Let’s face it, elections are nothing but a popularity contest and Americans are stupid. It’s pathetic what kind of people are considered popular and even more pathetic what kind of people end up in government. If Americans don’t start taking government more seriously and start making more educated decisions about what kind of people are elected into office, we could be in real trouble in the future. Americans are losing credibility around the world. Other countries cannot believe who we elect into office. We need to look at the person running for office based on how qualified they are and not by their appearance or how often they make us laugh. It’s been suggested that if Roosevelt was running for office today, he would not win because of his
The United States is a privileged country with freedoms and opportunities many countries strive to achieve. People come into the United States in hopes to obtain these rights and make a better life for themselves; they strive to achieve “The American Dream.” Citizens are given the chance to vote, speak their mind, and live according to their desires without prejudice. However, the same government that promises hope has flaws that frustrate the American people; the Electoral College is one topic of debate. Many feel this system is a safe way to regulate who leads the country, while others feel that issues should be left to popular vote.
It is true, as Hedges writes, that “Political leaders, who use the tools of mass propaganda to create a sense of faux intimacy with citizens, no longer need to be competent, sincere, or honest.” We are already live in this reality. Donald Trump, our very own President, has been widely accused of making mistake after mistake. Sharing classified information with Russia, talking smack and threatening North Korea, the list goes on. The other day, I even heard that he tweeted about the United Forces being ‘locked and loaded’, implying that we’re ready for nuclear war with North Korea because of this. Despite all of the suspicious actions of the POTUS, people still take his side, claiming he’s America’s saviour. It goes to show how no matter how crazy someone is,
There's something else troubling about the way we elect presidents--something beyond the personal attacks, the derelict voters and the influence of big money.
The United States of America is often touted as the guiding beacon of democracy for the entirety of the modern world. In spite of this tremendous responsibility the political system of the United States retains some aspects which upon examination appear to be significantly undemocratic. Perhaps the most perplexing and oft misunderstood of these establishments is the process of electing the president and the institution known as the Electoral College. The puzzle of the Electoral College presents the American people with a unique conundrum as the mark of any true democracy is the citizens’ ability to elect their own ruling officials. Unfortunately, the Electoral College system dilutes this essential capacity by introducing an election by
In America, voting for the President is a privilege and a lie. Many Americans think when they go to the polls in November, they are voting for the President of the United States; but really, they are voting for a group of electors who have pledged to support a nominee for the President. The Founding Fathers were concerned that presidents would always come from a populous state and wondered whether the public would have the knowledge of various candidates necessary to make a wise selection. They did not have access to technology like the internet or smart phones as we do. In most states, as the result of the election, the state awards all its electors to the winning candidate (Belenky 1308). A Presidential a candidate must win 270 Electoral
Thus a candidate becomes a symbol--being both subject and object in the mind of the electorate. This goes beyond being a mere figurehead: figureheads are allowed peccadilloes since they are not considered to be "real" decision makers. Figureheads express a polity's emotions about an office, and only those. American political figures--especially presidents--express emotions and will, and they express them in terms of a man (Americans seem to feel strongly that the office should be held by a man). The presidency is symbol in that it expresses us: we impeached Clinton because we found his conduct with Monica Lewinsky to be reprehensible. There was not the political will to convict him, however, because we knew that essentially he stood for us, and who among us has not had love affairs of which we are embarrassed?
Everyone had that one friend in middle school that caused drama every day. This is what political parties are like today. There is that one person on the right who is convincing the person in the middle to pick a side of a story, and the person on the left who is also trying to convince the person in the middle to stick with their version of the story. Everyone is biased towards each other due to what side they choose. The middle man is always lost in the argument and the actual story is changed. Neither side will work it out and just in spite of the other side, they will deny whatever the other says without giving it second thought. Political parties have become this immature and polarized. There can never be a consensus because of the extreme
A popular vote for America would not be benign because many people in the US do not relish America. In fact, there are auxiliary foreigners coming into the United States persistently. For example, the article foreign students: coming and going says, “The number of foreign students at universities in America reached a new high of 819,644 last year” (The Economist). Furthermore, there have been hundreds of terrorist attacks on America. Many People just come to the US to eradicate it. However, the United States federal administration has kept the constituents safe since
Examining Trump’s rhetoric and past actions, it becomes clear that Trump’s ability to be the leader of America, especially in today’s already heated world climate, becomes questionable. When even the members of his own party refuse to endorse him and claim that he is not qualified to run a country, the general public needs to sit back and question his integrity. In Trump’s past, he has proven to be an insensitive, racist, greedy business man. Why would he prove to be any different once elected to office?
Let’s begin by looking back into history and look at specific ways the perception of candidates has changed. In the early 1800s people viewed someone as a “good” presidential candidate if they were white, tall, old, had a long beard, came from a strong military background, and owned slaves (Benoit et al., 2003)
This has has always been a big thing for the United States, has it’s people are bringing in a new person who would eventually lead their country into a good path. When it comes to actually doing the rough work like voting for a new President, that would be an entirely different story. In a chart from Document G, there are 4 past elections listed that compares the popular votes to the electoral votes. In the 2000 election, George W. Bush won by 271 electoral votes, while Gore won by 266 electoral votes. This may seem reasonable for Bush to be the president, but when it comes to the popular vote, although, Gore had highest amount of popular votes than Bush did. So why did Bush win instead? This is one of the main reasons why the Electoral College should be abolished. If the Electoral College stays then the people will not be able to choose the right person for the right job. So this shows how it can cause so many people to be frustrated with the Electoral College, which does not really help the country at all, in terms of the choosing a new
Presidential power has become a hot topic in the media the in recent years. There has been extensive debate about what a president should be able to do, especially without the involvement of Congress and the American people. While this debate has become more publicized since the Bush administration, similar issues of presidential power date back to Truman and the Korean War. As with much of the structure of the U.S. government, the powers of the president are constantly evolving with the times and the executives.
Take for instance, the recent turmoil over the presidential election ended in a failed attempt to select a president based on the people's choice. This outdated system of electing a president in our country's government isn't right and we need to get rid of it.
Since America is such a powerful country, it follows that the United States President is one of the most powerful figures in the world. Considering the United States is a democracy, it would seem obvious that the people directly elect their leader. Wrong. The popular vote has nothing to do with the election of the president. Instead, the way the president is decided is by whichever candidate wins the most electoral votes. Each state has a certain amount of electoral votes based on the number of people in that state’s House of Representatives. In most cases, the winner of the electoral vote is also the winner of the popular vote. In a few rare cases though the winner of the popular vote lost the election. This shouldn’t be. The U.S. should have the people directly elect the president. A most recent case was the last election of 2000, Bush vs. Gore. Gore had the popular vote won by a margin...
The next worst thing that could happen to the new American history was Bush’s re-election. I doubt so many American people are that dumb… I lived in USA and most of the people I met there don’t like his deeds.