Public Comment

My Take on the Presidential Race As It Stands

Jack Bragen
Friday January 29, 2016 - 12:27:00 PM

Here is my five cent analysis of the race for the White house. If you don't like it, your money will be refunded. 

Politics is largely the art of manipulating the public's perceptions. Once name recognition is established, the next step for politicians is to convince voters that they are the solution. In order to do this, the public first must be convinced that a problem exists. 

This is not hard in the case of wealth inequality. This preexisting issue is a fertile bed on which a politician such as Bernie Sanders can put a political platform. And it is obvious that the megacorporations have skewed the playing field of business and the economy such that economic opportunities have become limited for an ordinary citizen. 

Trump's platform is built on the public perception that the U.S. has become weak. He paints himself as the tower of strength who, if elected, will restore strength to the U.S. This resembles the campaign of Ronald Reagan. 

(It is believed that Reaganomics, primarly consisting of the "trick down" concept, is responsible for the dramatic increase in homelessness that occurred during and after his Presidency.) 

So, if you are a politician, first you get name recognition, then you formulate an existing or imaginary problem and paint yourself as the solution to this. This is why Sanders and Trump are doing so well, and why Clinton had better watch out. 

Hillary Clinton represents building on the successes of the Obama Administration. This does not have as much pull with the public. However, Hillary Clinton is also backed by Bill Clinton, who is still enormously popular. Many have wished Bill could have somehow stayed in office. 

Hillary needs to do more than paint herself as a continuation of the Obama Administration. She should give specific plans for how she is going to make things better for ordinary citizens, by outlining a specific economic policy that will bring money into the pockets of millions who are doing without, and she needs to outline a specific plan of how she intends to combat international and domestic terrorism. 

When Bill Clinton first campaigned, he had a specific plan that he laid out which included increasing taxes, eliminating the government deficit, and saying that government could "do more" to help citizens. Under Clinton's economic policies, the government deficit was turned into a surplus, and the economic environment was good for entrepreneurs, who in droves created Silicon Valley startups. 

Martin O'Malley, on the other hand, does not have the same name recognition that Bernie Sanders has created for himself, and that Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump have already established. 

I feel that Trump would be gravely dangerous to elect. I am not clear how Bernie Sanders is going to realistically accomplish that which he is promising. I am wholeheartedly in favor of Hillary Clinton, and this is a strong personal conviction.