This election cycle, many Americans are unsatisfied with the options we will see on the ballot come November. Some are voting for a candidate because they feel as if they “have to,” and many don’t want to vote at all.
But as Americans, do we make it easy for people to get their names on the ballot? No. So I would say it is our own fault that we may not have the representation we were looking for this Election Day.
I don’t know many Americans that would be able to take two years off from their job to run for president. Not only does America have the longest campaign cycle in the world, but also the most expensive one. In 1926, Canada had its longest election cycle in history – 10 weeks. Those 74 days cannot stack up to the two years the United States dedicates to election campaigns.
These never-ending campaigns cost a fortune. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign is expected to cost up to $2 billion. Candidates have to spend the majority of their time raising money rather than discussing the issues.
We want experience. We don’t trust candidates without a track record of how they voted on pertinent issues. But we don’t want career politicians. How can we have candidates that are able to dedicate two years of their lives, fundraise day-in and day-out and have experience not be politicians? The election cycle takes so long and costs so much money that there is hardly a choice to be anything but a career politician if you expect to win.
As if running for president wasn’t unpleasant enough, we expect these individuals to open their doors to invasive styles of reporting. Politicians are constantly criticized and bashed by voters and have to have an extremely thick skin.
We do not respect any human fragility; any mistakes made show weakness and are scrutinized in the press. When third party candidate Gary Johnson did not immediately recognize Aleppo, he was automatically unfit to serve as commander in chief. When Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is detached and doesn’t show any emotion, we call her a machine. When she shows any at all, she’s immediately weak and too fragile to be president.
We get excited about politicians that break norms and change the status quo like Republican nominee Donald Trump. As Americans we want our politicians to be funny, likable and honest. We want to be able to sit down and have a beer with them. We want them to be human. But when they make any mistakes, we crucify them.
The double standard we have placed on our politicians makes running for president seem like the most horrible job in the world. It is no wonder that we as a nation are unhappy with our choices – because we didn’t give these politicians much choice in the first place.
Katie Schafer is a senior majoring in public relations and policial science. Her column runs biweekly.
