Donald Trump’s Heart is a Cheap Suit.

Mike Pence said Donald Trump “showed us what’s in his heart Sunday night.” That he did.

Whatever your political affiliation or disaffection, this election is — to quote Donald Trump — a total disaster.

Not only unbelievably ugly, it also seems to be the death of civil disagreement, the abandonment of facts and the elevation of entertainment over everything.

Full disclosure: I will be voting for Hillary Clinton on November 8th. 
I think she’ll be a great president, if not particularly thrilling.

Which is fine, because frankly, I’ve had all the ‘thrilling’ I can stand in this election.

It’s easy to blame Donald Trump for this mess, because Donald Trump is — by every measure — a truly despicable, dishonest and increasingly deranged man whose promises are as cheap as his China-made suits.

But really, the Donald is a monster (partly) of our collective making.

After years of pointless partisan rhetoric, government dysfunction and willfully ignoring the social impact of a changing world economy, many in this country feel left behind, ignored and belittled — and they are angry.

Really, really angry.

Along comes Trump, offering to be their billionaire buddy who’ll finally even the score.

In exchange, they’ve agreed to forgive him anything.

Unfortunately, he’s the biggest con of them all. He has taken their frustration and whipped it into a white-hot rage — all for his own dark, childish gratification.

Many in this country are now officially outraged after watching the officially outrageous Sexual Insecurity On Parade Access Hollywood video.

But it’s too easy to tell ourselves that after EVERYTHING else he’s said and done, this particular window into Donald Trump’s amorality was now a bridge too far.

Truth is, we FINALLY got scared that this bloated sociopath we’ve indulged for our own amusement might not go away.

We chuckled at the Republican primary smack-downs, smirked at the pundits arguing their false equivalencies every Sunday and cringed disingenuously at the increasingly unhinged Trump rallies we secretly found fascinating.

Many even hoped he’d be the Republican nominee — what an easy win for our side.

Now we’re paying a high price for that hubris.

A race that should have been historic for seeing the first woman candidate for a major party will become legendary for its abusive tawdriness.

Last night’s debate was appalling before it even began.

After a weekend spent hiding in what should have been shame — after humiliating his family and his party with his pathetic, predatory behavior towards women — what does Donald Trump do?

Enraged at being held accountable for his behavior and down in the polls against ‘Crooked Hillary’, Donald Trump decided she would pay ‘bigly’ for his wounded pride.

He decided to humiliate not only Hillary, but the women he flew in to torment her.

Women he previously called unattractive, losers and trailer trash — dehumanized once again as props of a ruthless bully.

Women very much like those who come to his rallies — desperately hoping to find a hero.

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Hillary Clinton may come with flaws, but the open sexism, irrational accusations and outright abuse she endures daily in this campaign is truly shocking. She’ll win the election, but her presidency will feel diminished.

It’s also pretty shocking that 30 million-ish of our fellow citizens feel so marginalized — so left out of the multi-cultural, gluten-free polyamorous yoga party it seems the rest of the country is having — that they’ve basically declared war.

I think we’ve got some soul searching to do.

Otherwise this election will remain a stain on our national character for years to come.

Because we let Donald Trump happen.