In choosing the next President, character matters more than ideology. An individual of low character and troubled temperament won’t keep campaign promises, no matter how appealing, and won’t be able to work with others to achieve those goals, even if he tried. What’s more, a president with a tendency toward immature emotionalism will be ill-equipped to respond to sudden challenges that aren’t anticipated in campaign platforms.

Unfortunately, both current candidates face big questions about integrity and character and it’s unlikely either one will change in the course of the campaign. That means a choice between a candidate with character issues that are disturbing, and one with character issues that are alarming – terrifying, in fact.

Peggy Noonan wrote a great book about the Reagan administration called, WHEN CHARACTER WAS KING. The 2016 sequel shouldn’t be WHEN CHARACTER WAS IRRELEVANT – and voters shouldn’t chose a dubious candidate just because there’s the right initial – R or D – after the name.