Colwell: The choice is clear, even if it's not an ideal one.

We appear certain now to have a real choice for president in one of the most important contests in the nation’s history.

Pretty exciting?

You’d think not, with all the grumbling still about a rematch between President Biden and former President Trump.

Complaints abound that Biden is too old, Trump is too deranged. Maybe so. But the vote will be about more than the individual who wins.

It will be about the direction of the country and its role in the world. Those to be swept into control with one side or the other will determine in which of opposite directions the country will head.

On taxes. On abortion. On Ukraine. On immigration. On climate change. On health care. On NATO. On conducting elections. On government’s role. On presidential powers. On much more.

We know in which direction the competing sides will head. We have the evidence of what Trump and those around him did in his presidency. We have the evidence of what Biden and those around him are doing in his presidency.

While most voters have strong views one way or the other on many vital issues, some now say they won’t vote for either side because they don’t like either Biden or Trump. Having no voice in the direction of the country apparently “will show them.”

Sorry, Lincoln and Washington aren’t the nominees. (And would either have had a chance in the politics of today?)

For at least a year now, it has been virtually certain that Biden and Trump will be the nominees.

It wasn’t going to be Kamala Harris vs. Ron DeSantis.

If Biden had stepped aside, there would have been support in the Democratic base for Vice President Harris. But she registers poorly in the polls. If she was pushed aside, would that have doomed the Democratic ticket, losing Black voters, especially Black women? If she was headed for nomination, would that doom the Democratic ticket?

Who would have been better as the Democratic nominee? Bernie Sanders, who finished second for the nomination last time, would have tried again. Would that solve the age concerns or ease fears of moderates that Democrats are turning too socialist.

No prominent Democrat was going to split the party by challenging the incumbent president. There is a persuasive argument that Biden was the only Democrat who could have defeated Trump last time. That could be true again.

On the Republican side, DeSantis once was a possibility. But the Florida governor faltered badly, plummeting in polls a year ago as voters saw him on the national stage and didn’t like what they saw.

Then all those other Republicans who entered the race dropped one after another in debates that Trump didn’t even bother to attend.

Trump’s solid MAGA base assured him of winning primaries, even as the last challenger, Nikki Haley, was getting a significant protest vote. Maybe that will mean something in the fall. But it didn’t keep Trump from sweeping to the nomination and control of the Republican Party.

While Biden vs. Trump has been virtually inevitable for a year, some people kept insisting that one or the other or both would drop out or be pushed aside.

With Biden, viewers of Fox News, seeing him portrayed so often as feeble and unable to speak sentences, were sure he would drop out. He put aside those portrayals with a robust State of the Union address and then campaigning circles around Trump

With Trump, viewers of MSNBC, hearing so often about all the felony charges he faces, thought he would be in prison before he could be nominated. He put aside those prospects with skilled trial delays and use of the charges to solidify his base and raise funds.

Thus, voters will have a clear choice on direction of the country, even if not a choice between individuals they regard as ideal.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: A real choice for president, though not an ideal one.