therefore voted for a narrative: “America’s first black president!”

And the last eight years have been an unmitigated catastrophe . . . not just for our nation but for the world. (The true magnitude of the Obama disaster will not become fully evident to all for several more years.)

There are countless lame reasons for voting for a candidate. But none is lamer than “because she is a she.”

Furthermore, if you vote for Hillary . . . 

1. You’re Voting Against the Interests of the Unborn

Hillary Clinton is a long-time BFF of the abortion industrial complex and she has repeatedly voiced her support for very-late-term abortion and partial birth abortion. Read this.

• Question: Which killed more Americans last year. (A) Guns (B) Later Term Abortion {20+ weeks of gestation}.
• Answer: Abortions . . . the kind of abortions your Hillary vote will help protect, promote and fund.

You can try to rationalize this reality away if you want but it won’t change a thing. Your Hillary vote is a vote for perpetuating the horrors of the abortion industry.

2. You’re Voting Against the Interests of the Working Poor

Copies of her speeches to giant, multinational banking groups exposed by Wikileaks reveal that Mrs. Clinton favors an “open borders” approach for the U.S.. This means the flood of illegal immigrants that have been pouring into the nation for the last few years will only increase after she’s elected.

Few Christians seem to understand who this policy hurts and helps. It helps the big businesses looking for cheap labor. It hurts the working poor by driving down wages. There’s a reason that both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (representing giant corporations) and the Wall Street Journal (advocating for the same) both favor the same open borders policies Mrs. Clinton advocates. It’s what the fatcats want.

Yes, the immigrants seeking a better life here merit our compassion as Christians. But voting for open borders is nothing more than being generous with someone else’s money.

It’s a mighty cheap form of compassion that helps one poor person at the expense of another poor person while costing you little or nothing.

3. You’re voting against the interests of Christians and other non-Muslims in the Middle East.

The rolling horror, rape, death, and sex slavery show called the Islamic State (formerly known as Al Qaeda in Iraq) could only have arisen in the vacuum created by Mr. Obama’s rapid and ill-advised withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq—endorsed by then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

They have rivers of blood on their hands.

Mrs. Clinton’s entire tenure as Secretary State is littered with awful decisions and preventable disasters in the Middle East (See: Libya, Benghazi).

4. You’re voting against the freedom-of-conscience interests of churches, Christian organizations, and individual believers. 

Across this land, Christian mom-and-pop business owners increasingly face a terrible choice. They must either lay aside their biblical convictions about marriage and morality or face being driven out of business by threats, harassment, litigation, or prosecution.

The election of Hillary Clinton can only accelerate this trend. Vote for her and you’re complicit.

5. You’re voting against the the rule of law and the health of our increasingly fragile democracy.

Trump is certainly an unsavory character. I’ve written hundreds of words on this blog criticizing him. (See here and here, for example.) But Hillary Clinton is something far worse than a rich buffoon. She is a rich, cold, calculating criminal. She is at the center of the sleaziest, most corruption-riddled, amoral, political machine this country has seen in more than 100 years.

She brazenly used her tenure as Secretary of State to shake down wanna-be political appointees and foreign nations for enormous contributions to the bogus Clinton Foundation—little more than a giant slush fund for bribery, graft and corruption.

In a fairer, more just society Hillary Clinton would have been indicted months ago. This was self-evident even before the recent flood of incrimination and embarrassment from Wikileaks. Her emails, which she went to great lengths to hide from federal investigators, reveal even greater depths of criminality. You’ll find a good overview of the ugliness exposed by Wikileaks here.

Your little contribution to a Clinton victory will make you a part of the demise of the rule of law.

6. Finally, you’re voting against your own interests.

The last eight years of Mr. Obama have made the future problematic enough. Regardless of any B.S. you’ve heard about student loan forgiveness (sorry, that’s not happening), the coming Clinton Administration will do nothing but damage your prospects for the future even further.

What Really Matters Here

Once again, I’m sorry your options aren’t any prettier here. And the mathematical realities of the electoral college mean that the results of the election are going be what they’re going to be—no matter how you or I vote.

Barring some huge, unforseen development, Hillary is going to win.

That means all you can do at the presidential level is make sure your conscience is clear for the next four-to-eight years.

But the answer is not to simply stay home on election day. There will be dozens of other races on your ballot in which you can have an impact for the unborn, for freedom, and for opportunity. Vote for life and liberty.

Please think about it. More importantly . . . pray about it. The wonderful thing about the private ballot is no one but you and God have to know how you voted.

* * * * *

Full Disclosure: As for me, for all the reasons cited above and dozens of others, I will be holding my nose with one hand and voting for Mr. Trump with the other. (It won’t be the first time I’ve had to vote in this manner and I’m sure it won’t be the last.)