"[To] do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone nor is it easy; wherefore goodness is both rare and laudable and noble," said Aristotle.

Once upon a time, we sought leaders who were ethical and virtuous. Today, we have Trump and Hillary. When I think of the people furthest from presidential material, I think of the disgraceful Hillary Clinton and the disgusting Donald Trump. The worst part of these two being our nominees - we chose them. When did we change our standards to which we hold the leader of the free world? It's no surprise that Hillary has been lying for years - you can fact check her all day long to see the continuous stream of lies and poor political decisions she's made. You can also find numerous first-hand accounts of her poor treatment of security agents and the like. It's also no surprise Trump is disgusting — he's always been a crass, low-class, demeaning bigot. Both have been well-documented. Yet we as the citizens of the greatest nation in the world chose these two to be the possible leader of our country. We have to take some responsibility for the current situation we are in.

I believe our current political system is broken. We the people cling so strictly to one political affiliation or the other and it clouds our vision to real issues and solutions. We'd rather fight against the opposing party than actually work on fixing our country. It's a never-ending power struggle.

Aristotle said that a person's habits become their character. He also said who they are in private should be the same as in public. When it's not, corruption arises. Looking at our two candidates, there is a long trail of bad habits and poor character.

The most disgraceful things about Hilary:

1. Dirty politics and covering up information.

Hilary has a past entangled with cover-ups and dirty politics.

Democrats are pushing for the American public to disregard the email situation. They keep saying it’s not a big deal. While I rarely agree with Trump, he made a great point during the second debate. Not only did she blatantly go against policy by hosting the emails on a personal email server, she tried to cover it up. If any other US citizen did not comply with immediately handing over information and then tampered with the information, they would be facing serious consequences, including jail time.

Her claim is that there were mass amounts of personal emails she didn't want to lose. She should and could have had the personal emails sent from her government server and would have been in compliance with policy, much like any other restricted entity operates. I previously worked for a financial institution and we could not host work emails on personal servers due to regulations. We also had to download certain technology onto our phones to ensure they were solely on the work server. She originally claimed hosting through her personal email server would allow her to carry one cell phone rather than two. She ended up later admitting to carrying four mobile devices. Rather than abide by federal law, she did the opposite which rightfully raises eyebrows. Shouldn't our secretary of state and presidential nominee have to follow the rules?

She lied about sending classified documents. The Inspector General said they found one document that was top secret. She mentions during the second debate in her expansive 30-year career and time in the Senate, she was privy to the utmost classified information. With that being the case, it is pretty apparent she would know which items were classified and therefore shouldn’t have had them on personal servers. She would also be aware of the policies and laws. She decided she was above the policies and the laws. She went from saying she did nothing wrong to admitting she made a great mistake. I don't think she made a mistake. She knew what she was doing. Her only mistake was getting caught.

The conflict of interest and cover-up of Debbie Wasserman is another topic of interest and concern. The leaked emails started a firestorm when they revealed Wasserman and staff favored Clinton over Sanders. Sanders was quoted saying he knew all along the operation was not ran fairly. Interestingly enough, Wasserman was given an honorary Clinton campaign position immediately following her resignation.

In Nevada, Clinton’s campaign rented office space within the DNC office. Witnesses say it was hard to distinguish whether it was Clinton’s campaign office or the DNC office, following with the fact that there were no remnants of any other democratic nominee within the office. This whole situation is just another example of unethical behavior which Clinton has her hand in.

Even in her race for the senate, she played a part in delaying the release of her first lady records. The Judicial Watch ended up suing the National Archives over the situation.

When she was formerly running against Obama she engaged in major mudslinging and smear campaigns. She suggested he had ties to radical Islam leaders and the like. It’s funny how they are such great friends now. I guess when she takes the heat off him and applies it her new target, Trump, all is forgotten. Once again, that strict political affiliation is such a negative thing for our country.

Dean Ludwig and Clinton Longnecker wrote an excellent article "The Bathsheba Syndrome: The Ethical Failure of Successful Leaders." They demonstrate how power can corrupt a person and lead them to engage in cover-ups even more vile than the original deed. They highlight the dark side of success and call into question the ability of leader’s to remain morally sound.I don't think Hillary has remained morally sound.

2. Benghazi.

While legally she is not facing consequences for the situation, she demonstrated her lack of ethical leadership capacity in leading the free world. To deny her involvement and responsibility in the situation as Secretary of State is an egregious error. In addition to the situation itself, the handling of the situation afterward was beyond frustrating. The Democrats cite not having adequate resources in place at the time of the attack as the cause of the tragedy. That was Clinton’s job. She even admitted this was her fault. Yet, Democrats are still holding on to the idea that none of it is her responsibility simply because she didn’t read the cables from the embassy. It was her ultimate responsibility to ensure a site like this was adequately protected and able to defend themselves. As a leader, especially of foreign affairs, you cannot only have good intention; you must have good action and strategy.

Paul Rand has made some very valid points in the situation as well. Rand compared the situation to Black Hawk Down in Somolia. He said, “It was, I think, a tragic lack of leadership, similar to what Les Aspin did in Mogadishu under Bill Clinton. And he ultimately resigned his office.”

Yet Hilary has the audacity to strive for THE leadership role. She can’t exercise good ethical leadership as the secretary of state but she thinks she should hold the ultimate leadership role.

3. Her public face vs. her private face.

“F**k off,” in reply to her secret service agents saying “good morning, ma’am.” From her treatment of her the secret service agents to a staged political marriage, she is fake. They say a lion is frightening but a lion dressed in a sheep’s clothing is even more alarming.

The secret service members who worked for her and the Clinton family describe how awful she is in person. She was nasty and horrible to them. These were men who were there to help her and protect her. "Stay the f**k back, stay the f**k away from me! Don’t come within ten yards of me, or else!… Just f**king do as I say, okay?”(Unlimited Access, p. 139).

Author Ron Kessler wrote, “Secret Service agents assigned at various points to guard Hillary during her campaign for the Senate were dismayed at how two-faced and unbalanced she was” (A Matter of Character, p. 2)."

It is no secret Hillary and Bill are married solely for political reasons. Bill is the disgraced former president who has been a social adulterer. Her common forms of endearment for her husband include, "That sorry son of a b**** (when he was governor of Arkansas)." "You god**** stupid f****** fool," when referring to Bill in front of their daughter who was a toddler. These were just to name a few.

Hillary used her position as First Lady to insert herself onto a political platform. During Bill's presidency, her global travels far surpassed any other first lady. She was very engaged in groups and conferences that were pushing government-centric ideas. Ultimately, she set herself up for a future presidential run in each step she took. There is no denying it has been strategic. No other woman has a foreign platform as expansive as hers. There’s no doubt staying in a face-value marriage was part of her strategy.

“I want you to do damage control over Bill’s philandering... Bill’s going to be president of the United States... I want you to get rid of these b****** he’s seeing... I want you to give me the names and addresses and phone numbers, and we can get them under control." Hillary to Ivan Duda in 1982, (The Truth About Hillary, pp. 98-99).

"God***n it, Bill, you promised me that office." She demanded the Vice President's office, adjacent from the oval. Gore promised Clinton he would embarrass the newly appointed president with the truth if he gave her the office. Multiple accounts, media personnel, claim she continued to throw fits the rest of the day cursing people out (Bill & Hillary, p. 258).

This type of verbal abuse went on continuously and is backed up by an array of sources. “How could you be so damn stupid? How could you do that? she said to Bill in front of guests (US News & World Report, February 5,1996).

If she can so easily fake a marriage and use it to her advantage, it creates a question about what else she will fake and use to her advantage.

Aristotle and other philosophers have made very wise comments on the importance of acting the same behind closed doors and in public. They claim this is imperative for any person but of most importance for leaders. Aristotle also says your habits become your character. What you continually do behind closed doors will eventually affect what you do in the open.

4. She has extreme leftist beliefs that flirt with the artificial line of socialism.

She undoubtedly wants to open the borders. She admitted at the second debate she wanted to increase the Syrian refugees by 650 percent. She has very globally motivated policies and ideas. Barbara Olson wrote a book about the Hillary in 1999, "Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton" (Olson was killed in the plane that hit the pentagon during the 9/11 attacks). Olson presented information that during Hillary’s formative years, she was immersed in Marxism and Leninist ideals. She says there is an obvious distinction in Hillary’s ideas on government control rather than individual control, especially in the areas of health and government, and hardly any regard for families.

In a 2000 interview, Olson said, “I have thought that Hillary was going to run for the White House since 1993 when I started investigating the Clintons. She doesn’t compromise. She doesn’t come to the center. She believes in a true leftist, Socialist kind of government."

This suggestion is backed up by Clinton's book, "It Takes a Village." She claims rather than a future of family, it should be a large village of teachers, doctors and social workers. When she spoke at the Women in the World Summit she urged religious beliefs had to be changed. That is a massive statement to make. One person may disagree with a religious way of thinking but that does not give anyone the ability to change any religion. It makes you wonder what her true political agendas are moving forward that she isn’t revealing to the public.

I like a bit of progressive movement but I get alarmed when I start thinking of socialism, Marxism and the future of our country. This once again makes me question our current political system and the flaws in being solely left or right extreme.

5. Acting as an elitist

As First Lady, she yelled at an electrician for changing a light bulb. She demanded all ‘repair’ work take place when the family was elsewhere. She’s an elitist and out of touch with reality. She hasn’t driven a car in over 18 years. She hates military uniforms and mandated military personnel wore business suits in the white house. She’s forced secret service agents to carry her bags (service agents who's job is solely to keep their hands free in order to protect at any moment). The same secret service agents she is nasty and vile towards.

Her views on the Arkansas people were never very high. She is continuously cited as saying, “bimbos,” “sluts,” “trailer trash,” “rednecks,” and “s**t-kickers.” (American Evita, p. 139).

Once an adoring supporter gave her Arkansas Razorback earrings as a gift and she quickly said to her friend, "Look at the S***" I have to deal with (Blood Sport, p. 105).

She did not like to have children or guests inconveniencing her. She went on the Arkansas mansion intercom system to say,“I want to get this sh*t over with and get these damn people out of here.” They were preschoolers posing on the lawn for a photo (The First Partner, p. 192).

She also has quite a few racist comments herself. “She’s a short, Irish bitch,” In regards to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd (Newsmax quoting the New York Post, July 25, 2000). They also included, “You f**king Jew bastard.” This was a name she commonly referred to campaign manager Paul Fray. This particular instance was on the night of Bill's congressional race loss in 1974 (The State of a Union, p. 153).

The most disgusting things about Trump:

1. Dismissing ‘grab her by the p***y’ as locker room talk.

No. Just no. He cannot talk in such vile ways and dismiss it as locker room talk. It’s no doubt that some men, especially low-class men, will get together and make derogatory comments about a woman but this is disgusting. And we should hold our presidential nominees or any leaders to a much higher standard.

I keep seeing people excusing this behavior and it is repulsive. Between this, the Stanford swimmer and the increase of sexual assault on campuses, we are sending a message this is OK. Young girls are hearing and seeing it’s okay for men to talk to them and treat them like this, and young boys are seeing it’s okay for them to behave this way and they’ll get away with it, especially if they get into positions of power or influence.

Not to mention his sexist comment he made on "The Apprentice" about a female contestant looking good on her knees in the boardroom. He insinuated that was the only appropriate place for her in the boardroom.


Is this really the message we want to send to our youth? Girls in particular already have an extremely difficult time with self-confidence and a whole gamete of equality issues. Comments from Trump about women are reinforcing that a woman needs to be perfect on the outside to be worthwhile and who she is naturally isn’t good enough. This is not how we build up our youth, especially our young women. He is disgusting.

2. His comments about his own daughters.

He has referred to both Ivanka and Tiffany in extremely gross ways. He’s mentioned how great a body Ivanka has and that if she wasn’t his daughter, he’d probably date her. He also refers to Tiffany’s breasts in one comment. He also allows Howard Stern to refer to Ivanka as "a piece of a**."

Is this the example we want to set for young girls? This is the type of man they should look for to be the father of their children? What kind of morals are we teaching? My own father would rather talk about other than anything physical about me. And I can guarantee if he heard another man mention me in a derogatory way he would not be okay with it.

I see people claiming we are too sensitive and there is nothing wrong with all of these comments from Trump. That says quite a bit about the lack of morals society has as a whole. Our society, now our possible leader, sounds more like someone in a rap song than a male in any leadership capacity.

3. Spewing racist comments.

He repeatedly makes the reference ‘the blacks,’ as if they are their own species or a different segment of people. Not to mention in the second debate, he basically said all black people live in the inner-cities. I can think of numerous exemplary black Americans who are very well educated, well-spoken and better mannered than this fool. In fact, Ben Carson is a man Trump could take a few lessons from.

He also reportedly said he was a "negotiator, like you" to a group of Jewish people. This is a long-standing stereotypical comment towards Jewish people.

Aside from that, he makes comments about the Japanese by referring to them as ‘Japs.’ He also says Mexicans are rapists, murderers and drug dealers.

America was founded on immigration and diversity. We became a melting pot of backgrounds and beliefs. We must demand a president who not only appreciates our diversity but celebrates it and treats all Americans as equals.

In order for our country to be great, we cannot continue to have racism and hatred between communities, ethnicities or religions. Trump is further dividing the gap between these groups. He himself is spewing hate and racism. That is not the type of person we need as president. During such a bumpy time, laden with racial tension and fighting, we need a leader who can bring us together. It is very easy for an idiot to divide people apart with hatred, it takes a true leader to unite people. Abe Lincoln was a great example of bringing people together. He empowered his subordinates, worked to end slavery and united the divided country during the civil war. That is the type of president we need in our current situation.

4. He behaves like a child.

He interrupts interviewers, he responds to anything negative about himself by tearing down others on a personal level, he interrupts the moderators, he interrupts Hilary during debates, and he is volatile.

These are simple concepts we teach our children. When you are teaching a child to be a contributing member of society, you teach them foundational principles. A few of these principles are: listen to others when they speak, treat others how you want to be treated, understand that there are different views across various groups of people. These are such simple foundational principles that work to create positive, healthy adults. How can we possibly elect a man who cannot grasp such simple principles and treats people like they are gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe?


His temperament is frightening. It causes one to question how easily he would go to war with foreign entities or make off the handle decisions. He makes us look like a joke to the rest of the world in the way he behaves. When anyone questions him or says something he does not like, his immediate reaction is to tear them down, often on a personal level. His comments about Rosie O’Donnel were completely out of line and distasteful. He has no tact. How can we have a president who has no tact? We need a president who is genuine and can build a relationship with the right foreign entities. How can he build a relationship with foreign governments if he cannot even build a relationship with conflicting Americans.

5. He’s narcissistic and manipulating the vulnerable masses.

He can’t apologize and his ridiculous attempts come off as completely insincere and unauthentic. Donald is a narcissist. He has a very big ego and does not want to apologize for anything he does. I’m sure his PR team has a hay day trying to keep him in line and make him seem authentic.

He’s bringing people out in support of him who have never voted or been involved in politics. These people are typically uneducated and of low social status. These people resonate with him because he is speaking like them. What's ironic is he is nothing like them. He is a uber wealthy business mogul who knows nothing about the struggles low or middle-class families face. The reason he resonates so well with them is because he speaks at their level. For the first time,the uneducated and uninformed feel like they are involved because he speaks in a simple way they can understand. It helps them feel a connection to politics for the first time. He promises them changes he can't make and they believe him because they do not understand the way our government works. They don't realize that the election of local politicians has a much greater impact on daily life than a president will.

6. He does not have the class or wit to speak in a presidential way.

While I like that he is blunt and not full of typical politician BS, I can’t get behind someone who acts so juvenile and narcissistic. Interrupting people when they are speaking, rattling off the handle, getting in Twitter wars with anyone who questions him... this is an example of everything that is wrong with our country. This is a reality TV show on the most massive scale.

Plato believed all people should be virtuous. Not only did virtue include knowledge but instead comprehensive wisdom which in large part was moral virtue. Plato’s "Republic"depicts the moral aspects of leadership and is a very relevant bit of literature for today’s sordid election. He analyzes the way power and self-interest can distort a leaders actions. The story goes on to say, “Injustice causes civil war, hatred and fighting among themselves, while justice brings friendship and a sense of common purpose.”

It is undeniable that our country is at odds. We are fighting each other across artificial lines dictated by an archaic political system. We no longer have virtuous leaders. We have characters playing leaders that resemble those of reality TV filled with drama and corruption. I fear our country will be in this never-ending unhealthy and unethical cycle until those leaders with holistic wisdom – ethical and moral virtue – step up to change the way the game is played. The American people have to do their part to reward these types of leaders and catapult them to the top. We as Americans cannot complain about this conundrum we are stuck in when we directly dealt the hand to ourselves.

For now, we are in a lose-lose situation between disgrace and disgust. Good luck, America.