Do the candidates matter?

So … the 2016 presidential race is on. Hillary Clinton is official, and three Republicans — Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio — have announced. But how much do the candidates matter?

That was the interesting question raised by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman in a piece this week that suggested the parties are so far apart and so entrenched in their views, that as he put it, philosophy will matter more than personality.

He wrote: “There has never been a time in American history when the alleged personal traits of candidates mattered less. As we head into 2016, each party is quite unified on major policy issues — and these unified positions are very far from each other. The huge, substantive gulf between the parties will be reflected in the policy positions of whomever they nominate, and will almost surely be reflected in the actual policies adopted by whoever wins.”

Hmm. Your thoughts? Email me at rrollins@coxohio.com.

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