This Presidential Election has not been a great. In fact, one could argue that the actions of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been an outright embarrassment to the United States and to the Presidents that served before them. Whether it is racist comments, controversial emails, disgusting statements about women, or immature bickering, these two candidates have made one of the most sacred government processes an absolute joke.
The first Presidential Election I can actually remember paying attention too was the 2004 election. Incumbent President George W. Bush defeated then Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. I was only in second grade then, but I can recall discussing the Presidential race in class, and we even had a fake election with voting booths and everything. Since then I've paid more and more attention to the elections. I witnessed history in 2008 when President Barack Obama was elected, and I was fascinated in 2012 when President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney battled back in forth.
No election has ever been completely clean or free of controversy, however at the very least each candidate has treated the Presidential race with respect and class. The United States is one of the few countries where our leader is elected by the people, and one a candidate is selected it is accepted by everyone (Despite an early controversy, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump did eventually say he will accept the result of the election). If you have watched CNN even once your lifetime you've probably seen a story about how a country has gone to war over a disagreement over an election. Military takeovers, battles, assassinations, and more have all occurred due to countries not being able to agree on who should lead.
We are very fortunate that we have a comparably far more peaceful transition of power here in America. However, the fact that this election has been treated with such classlessness is frustrating. The first two debates were a joke as moderators struggled to get the candidates to discuss real issues. Social media has not helped either as tweets are seemingly more paramount than having a great speeches.
Regardless, on Tuesday we will be electing either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as President. I have my issues with both candidates, but despite that, I will support whomever is the victor. I just hope that the winner can learn from the President before them and represent America like President Obama did in the video below:
In less than three minutes, President Obama just set and example for both candidates on how the leader of our nation should truly act. Honestly, I am a bit worried about the future of our country, but if either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump can learn anything from this video we may have a chance.
