Why the 2020 election offers American voters clear choices

After a year of deep disruption, America is poised for a presidential election that renders a verdict on the nation's role in the world and the direction of its economy, on its willingness to contain an escalating pandemic and its ability to confront systemic racial inequity.

But the two men on the ballot, President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, offer more than just differing solutions for the country's most pressing problems. The choice before voters is a referendum on the role of the presidency itself and a test of...