In a month, voters will go to the polls. Many will vote based on their perception of candidates' characters. But if that's what determines their vote, they'll be making a big mistake 1/
For one thing, a politician's public image may be a very poor guide to reality. Remember Susan Collins, moderate? In fact, I'm old enough to remember when Chuck Grassley was considered a reasonable guy. 2/
Beyond that, a politician's personal attributes hardly matter at all in a time of extreme polarization. Pretty much the only thing that matters after November is whether the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader are R or D 3/ 
And if they're both R, voter choice may never matter again: given what just happened, a Republican Congress will go along with any power grab Trump makes. So if you want to see that happen, vote for any R; if you don't, vote for any D 4/
