This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen sent me a personal card this week. It has my name on it and everything.

Given that most people concerned about public opinion would rather have a large toad forced into their sinus than associate with the likes of me, I found Sherrie's personal touch endearing.

But I may not be the only one Sherrie wrote to this week. Close inspection of the card revealed notification that I would be receiving a 2016 General Election ballot sometime around Oct. 11, to which I should RSVP no later than Nov. 6.

Hurray. I've been waiting for my chance to make a difference.

I got onto the Salt Lake County Clerk's website and changed my political affiliation from "Democrat" to "Unaffiliated." Half a second of reconsideration later, I changed it to "Hopeless." But only because there was no "Guillotine" party.

Americans have always had rancor for our presidential elections. However, it's rare that we've had two front-runners so completely unworthy of the public trust. It's like choosing between having a biological accoutrement bitten off by a grizzly or a polar bear.

Anyone who reads this column knows that I don't have a lot of self-respect. Well, I have even less respect for wealthy politicians who claim to know what will make America better for the likes of me. And probably you.

Before I get mad to the point of incoherency, let me say that not all rich people are bad. Rich is actually rather relative. Lowly journalist though I be, I'm fabulously wealthy compared to most people in Somalia.

Hell, simply being middle-class American makes me rich compared to people in the lower class. I drive a 16-year-old truck with 237,000 miles on it. I'm rich compared to someone who can't even afford to take the bus.

I don't trust people who only get into politics because they're rich enough not to have a regular job. Anyone so rich that they don't regularly take out their own garbage isn't someone middle-class America should trust.

I have more in common with Mexicans sneaking into this country to provide a better lives for their families than I do with a guy who wants to build a wall to keep them out.

Note: In fairness, I probably also have more in common with a Juarez drug mule.

Then there are people who accumulate wealth once they get into politics. People who do that can't really claim to be public servants. If they got rich while the average Americans they were supposed to be representing got poorer, then I say their heads belong on pikes in front of a dollar store.

I wish the next American president was one of us. You know, a regular person. Someone who was a nurse, plumber, firefighter, teacher or mechanic immediately before they became president.

It happens at the lower level of politics. Ralph or Doris gets fed up and runs for town council while at the same time holding down a job. That merits a bit of trust, or at least the benefit of a doubt.

True, small-town politics can get ugly. But they're also the most likely places to spawn truly grass-roots candidates — people who know what it's like to be us, people who work all day then go home and fix dinner or mow the lawn.

It's our fault. We need to stop electing people who no longer really know us, as well as people who never actually did.

Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com or facebook.com/stillnotpatbagley.