This new year brings many things. In a time of insecurity in America, 2016 will reveal our next president. For most seniors, and some juniors, the right to vote will be a reality. As citizens, it is our duty to vote. Some people don’t care who is president. Few are polar opposites and carry strong political opinions. “The perfect candidate” is a phrase thrown around when peers try to persuade one another to vote for their favorite candidate. However, no president candidate is perfect. I took the time to find each candidate’s biggest non-political flaw. Moreover, their biggest moral flaw, something Democrats and Republicans alike could agree is a problem.

Hillary Clinton: Failed Marriage

Bill and Hillary Clinton are one of the biggest power couples alive. Married for over 40 years, the Clinton’s have been at the top of the political game for a long time. Hillary served as First Lady from 1993 until 2001 while Bill remained President of the United States. Bill wasn’t the best president of all time, and he could be in the running for worst husband of all time. Over the years of their marriage, Bill has cheated on Hillary on numerous occasions, some revealing themselves in the public eye. Yet, Hillary is still married. Normal people would not tolerate such actions from a spouse. Not only has Hillary tolerated one affair, but multiple. For this reason, few have respect for her. It seems that to her marriage is no more than a name.  

Martin O’Malley: Baltimore’s Meltdown

Martin O’Malley served as the Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007 when he was elected Governor of Maryland. Like all politicians, O’Malley promised to make Maryland a better place; however, he has not fulfilled his promise. In fact, it has gotten worse since he got there. Just last April, Baltimore went up in flames about the death of Freddie Gray. Gray died in the custody of police. What ensued were a series of events that CNN called racial tensions that “bubbled to a full boil, as chaotic images of store lootings, destruction of property and buildings engulfed in flames captured the nation.” O’Malley foolishly decided to travel to Ireland during this time. And, while in Ireland, O’Malley declared a state of emergency. No person will vote for a person who wants to lead all 50 States when he can’t control a single one on its own.

Bernie Sanders: Age isn’t just a number

Bernie Sanders is 74 years old. He is just as old as your grandma or grandpa, if not older. Can you imagine them running an entire country? Elderly people often have less energy and have to sit down a lot, otherwise they get too tired. Presidents don’t have a lot of downtime; I can’t imagine my grandma being the President of the United States. Nevertheless, Sanders is running for President of the United States. If he took office, Sanders would be the oldest president to ever be sworn in. The life expectancy of a male in America is 75.6 years old. If that is true for Sanders, he had better have a decent Vice President. The current oldest President of the United States is Ronald Reagan who was 69 when he became President. Reagan resigned while suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Coincidence?

Jeb Bush: Bad Name, Worse Loyalty

Without hesitation, many Americans would say that George W. Bush was one of the worst presidents of all time. Not only did he add an enormous amount to the national debt, but he also got us into the Middle Eastern conflict that we are still digging ourselves out of. George’s brother, Jeb Bush, is running for President in 2016. Though his name scares many off, Bush’s lack of loyalty to his family is what concerns many. Jeb tries to distance himself as much as he can from his brother’s shortcomings. This brings into question how loyal he would be to his colleagues that make mistakes should he sit in the oval office.

Ben Carson: Painting of Jesus and Him

Ben Carson is a gifted surgeon; there’s no mistake about that. He was the first person to successfully separate the heads of a pair of conjoined twins. Aside from his belief in God, Carson has some strange ideas about life. But, perhaps the most frightening thing about him is that he has a picture of himself… and Jesus. The picture displayed in his home shows Jesus dressed in a white robe, and Carson (dressed extremely similarly) directly below Jesus. However close he claims to be to Jesus, a picture of him and Jesus appearing that Carson is directly below Jesus (in authority too) is strange.

Chris Christie: Closing bridges over politics

Chris Christie may look like a full grown man, but he played at a child’s game roughly two years ago. Two lanes of a busy highway were closed by some of Christie’s staff members in order to punish a Mayor of the city for not voting for Christie when he ran for Governor. This mess made the highway like a parking lot for essentially 4 days. If Christie is elected, who knows what he will do. Will he shut down all planes going to China if their Emperor gets on his bad side? Who knows.

Ted Cruz (L) and Mike Huckabee (R): Supports Extermination of Homosexuals

Just over a month ago, Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee spoke at a conference in Des Moines. What’s the big deal, you say? This conference was led by an extremist pastor who wants to exterminate all gay people. The candidates were aware of his extremist view prior to the conference, and then were reminded when he called out for the mass extermination of homosexual people once more on stage. The pastor advocated for Christians to attend gay and lesbian weddings with signs saying “You should be put to death.” Still, they spoke and supported this individual. 

Carly Fiorina: Fired From Her Own Company

In 2005, Carly Fiorina, Co Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, was forced to leave her own company. Fiorina was voted “out” by her own board members. If elected president, at least the government’s own “board members” can still impeach her if she runs us into the ground…

John Kasich: Who?

When I say only undefeated season in NFL history, you respond Miami Dolphins. Do you know who they beat in the Super Bowl to become the first undefeated team ever? No, of course you don’t. Neither do I. When I say presidential candidate, you might say Trump, Clinton, or Sanders. No one would say John Kasich. That is his biggest problem. Kasich is simply not known to the public. Ask someone next to you if John Kasich is running for president, and they will say “John who?”

Rand Paul: Living in the Past

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 accomplished a lot for America. This act banned the racial discrimination of hiring, promoting, hotels, or eating in restaurants in public areas. Rand Paul believes that there is something wrong with this piece of legislature. Paul says, “I abhor racism. I think it’s a bad business decision to exclude anybody from your restaurant—but, at the same time, I do believe in private ownership.” In this interview with Louisville Courier-Journal, Paul stood behind the rights of private businesses refusing service to a person based on their race.  Imagine an America where restaurants could refuse service to a person of any race simply because of their color of skin. If Paul is elected, this might become a reality.

Marco Rubio: Immigrant Hypocrisy

Marco Rubio’s parents fled Cuba before he was born. At the time, America was just as weary about Cuba as we are now with Syria. Now that Syrian refugees are entering the States, Rubio seems to not have empathy for the refugees that are in the same situation he was once in. Rubio does not want any refugees in the country. I wonder if we asked his parents what they’d say about refugees…

Donald Trump: Misogynist

Of all of the ill-advised things Donald Trump does, misogyny is one of the most detrimental to his popularity. Trump rarely speaks well of women, and quite often objectifies them. In an interview once, he said, ““You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive]. But she’s got to be young and beautiful.” Trump also once sent a popular columnist Gail Collins a copy of one of her writings with her face circled on it. He captioned it, “The face of a dog!” If he is elected, I wonder what he will say about the 20 current women serving in Congress. It sure can’t be anything good.