A Difference of 4 Years

Since I started writing this blog, I tried to keep the politics at a minimum. I have never felt myself allied with one particular political party over another, and tend to pride myself on being an independent voter. Politics has lately become quite interesting, and also a bit concerning for me. Within the last year, things I never would have thought to happen have happened. An NDP majority in Alberta, a three-way tie for the top in the last federal election for such a long period of time, and the rise of Donald Trump in the Republican nomination process. Several key issues seem to come up again and again, and this is where I find the compulsion to address current electorate issues in this blog. I look back to four years ago, and I find that things have definitely changed, and I am not sure if it is for better or for worse.

Four years ago, the big talk was the US election. Mitt Romney was taking on Barack Obama. I got into a bit of trouble on Facebook when I posted that I envied the Americans and their choice in president. I thought both men were men of integrity, honor, and had good character. While they differed in their ideology, I thought each party was putting forward a good man who had the essence of statesmanship to run one of the most powerful countries in the world. This time around, I feel as if the US has swung back in the opposite direction. While the primaries are far from over, there are two candidates that are looking very likely to be the nominees of the two parties. On the Democrat side we have former First Lady Hillary Clinton. On the Republican side, it is looking more and more likely that billionaire Donald Trump is the most likely to grab the spot on the ballot. Four years ago, I saw two candidates that were excellent choices. Now, it looks like we will see America choosing between the lesser of two evils.

On the side of Clinton, she has a history that leaves something to be desired. She has been caught in many lies, showing her actions to be a risk to national security, and represents a lot of what many see as the "establishment" in American politics that is rife with greed, scandal, and dishonesty. On the side of Trump, he has no political experience. He has at best vague and at worst impossible policy ideas. He is also bringing out the underbelly of American society with his rhetoric of racism, misogyny, rudeness, and vulgarity. The odd thing for me is that on paper, both look to be lesser candidates to become the President of the United States of America, and yet they each lead their party in delegates in the lead up to this summer's nominations conventions. Hillary Clinton I understand better. She is experienced, is making her second run at the White House, and has a vast army of supporters standing by her every step of the way that are easily looking over her past indiscretions. Trump, on the other hand, is a real head scratch scenario for me. He represents everything that I believe a US President should not be. He is greedy. He is a liar. He is racist. He demeans women. He is insulting. He is crude and vulgar. And he has people flocking to him in ever growing numbers. It is mind-boggling to me.

Now before I get too far ahead of myself, it is important to note that there are still several primaries left to go. Ted Cruz is going to be Trump's biggest opponent now (he seems to have the most momentum). Meanwhile Bernie Sanders is making a big push recently to gain ground on Clinton. I would be interested to see what actually happens, but as the title of my blog indicates, I am amazed what a difference four years can make. If it is Trump vs. Clinton in November, I am very uncertain as to who is the better candidate. Four years ago the USA had the best from both parties going toe-to-toe. Now, it looks like it's the opposite. This is where a third party candidate might actually make a big splash in the election, but in all honesty, I am not hopeful. When we look at the front-runners of each party, I worry for my neighbours to the south. I do not envy them their decision.