Stark choice in November

PHILADELPHIA — This time around, there’s way more than a dime’s difference between the two political parties.

Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech on Thursday, one week after Donald Trump addressed the Republican delegates in Cleveland, was nearly a point-by-point rebuttal. Voters may not like the candidates themselves, but they won’t get them confused.

Consider:

Immigration. Trump repeated his pledge to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. He highlighted the stories of people killed by illegal immigrants. He said uncontrolled immigration was taking American jobs and increasing crime. And he pledged once more to ban immigration from “any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place.”

Clinton couldn’t have been more opposite, calling for a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for those in the country illegally. Her convention celebrated Latinos, and even featured vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine speaking Spanish.

“We will not build a wall. Instead, we will build an economy where everyone who wants a good paying job can get one,” Clinton said. “And we’ll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy! We will not ban a religion. We will work with all Americans and our allies to fight and defeat terrorism.”

Foreign policy. Trump maintained at his convention that Obama administration policies, especially when it comes to ISIS, have weakened the United States. “This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: Death, destruction and terrorism and weakness,” Trump charged.

But Clinton gave no ground, replying it was Trump who would introduce chaos.

“So don’t let anyone tell you that our country is weak. We’re not. Don’t let anyone tell you we don’t have what it takes. We do,” she said. Later, she noted Trump’s penchant for engaging in Twitter wars. “A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons,” she said.

Taxes. Trump says he’s proposing the largest tax cut of any candidate running for president, while Clinton said the well-off and corporations would be asked to pay their “fair share” in taxes. She didn’t define what that number might be, however.

Priorities. Trump said the first task for his administration would be “to liberate our citizens from the crime and terrorism and lawlessness that threatens their — our communities.” Clinton, by contrast, said her primary mission as president “will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States … especially in places that for too long have been left out and left behind.”

Style. Trump held himself out to the country and the Republican convention as a unique hope, a businessman who understands the systems of finance and politics, knows why they’ve gone astray and has the ability to fix them.

“I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves,” Trump said. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it.”

That was a stark contrast to Clinton, whose slogan is “stronger together.”

“He’s [Trump] forgetting every last one of us,” Clinton said. “Americans don’t say: ‘I alone can fix it.’ We say: ‘We’ll fix it together,’ ” adding later,“No one gets through life alone. We have to look out for each other and lift each other up.”’

Americans may not like their choices in November, but they’ve definitely got a choice to make.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.