BY JOSEPH LOPES, Junior
BLYTHEWOOD -- The year was 1984. Ronald Reagan was running for re-election of President of the United States of America.
Reagan won the election that November with the biggest margin of victory in history, winning 49 out of the 50 states.
The 1984 Election sparked the most interest in the history of the U.S., until this year.
According to a Fox News poll, a whopping 67 percent of voters say they are considering voting for the next president in November, compared to 49 percent in 2012 and 32 percent in 2008.
As of February 15, the Republican side of the election is down to six candidates.
Leading the pack is businessman Donald J. Trump with 35.8 percent of prospective Republican voters saying they will be voting for him.
However, Trump’s campaign has not come without it’s challenges. Trump was up over 40 percent of the vote, but he has since fallen five points after stating Muslims should be temporarily banned from the U.S.
Behind Trump is Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Followed by Sen. Marco Rubio, Neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; with everyone else left far behind.
Out of the plentiful amount of candidates, who is the best fit to lead? According to sources around Blythewood High School, it isn’t Trump.
“People think that Trump is only saying that he is only saying this stuff because he cares about America. If he really cared about our country he would follow the Constitution and be welcoming to everyone of every religion,” junior Amelia Reynolds remarked.
“I think of Trump as a sledgehammer. American doesn’t need a sledgehammer, we need a scalpel. You can’t use a sledgehammer when you need a scalpel,” Law Education teacher Jason Gayheart said.
The U.S. does in fact need a scalpel, as we have high unemployment, high debt, and according to CNN, more assistance going to illegal immigrants than our veterans who fought for our freedom.
Even South Carolina Govenor Nikki Haley has expressed her concern over Trump’s rhetoric.
“Mr. Trump has definitely contributed in what I like to call irresponsible talk,” Gov. Haley said last month.
If there are candidates with far more experience than Trump, you may ask, how is he leading by so much?
“Trump has hit a nerve in our country. People are mad, and frankly they should be after seven disastrous years of President Barack Obama,” Trump’s lead competitor Sen. Marco Rubio said.
On the Democratic side, there are only two candidates left in the race, and they are very close.
With only two candidates in the running, there is far less drama, and no room for either of the candidates to mess up, and it is refreshing.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the lead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 7 percent.
In the recent Iowa Caucus on Feb. 1, it was a very close race for the whole five hours of caucusing.
Many Democrats are voting for Sanders over Secretary Clinton for very clear reasons.
“I’m feeling the bern because [Clinton] is a liar. She lied to family members of people who died in our armed services. Anyone who lies to them can never be President,” senior Anthony Sampedro said.
Sampedro also noted he is voting for Sen. Sanders in the election because his focus on young people.
“There are really no other candidates, on either side, that are even talking about the youth of our country. We are the future, we deserve a voice, and [Sanders] has given that voice to us.” he added.
Sanders is really getting into the heads of young people, and it shows. 89 percent of voters aged 17 to 24 voted for him the the recent Iowa caucus.
He may have the youth vote, but like every other candidate, Sanders has his fair share of downsides. He has gotten all of these votes by using the most effective ‘F word’ in the world of politics: free.
He has promised debt free college, free retirement, free infrastructure, and many other things.
“If it works for him, so be it. Politicians are sheep who only tell you what you want to hear. Nothing will ever be free, especially under a Socialist President,” Gayheart concluded.
So, who knows? Maybe this is the biggest prospective voting turnout since Reagan's time which does not make it a good thing.
After all, nobody can control who becomes President on their own. It takes millions of people to vote.
This will be a very exciting election come November 2016.
