The upcoming 2016 election is the first Presidential election that I will be able to vote in; however, neither of the frontrunners: Hillary Rodham Clinton or Donald Trump inspires me to vote.

Secretary of State Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have been plagued by numerous scandals for the past 20 years. Most recently, her constantly changing stories about her use of a private Email server to handle top-secret governmental issues seems to indicate that she is either highly incompetent or a liar. Furthermore, her recent testimony in the Benghazi hearings proved that she knew that the attack on our Embassy was by terrorists and did not have anything to do with the video, as she had originally claimed. Given her inability to tell the truth, I cannot get excited about voting for a perjurer for Commander and Chief.

Mr. Trump may be the most offensive and politically incorrect human being alive. His child-like insults to other candidates are bad enough; just imagine what he would say to insult our enemies, many of who have nuclear weapons. He has already outraged women and Hispanics in this country. While he is no doubt a highly successful businessperson, he has yet to set forth any policies on how he is going to solve any of America’s problems other than him telling us “trust me.”

For years, I have heard my parents complain that they are voting for the “lesser evil.” Having always looked forward to voting, it is disheartening to think that that same strategy will likely be how I cast my first vote for President of the United States of America.

On Thursday October 15, 2015, the New York Times published an article titled Democrats Avoid a Hard Question: How to Pass Their Proposals. This article is written by Brendan Nyhan a Political Science Professor, raises many valid points in this article. First, Nyhan points out that “Democrats will be forced to confront the reality that presidential powers are necessarily limited.” No matter how much candidates promise voters, the reality is that our forefathers set up our government with a three-tiered system. As we have learned, Congress is the only branch that can actually introduce legislation. While the President can issue Executive Orders, those orders can be overridden by Congress or overruled by the Supreme Court.

Next, Nyhan shows how Hillary Clinton’s bragging has no substance. “’I know how to find common ground and I know how to stand my ground,’ Mrs. Clinton said at one point, without explaining why either strategy would work better for her than they have for Mr. Obama.” Unless the Democrats take back over Congress in the 2016 election, the fact remains that another Democratic President will also have his/her political agendas blocked by a Republican controlled Congress.

Finally, while “keeping the White House would allow the party to prevent Republicans from rolling back Mr. Obama’s legislative accomplishments…,” it will not allow a new Democratic President to fulfill any of their campaign promises. I believe that the American voters understand the difference between campaign rhetoric and what they will really get. This is why the voters should demand candidates set forth detailed strategies on exactly how campaign promises are going to be achieved.

On Tuesday September 29, 2015, the New York Times published an article titled Is Donald Trump Serious? This article is written by Joe Nocera, a business columnists, is obviously an opinion piece about politics, which is clearly out of his area of expertise. I believe Nocera is wrong in his four-point analysis.

First, Nocera’s statement about Trump not being able to build “an impenetrable wall along the U.S. Mexico border” is ridiculous. Trump has made a fortune in construction. If the Great Wall of China could be built in 206 BC, surly in 2015 Trump could hire the best and brightest construct an impenetrable border wall.

Second, Nocera’s comments that Trump is outrageous for stating “concealed carry permits should be valid in all 50 states, just like a driver’s license.” The Second Amendment was put into place so that we, the American people, would have the right to “keep and bear arms.” Putting stricter gun control laws into effect does nothing but harm the people that want to legally own guns.  Those with bad intentions will always find ways around the laws and more paperwork will not be a deterrent.

Third, Nocera indicates that Trump’s plan to lower corporate tax rates is not well thought out. Bringing corporations back to the USA is only the first step in the plan. Corporations would employ millions of people; thus, removing many of the unemployed from the welfare system. I believe the American people would be willing to pay more for products made in America in exchange for tax consumption credits.  This would further increase American pride in this great nation.

Finally, Nocera questions if “Trump is a serious candidate, or whether this is all a giant publicity ploy…” since “he always has to be perceived coming out on top.” Nocera says that Trump is too afraid to risk losing the election, so he will drop out before the Iowa primary. I believe Nocera is wrong. Trump is too egotistical to drop out. Trump, according to Trump, has never been wrong. Any man who believes this about himself will never swallow his pride, admit he was wrong and just drop out.

Nocera is obviously a hard-core liberal. My research found that he previously likened Tea Party members to “terrorists.” His audience is obviously Democrats who would never vote for any Republican, especially Donald Trump.