Every presidential election is a crossroads for our nation, a time when voters are asked to choose the direction for our country.

Perhaps especially so this year, when the challenges we face seem daunting, whether it be ending racial strife and gun violence at home, a war-torn Middle East, the threat of deadly terrorist attacks here and around the world or a political disconnect in Washington D.C. that is failing to resolve important decisions.

Hillary Clinton, alone, has the legislative, executive and diplomatic experience needed to lead our country.

She served two terms in the U.S. Senate and is no stranger to its political machinery.

As first lady, she was politically active, taking a leadership role in the vital national issue of health-care reform.

As secretary of state, she served as our nation’s chief diplomat, meeting face-to-face with allies and foes, seeking to build and strengthen diplomatic, economic and security bridges and advance peace and human rights.

She knows the difficulties of those jobs. She knows the importance of meeting those challenges with resolve and action, not just words.

Clinton, the Democrats’ nominee, knows from experience.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, brings no such experience. His supporters find it refreshing that he is unapologetically politically incorrect. During his campaign he has been rude, crude, hateful and arrogant. He has belittled women, immigrants, even U.S. POWs as well as the parents of an Army captain who was killed serving his nation on battlefields in Iraq.

We prefer a president who is diplomatic, not disrespectful. A leader who builds bridges, rather than tries to dismantle them.

We did not endorse Trump in the June primary because we did not think he had the temperament to lead our nation or be the leader of the free world. He hasn’t changed our minds.

His campaign has struck a populist chord, but not one interested in uniting a nation and a society facing serious racial and economic divides.

The pedestal on which Clinton stands also has some cracks. Her use of a private email server, despite governmental requirements, is troubling. She has admitted it was a mistake.

Does that make Trump, a tough-talking celebrity billionaire businessman, a better choice?

His pedestal is weaker, scarred with cracks of intolerance, hate, disrespect for women, lack of political experience and sweeping promises to issues that demand precise plans.

Does he have the political experience and knowledge to, as his campaign slogan promises, “Make America great again?” Saving the Miss Universe Pageant or producing a hit TV show or building a casino are no match for leading a nation and world power.

Trump is in far over his head — and he’s winging it.

We as a nation face too many important challenges to depend on a president who wings it.

Our country needs wise leadership, not someone who relies on flippant and dismissive wisecracks.

Even newspapers such as the Arizona Republic and the Dallas Morning News, which have long favored Republican candidates, have turned their backs on Trump.

The Arizona Republic wrote of Clinton: “Her approach to governance is mature, confident and rational. That cannot be said of her opponent. Clinton retains her composure under pressure. She’s tough. She doesn’t back down. Trump responds to criticism with the petulance of verbal spit wads. That’s beneath our national dignity.”

At this crossroads in 2016, vision, experienced leadership and respectful diplomacy are important.

Hillary Clinton has all three.

Trump doesn’t match up.

He asks minority voters to vote for him, begging the question: “What have you got to lose?”

Good question. The answer for an entire nation is, regardless or race, where we were born, where we live or our income: “A lot. Too much.”

At this crossroads, the IJ recommends Hillary Clinton as the far superior choice for president of our country.