The most qualified candidate ever?
When I heard President Obama deliver a ringing endorsement of Hillary clinton - in the build up to the US election -claiming she was the "most qualified" person to be President in American history, he almost made me buy it. Here is a man who is, without doubt, one of the finest public speakers of our time: he is emotive, humorous, passionate and truly inspirational. It should be noted that I speak there only about his skills as an orator, I am not judging his time as President in those terms - that's a whole different debate.Sure, Clinton is qualified in so far as she has served as First Lady, Secretary of State and indeed stood as prospective presidential candidate for the Democrats in 2008, however, none of this means she should be President.
A struggle for young Americans
The US election of 2016 places America in a position where the country is faced with two unelectable candidates; especially if you're a young American. On the one hand, the right hand of course, there's a symptom of societal strain, economic difficulties and xenophobia; when one personifies these factors, it produces the candidacy of DonaldTrump: a business-man, turned celebrity, turned hardline and far-right political embarrassment. Whilst on the other hand, we have Hillary Clinton; a wholly uninspiring Presidential candidate. Oh sure she is "highly qualified" for the job, however, she stands as nothing but a figure for the political establishment in a country that is in desperate need of a new kind of politics; real change.
Research has shown that the youth of Americado not want either candidate. The Harvard IOP Spring Poll 2016 showed that Bernie Sanderswas still the most popular candidate amongst Americans aged 18 to 29. Furthermore, it has been shown in this research that the majority of young Americans are inclined to reject the capitalist principles that are undoubtedly synonymous with both Clinton and trump.
Hence, we have two unelectable candidates that dramatically fail to represent the feelings that are bubbling-up in both American society and international politics in general.
An opportunity missed
This is aUS election whereyoung people want change;society and the world as a whole need it badly. Sadly, with regret this election is set to disengage the youth - and worst of all - miss-out on an opportunity to create something better.There is no heroism in this election, not even a trace of transcendentalism; there is only 'the system'. A system that is failing us all but supporting itself.
Oh how I still long for Bernie.
