That we endorse Hillary Clinton for president should come as no surprise. There really is no other choice. And that's unfortunate — not because, as many Americans have allowed themselves to be led to believe, the country desperately needs a viable alternative to her. It's unfortunate because of the shadow it casts upon the former secretary of state/senator/first lady's genuine worthiness to be our first female president.

She is not, as has been sold, a mere lesser of two evils. Her experience and intellect would make her a standout in any group of candidates. Like President Obama said and didn't need to be fact-checked, she's more qualified than him or her husband.

We have reservations about the next presidency that have nothing to do with Clinton's abilities, personality or transgressions. Our concern is about the enormity of the task of leading a nation so polarized that angry factions are likely to dispute the election's outcome no matter who wins.

Blaming all of that on Donald Trump — as reprehensible as has been his campaign against Mexican immigrants, women, people of color, prisoners of war and Muslims, to name just a few, and as deplorable as was his declaration that the election is rigged unless he wins — gives him too much credit. He is only the intersection for fears and hatreds that already existed and that bring out the worst in the people privileged to live in the world's greatest nation. Using hatred and fear isn't what makes Trump smart. It's what makes him an insult to voters' intelligence.

Being the only serious alternative is both Clinton's fortune and misfortune. It increases the likelihood of victory, but also of presiding over a nation with large groups of dissidents. While voting against her can be a statement of differing principle, voting for Trump would not rise to that level. It's not a vote for Republicanism. The Republican Party's principles and standards are beyond Trump's reach.

Voting for Trump is a form of nihilism that the next president, no matter whom, will need to explore, understand and seek to remedy. The new president and we as a nation would benefit from understanding why, for example, distressed taxpayers who live paycheck-to-paycheck and whose American Dream has been dashed would vote for someone who gained his American Dream through inheritance, exploitation, tax evasion, bankruptcy and the misfortunes of people like themselves — and why they would reject someone who gained her American Dream on merit, married once, hasn't divorced, and knows how to change a diaper.

We perceive in Clinton the capability to bridge the divide — to define rather than exploit our problems and pursue intelligent solutions. Her "basket of deplorables" comment made the task more difficult but it was a rare lapse by an otherwise level-headed servant leader with a history of self-correcting resilience. The former senator's Republican colleagues remember her fondly as a middle-ground-seeking master of the art of deal-making. If there is to be a return to bipartisanship, she is the one to lead it.

The woman who memorably declared that women's rights are human rights and that it takes a village to raise a child is the candidate who has the right priorities and the perceptiveness to make this divided but great country greater.