The era of 2016 Presidential debates has officially come to a close, and those who may have been previously undecided are left to make their own decisions (or not) with what information they have been given about the running candidates. During all three debates, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump demonstrated their knowledge, or lack thereof, of various vital subjects such as certain social issues, their potential Supreme Court Justice appointees, and immigration reform. Both candidates contributed their thoughts and ideas to these subjects, but what ought to also be observed is the manner in which they were expressed. Personally, I believe that ideas should not be accounted for if the person presenting them cannot even handle themselves professionally and be mature in the presence of their opponent. This election year's three debates were debates like nobody had ever seen before, solely because of the caliber of professionalism that took place during them.

In the first 2012 Presidential debate between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican opponent Mitt Romney, the debate was civilized, perhaps even "boring" compared to what we are used to seeing in 2016. There were little to no ad hominem arguments from either side of the debate, and both candidates stayed on-topic, allowing 17 topics to be covered within an hour and a half. The commentator was never once interrupted by either candidate, and both candidates presented fairness to one another in terms of whose turn it was to speak. This type of civility is what America truly needs in its highest office. This type of maturity represented in the 2012 debate should be common sense for potential presidents to illustrate. The way both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama carried themselves when debating did not make me personally feel the need to fear for the future of this country. However, I cannot firmly say the same thing for 2016.

No matter what side of the political spectrum one may choose to affiliate themselves with, it needs to be noted that Donald Trump is the sole reason as to why the 2016 debates have been so unique in relation to past Presidential debates. From uttering "wrong" into the microphone as his opponent speaks, to interrupting her at rates in which news outlets jumped on tallying up after each debate, it is only fair to point out that America has never seen such antics such as this on a nationally-televised presidential debate in history. These are the same antics that turned this debate from professional to some kind of reality show. I don't mean to be the party pooper, but presidential debates are not exactly meant to be entertaining. This is the time period during the Presidential race in which candidates can be candid about their thoughts on the country's current issues at hand, not pointing fingers and making fun of or accusing their opponent. It's all fun and games until you realize that the same person attempting to create drama during presidential debates is also running for the highest office in the land.