Americans love presidential elections, or at least we love to hate them. From heated debates at the dinner table to Facebook arguments to protests, presidential elections bring out the best and the worst in everyone.
The high energy and excitement of the campaigns are exhilarating, and we often get lost in our strong feelings about a certain candidate...even if they aren't our preferred candidate.
Every person interested in politics has at least one presidential dream ticket. For those of us who are addicted to the excitement of politics, we tend to have many different dream tickets.
I often sit in class thinking about who I would love to see sit in the Oval Office and why I think they would be great for the country. Because I have so many, I want to share some of the dream tickets I hold close.
These are not intended to be my picks for 2020 — some of them aren't even realistic — nor are these in any particular order.
Hillary Clinton/Al Gore
I know, I'm mentioning Hillary Clinton...again, but hear me out on this one — two candidates screwed over by spoiler candidates (Nader and Stein) and the electoral college taking on the system together.
Nothing could be as exciting as that.
The economic prosperity of Bill Clinton/Gore years of the 90's could be brought back. Not to mention Gore has all the experience of a VP and is the largest climate change activist this country has ever seen.
Hillary Clinton has foreign policy down, she is strongly for gun regulations, was (for the 22nd time) named Most Admired Woman, and let's not forget, she terrifies Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and the Republican establishment.
Michelle Obama/Gavin Newsom
Michelle Obama doesn't want to be president. She's made that very clear; however, that doesn't mean I can't want to see her sitting at the Resolute desk.
She is incredibly popular among the Democratic party all over the country. She is educated, inspiring, and politically savvy.
There's a saying in politics that you can't get far without having "the look," and if anyone has the look, it's Gavin Newsom.
Like Kamala Harris, he is a California liberal who has been a great proponent of leftist policies including a woman's right to choose and marijuana legalization. He was also a very early advocate for same-sex marriage.
Amy Klobuchar/Julian Castro
If I wasn't indecisive about my preferences, I would want this as the 2020 ticket.
Klobuchar is from Minnesota so she will be popular with rust belt voters. She has never lost an election. Actually, she has consistently won by double digits.
Castro is from Texas and will have broad appeal to both moderate southerners. He also carries the support of Latinx communities across the country.
To add to that, his twin, Joaquin, a Florida congressman, will be a great benefit in delivering Florida for this ticket.
Kamala Harris/Sherrod Brown
A California liberal and an Ohio progressive teaming up? Sounds like a win to me. Harris is often cited as the "female Barack Obama" and is considered to be the current frontrunner for the 2020 nomination. She is young, exciting, and has broad appeal in the party. Brown would be a great asset in any ticket given that Democrats typically struggle to win in Ohio, but with a popular senator that is a champion for the middle class, the Buckeye State is ours for the taking.Joe Kennedy III/Sally Yates
Nothing in American politics is more exciting than a Kennedy running for president, and we are long overdue for one.
Joe III has the charisma it takes to sweep an election. He may be relatively inexperienced now, but I'm confident that he'll be a political champion before he would consider a bid for the presidency.
Sally Yates was the Deputy Attorney General under President Obama and was launched into the spotlight when she was fired by Trump for not supporting his travel ban. She is from Georgia, which could play out to be a huge plus for Democrats.
Yates would also need a bit more experience before aiming for any big aspirations, but there are plenty of seats opening up for her to look into.