Opinion: Many Americans didn't like either candidate for president, but maybe there's a better way to choose

Voting against what a candidate represents can 'yield
better results.' (Adobe Stock photo)

Before casting their vote, and maybe even after, many American voters voiced concern because they didn't like either candidate. But maybe liking a candidate isn't the point, writes essayist Amy Bauer in her opinion for The Wall Street Journal. Perhaps it's better to vote against a candidate or party instead of searching and voting for a "likable" one.

Her friends and family "all voted against Donald Trump and JD Vance or against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz," Baurer adds. "At a dinner party, I was lamenting this necessity and said, 'I’d love to see an election where voters are excited about the person they’re voting for.' A friend responded saying, 'I think this is optimal. An election where you vote against rather than for is more logical and less emotional. It yields better results.'"

Bauer writes, "I realized my friend had a point about the drawbacks of voting for a candidate. The last time I did so was in 2012. Barack Obama was smooth and kind and wicked smart. . . .Years later, the revelations about Obama started to emerge. Like old infidelities, each one was a slap. . .

"Voting for a candidate back then led me to soft criteria: charm, warmth, a quick smile. Ultimately, I felt disappointed and betrayed — the pitfalls of an emotional relationship. None of this is at play with Trump. I’m not looking for him to be charming or warm . . . I often dislike the things he says.

"His behavior on Jan. 6, 2021, was egregious, pure hubris, and it might have been disqualifying if not for the confounding response from Democrats, who seized on the event and used it to justify constitutional infringements from that day forward."

For some voters, a ballot cast for Trump and Vance equaled a vote to support those rights. Bauer explains, "More than anything, I cherish freedom of expression and believe it is our most spiritual right. Prayer, poetry, stories, music — they’re what lift us above this mortal space. . . . I’d rather die than live in a world without this freedom."

When Bauer spoke to her friend, she asked if he was happy about the election outcome. He told her, "Not exactly happy. But it was so much better than the alternative.”