Election day is upon us. In just a few more weeks, people who registered to vote will decide between Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to become the 45th President of the United States.
As we decide who to vote for, we think of the many things we want in a president. We want a president to be a leader, who understands us, who gives us hope, who will direct the nation in time of crisis, be powerful and effective to get things done.
However, sometimes some candidates don’t fill out all our checkboxes. That is the reality, people aren’t perfect and neither are presidents. There are many paradoxes within the american presidency.
A few common paradoxes are:
- We want a president to lead and decide important issues for the nation. However, we are suspicious if presidents abuse their power and we will hold them accountable for it.
- We want a president to be normal who we can relate to. However, we also want the president to be smart, charismatic and different. Meaning a president never is actually normal, he is not really the common man, he’s seen as a higher standard.
- We want a confident president who is presidential and resolute. However, we worry when a president believes he is above the rest and doesn’t learn from his mistakes.
There are more paradoxes that we probably are not aware of. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are not perfect. They have made mistakes, but I believe some are worse than the others.
Hillary Clinton - is secretary of state, and was former first lady and senator - has accomplished many roles and achievements but she has also made some mistakes throughout her life.
Donald Trump - a real estate developer, businessman, and television personality - never really worked on the political side. However, he’s also made many mistakes, some that are unpleasant to hear. Recently, he’s been the center of attention in many media outlets, as getting called out for his comments he made in the past about women.
Although, these two candidates aren’t perfect, at least it’s easy to distinguish the mistakes they’ve both made. Hillary has been in the public eye for her political roles. Let me be real, women will always get criticized and sometimes more than a man.
In last night’s debate, I have witnessed once again how Donald Trump doesn’t answer the debate questions. However, Hillary Clinton can answer the questions and she can go on about explaining them and finding an answer. Donald is just like a whiny man who gets angry when people call him out and when he says reporters don't give him a chance to talk.
Well as a aspiring journalist, I know in order to be a good journalist, we want answers. We want do not like beating around the bush and hear nonsense from someone. So as those reporters are asking the candidates questions, they want to hear a clear answer and those reporters know the facts because it's their jobs. So when a reporter cuts into an answer that is nonsense, that's a good thing especially when the reporter repeats the question. The candidates should be embarrassed when they don't answer a question because it's clear that they are trying to avoid it.
So yes, both candidates are not perfect. So, although, we want a president who we agree with 100%, it’s not always possible. Before November, think about the paradoxes, many American voters are torn or undecided. We can’t have a perfect president, not everything the candidates claim or say will always work.
Both candidates can complain about each other as much as they want. They can choose to ignore questions but at the end of they day, we get to choose who we want. Let's not be side tracked from the important issues, like how are we going to solve issues and problems.
So before you vote, carefully think about it.
