The past elections have been like being on a roller-coaster, we all wanted this masquerade to end – but in our favor. Feelings are a mix of shock, surprise, and sadness. The only thing which makes me look for better days is the thought that Barak Obama is still in office until January. Even though we don’t know what will happen under Trump’s presidency, his arrogance and unprofessionalism, just makes most people I know anxious for the next four years. There are many other aspects we can criticize about what led to the result of Wednesday night, yet his unpredictability is the most threatening.

One of the first articles I saw on my Facebook feed, was about “The Internet Really, Really Wants Michelle Obama to run for president in 2020” The past few months I have thought about the outcomes if we had Michelle Obama as a candidate instead of Hilary Clinton and if that would have changed anything. But in any case, Trump has already projected himself to present himself for another four years after 2020 in his speech. It seems relevant to start thinking about the ways we can save America, and Michelle Obama is the answer.

She is the perfect presidential candidate.

In a nutshell, African American woman, Princeton-educated and professional lawyer from an underprivileged family background living in Chicago, are not the only factors which makes her relatable or qualified for the job.

Views on my campus about Michelle Obama’s speech and inspirational words during the DNC last summer or other speeches supporting Clinton have been highly praised. Ramsha Ahmad, English major hoping to get into law school explains that Michelle Obama is an engaging speaker, an advocate for families and children, “but more than that she has the support of millions of American who respect her for her values and how she stands up for women,” said Ahmad. Adding on, Michelle Obama is goal driven and “would most likely carry on most of the policies that Barak Obama carried out during his presidency but definitely improve on them,” added Ahmad.

Another point Ahmad and other students share was that contrary to Clinton, having Michelle Obama in office would have meant less skepticism and mistrust. Clinton has “been involved in too many scandals and has made mistakes, policy wise,” said Ahmad. Computer science major also agreed that even though Trump was our worst option, he still would not trust Clinton in office in spite of her program.In essence, Michelle Obama has more transparency both on her moral value and policy decisions which Clinton never promoted for her campaign.

In fact, Michelle Obama has the “supporters, natural charisma, integrity,” which both current candidate lack, explained, editor in chief of the Drexel independent newspaper. However, she adds that any other candidate “would have made a difference” in this race. So, it has more to do with having the wrong set of candidates than having others.

It is true that despite Michelle Obama’s charisma and involvement in social issues there are probably better-suited candidates politically wise with more experience in office. However, even if Hilary Clinton exhibits political experience Michelle Obama seems to lack, “smart people chose not to vote,” said communication professor and former journalist, Dr Alexander Nikolaev, they have in some ways lost hope in this election from the start and chose to stir away from the circus that is our elections. Apparently, usual voters did not vote and first-time voters increased this time which might explain the outcome as well. The lack of participation of some regular voters could have had an impact but certainly not a direct one given America’s voting system.

What is unfortunate is that based on Fortune article (July 2016), Michelle Obama has declared her firm rejection to run as a candidate because “She doesn’t like the games that are played in Washington”. “She also cited her children as a reason not to seek the office,” mentioned a CNN article (march 2016).

Thus, having her as a candidate was not an option this time, however, in this period of reflection, it can motivate us to think about the next elections and who we really want in office.

Who knows? She may consider running if we encourage her enough.