Somehow, these names don’t fit together: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump. However, many polls measuring the presidential race predict Trump will soon be sitting alongside some of the greatest leaders who built this very country. So, as hundreds of thousands of Americans visit Mount Vernon and Monticello today, I have to ask: Will we be taking our children to visit the Trump Tower?
Possible election outcomes don’t look hopeful on the other side of the aisle either. Bernie Sanders’ rally in Massachusetts earlier this month was said to have been the biggest primary rally in Massachusetts — ever. This "Democratic Socialist," as he calls himself, is a contender against the Clinton campaign. An average of all national polls shows 42 percent of the Democratic vote going to Hillary Clinton, while 18.6 percent of Democrats are voting for Joe Biden, who still hasn’t decided whether to throw his hat into the ring. As days pass and the chance that Biden actually does run becomes smaller and smaller, the Democratic primary may be "Berning up." Then again, what if I were to tell you Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders leading in the polls was just a long, elaborate joke by Americans, specifically younger ones?
The lack of many Americans taking the campaigns seriously, for arguably the most powerful position in the world, for the past two centuries comes from two sources. One has to do with how candidates campaign today. The radio changed campaigning in the 1920s, television did the same in the 1960s and now social media is the new medium that is transforming presidential campaigning. However, social media may be doing more harm than good to the legitimacy of candidates. In the past, when a president or a hopeful candidate wanted to move the American masses, he would give a well-thought-out speech that reminded Americans what this country was, is and always should be. Today, we are left with less than 140 characters and hashtags to be pointed in the right direction.
Hopeful presidential candidates run their campaigns indirectly, which leads to the second reason as to why campaigns aren’t taken seriously: the span of time. We knew who was running for president a year ago. President Obama still has an entire year left. With social media outlets like Twitter only fueling the fire of the short attention spans of younger generations, we can’t really be blamed for not taking the presidential race as seriously as it should be taken. Along with campaigns becoming longer, they’ve also become less important. I can learn everything I want about every candidate, their views and reputations in a couple of hours surfing the Internet. Therefore, there’s no need to even pay attention to campaigning or useless polls until months from now. People could say they’re voting for Trump, Sanders or even Ralph Nader. No one should care, because who people say they will vote for next year has nothing to do with what happens when the ballot is in front of them.
The boring truth can be seen when looking at the yes, boring, but revealing facts. If polling and campaigning have changed dramatically, the importance of campaign fundraising hasn’t. America’s two leaders in campaign fundraising, according to The New York Times, happen to be Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton — not Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Donald Trump is reaching mostly into his own pocket for financing, while Bernie Sanders does not seem to be relying for large donations to run his campaign. But we knew six months ago it will likely be Bush vs. Clinton in the general election. It would be boring to follow elections for more than two years when we already know the results. To sprinkle in a little excitement, Americans want to continue to let Trump talk. He’s been funny, offensive and, above all, entertaining. On the other hand, poor and in-debt college students love the idea of supporting the "Democratic Socialist" if he’s preaching free college education, even if feasibly impossible.
Supporting candidates with extreme views far from the norm make drawn-out presidential campaigns entertaining. Let’s just hope young Americans don’t forget that this was all just some elaborate joke come Election Day.
Joseph Uvardy is a UF engineering freshman. His column appears on Wednesdays.
