The 2016 presidential campaign is moving in full gear with a crowded field of republican candidates and a few democrats. Debate after debate, they throw political punches and jostle through the realm of the public opinion to exhibit their best political performance and qualification for a final victory to the White House. But it all boils down to politics as usual.
The crowded field of the presidential campaign for the 2016 election is comparable to a World Wrestling Federation battle royal. It’s a political arena with 25 candidates vying for one majestic seat, and where strength, endurance and experience are the basic norms of qualification for victory. Likewise, all the presidential candidates, so to speak, meet those requirements. As the saying goes, “they’ve all been there and done that”. Some are former or current congressmen; others are either former governors or actual governors of their respective states.
The strange thing about this presidential campaign is the number of presidential contestants on both sides of the political spectrum that are competing for the big prize: Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Hilary Clinton, Jeb Bush, and even Donald Trump, to name a few. Ultimately, there can be only one winner, and the voters have the right to determine that outcome for better or worse.
“Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters,” Abraham Lincoln said.
Besides the candidates' impressive profiles, what matters to the voters and to the country is a credible and honest individual who can bring something new to the table, not politics as usual. Every four years, the country has seen different people running for the White House, but what they all have in common is the same political algorithm and vernaculars of campaigns with pleasant-sounding clichés. “I am so-and-so; if you vote for me, I will transform America to your liking. I will reduce tax and put money in your pockets. However, if you like the status quo, don’t vote for me.” These are the same familiar empty promises filled with dishonesty to which voters are so accustomed. The reality is that the purpose of those fabulous slogans is to win votes. There is nothing true about those magic promises. It’s a routine; it’s politics. People are so naïve that they fall for it, and I used to be one of them.
Let’s take a retrospective look at some past presidential candidates and presidents' political conduct. For example, George W. Bush is involved in the government’s conspiracy of September 11. Candidate George Bush, Sr. deceived the American people with this campaign promise: “read my lips, no more taxes.” In the end, he did the opposite: he did raise taxes. President Clinton, although he had two terms in office and left the United States Treasury with a large surplus, had said this: “I don’t have a sexual relationship with that woman”. President Richard Nixon, after denying his involvement in the Watergate beak-in, finally resigned to avoid impeachment proceedings.
But after all, as the saying goes,“ there is honor among bees,” . In U.S. history, President Abraham Lincoln was one of a few presidents whose presidency serves as a role model. Also candidate Barry Goldwater, a Republican, is the other honorable bee. In 1964 he ran a clean presidential campaign against President Lyndon B. Johnson. He may not have said what the voters wanted to hear, but he told the full truth about the Vietnam War. As a consequence, his truthfulness cost him the election. Johnson, who concocted the Gulf of Tonkin attack by the Vietnamese so congress could pass war resolution and approve funding for that war, won the election. Being transparent and honest in politics achieves no concrete results.
Every day that passes moves us closer to the election day. Candidates come and go. In this political arena, the best of each party will throw their final punches until the stronger pins down the other with the voters' choice of the lesser of the two evils. It is, nonetheless, a choice that we have to make. Otherwise, we would risk ending up with the worse of the two. In the meantime, I hope that we elect someone, if there is, that stands for the truth like Barry Goldwater, as there will never be another Abraham Lincoln.
