A presidential candidate is never perfect. Voters have an image of an ideal president in their minds, and each election is a chance for that image to come to life. In the 2016 election in particular, Americans have been unsatisfied with the candidates. The political system has become so twisted that those who would genuinely make good presidents are not willing to put themselves through the scrutiny and financial struggle that it takes to be elected to office. In other cases, those who were favored by many voters, but couldn’t put up a fight against seasoned, wealthy politicians, have to step away from the race. Such was the case of Bernie Sanders; he garnered the support and enthusiasm of a lot of younger voters, and many believed, and still do believe, that he would have led the country more effectively than Hillary Clinton would. Despite this, he couldn’t catch up with Clinton in the fight for delegates and had to drop out of the race. For these reasons, most people find the 2016 presidential candidates to be mediocre, proven by the percentage of people who say the candidates are “strongly unfavorable” — 37% for Clinton, 53% for Trump. So the question becomes,
What are the qualities that Americans look for in an ideal candidate?
It seems that the only thing people talk about during this election cycle is how unhappy they are that Clinton and Trump are the nominees, yet somehow these candidates won the nomination. Someone has to be voting for them. But what about these candidates draws votes? A “good” president has specific qualities. According to a CBS News article, a good president should be even-tempered, empathetic, open-minded, and decisive.
A recent poll taken in Westchester, New York, asked Americans if the current candidates fit what the American people are looking for in a president. Several high school students responded to the poll, and even though most high school students are not yet of voting age, their opinions and beliefs are valid and valuable. They represent the future of America and will transition into adulthood under this new president. Katherine Lukas, 17, is “looking for someone who is willing to pull Americans together instead of tearing them down based on what party they belong to and their personal beliefs.” In what has become one of the most divisive elections to date, this fear is shared among many. She also notes that “although [she is] not 18 and can’t vote,” she wants to, “have some sort of influence on the American democratic system,” by remaining informed and involved in political issues.
Another individual, who elected to remain nameless, hopes to see “someone who wants to make America better and someone who tells the truth.” Multiple individuals mentioned that they would like to see someone with previous political experience, most likely taking a swing at Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is first and foremost a businessman. His background as an international real estate mogul, as well as a reality TV star, makes it important that Trump possesses and demonstrates integrity throughout the campaign, something that Catherine Schoetz, a Mamaroneck High School English teacher, values in this election.
James Short, also a Mamaroneck English teacher, is looking for a president who will “do the most for the most people. Everyone should matter. [He wants] to see someone really show that they want to help everyone.”
“Everyone should matter.”
Stephanie Gensburg, 17, believes that Hillary Clinton is a satisfactory candidate, “given that she was a United States Senator for eight years, and is very clear, verbal and direct about all her political opinions.” From the other side of the aisle, some find that Trump’s business experience provides comfort in that he knows how to handle finances. A crossing guard stationed near Mamaroneck High School, who did not provide her name, sees that “[Trump’s] a businessman,” and therefore, “he knows how to take care of money, he knows what to do with the money. These other people, […] they don’t know how to budget. He does.”
John F. Kennedy had one of the highest, if not the highest, overall approval ratings for his presidency, as demonstrated by statistics provided by Gallup. Why is that? His charisma and good looks helped his cause, of course. But he was able to accept mistakes that he made, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, and then take charge of the Cuban Missile Crisis, controlling what many think to be “the most perilous moment since World War II.” He was also able to ease relations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. JFK did not make everyone happy, though, and was assassinated. The point is, even though Americans thought very highly of JFK, he didn’t have the support of everyone. Even one of the most-liked presidents will never satisfy everyone.
It’s apparent that individuals have their own opinions of their perfect commander-in-chief. But does the perfect president really exist? No, says Schoetz. “No candidate will ever be perfect. In a democracy, I don’t think you’re really going to get that.” If this is true, maybe that’s why so many people seem to be view Clinton and Trump as so unfavorable. People will always disagree with one another on who their president should be. This election has proved that this holds true, now more than ever before. So, while everyone would like to see a certain someone, or a certain kind of someone, take the White House, and while there are certain qualities that a president should have, one candidate that satisfies everyone is simply a figment of the imagination; it can’t and won’t exist.
