Presidential Election 2016: Let Battle Royal Commence

Weekend Issue’s Recap

It is the day after the 15^th anniversary of 9/11; the anniversary of this generation’s Pearl Harbor. A day that we would hope could be used in remembrance and reflection on the beauty, significance and ultimate short amount of time we have on this earth. We hoped that partisanship could be set to the side on such a day, but we would be misled in that process wouldn’t we? As the day of remembrance progressed a small story from a memorial ceremony in NYC came to light.  Headlines slowly started to scream variations of Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton’s potential collapse as she got into her car. Video soon emerged that showed exactly this, a stumble from Mrs. Clinton and she is in the car and on her way.

Of course as the day progressed this became one of the presumptive headlines or even topics of discussion for those even vaguely associated with politics. Reporters, journalists and citizen keyboard warriors did not have to speculate long as Mrs. Clinton’s camp came out with the statement of her diagnosis of pneumonia. After months of GOP officials and conservative media bringing together clips of odd behavior and calling for the Democratic nominee to release her medical records on the grounds that she is medically unfit to be president, they finally got their ammunition. The past few days have been nothing but a giant media debate between liberal/left leaning media and conservative/right leaning media. The past few days ladies and gentleman is the main sum of this Presidential Election since the Democratic and Republican convention. The only thing missing is either an outlandish claim (even an old claim) from Donald Trump or some voter bashing. Hold on a second both of those happened over the weekend to more of the dismay of the Democratic nominee, but nonetheless this is the state of US politics.

Does Policy Matter Anymore?

At the beginning of this election, I can say and many people I know and have spoken to all agreed that Mr. Trump running for POTUS had to be a joke. A man known to most millennial voters as the driving force and face behind the Apprentice reality show, what could he know about politics? When Mrs. Clinton entered the race coming off of some scandals between deleted emails and a perceived botched handling of the Benghazi tragedy we thought that as a political insider she should be able to ride the waves and get going on Policy to win. However, this Presidential campaign has been anything but normal and voters are getting increasingly restless and edgy. To date Mr. Trump is the Republican nominee and destroyed his competition in a landslide. While Mrs. Clinton is drowning in scandal, barely able to keep ahead of the media on the right or the left. We are just inside the 60 day mark until election day, and only recently has policy just started eking its way into the discussion. Less than two weeks out and Mr. Trump is starting to outline plans for anything outside of his immigration policy.

In a world dominated by social media, we as a society have come to rely on that feeling of instantaneous gratification for knowing “what’s next”.  This rush we feel from the intake of such an enormous amount of information has finally found a resting place in our politics. Particularly this (soon to be) no holds barred shouting match between the two candidates for POTUS. Absolutely wonderful. In an era where polls seem to shift according to the latest scandal rather than through policy I can’t say that I am incredibly surprised. After two wars, a crippling recession and renewed tension across many lines in this country, why focus on policy when you can play your opponent up to be the biggest bad guy ever? That’s what seems to work. Both the left and the right have made headlines through these tactics. With these kinds of juicy strategies of act and react, who needs policy?

Do We Deserve Policy?

In a word: Yes. Yes the American public should be demanding policy rather than antics from either political party. Why should this matter? Why should we be demanding to know the policies, even outlandish ones, of our next Commander in Chief? Simply put, whoever wins Trump or Clinton, they will be the trendsetters for the next four years. The POTUS doesn’t make the laws, but they sure do make sure that their stamp of approval goes on them. They fight for what they believe is the best path for the American public. They are the face, the voice, and the will of the American people. So if they represent us, why in the world would we not want to know exactly what they have in mind for the next four years? I suggest that in the slight time we have left before ballots are cast and another bloodless revolution comes to pass we demand as a people, whether left leaning or right leaning,  that our future leaders give us what we need to make a decision that will have rippling effects beyond the next 4 years.

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