I was hoping for a robust debate in 2020 about the issues that should be driving the next presidential election campaign.

Silly me. It ain’t gonna happen.

I forgot about the impact that the impeachment of Donald J. Trump would have on the presidential campaign debate. Which means it will destroy it. The impeachment of the president is going to bury the issues debate under an avalanche of recrimination, back-biting, conspiracy nonsense and partisanship.

Oh, the humanity!

With so many issues that need a national reckoning, we are headed for an election season that will be tainted by the near-certain impeachment of the president of the United States of America.

Don’t misunderstand me. Impeaching a president is important stuff. An impeachment focuses attention on the fitness of the president. It forces us to debate whether the president should remain in office. I happen to believe he does not; I also believe he never should have been elected to the presidency in the first place.

I also take a small measure of comfort in knowing that more Americans share my view of the election result than those who voted for Trump.

However, my hope was that we could engage in a robust debate over, say: climate change, energy production, taxes, health care, job growth, infrastructure repair/renovation, education, gun violence, immigration reform … you know, things that ought to rivet our attention.

That won’t happen. I am sorry to acknowledge that Trump’s impeachment and pending trial in the U.S. Senate is going to scarf up so much of our attention as we plow ahead into a critical election year.

I wish it weren’t so.