Many of us in college now will not remember the 2000 Presidential Election between George Bush and Al Gore. We were too young to really acknowledge what was happening. We all know that Al Gore won the popular vote by nearly 500,000 votes but since George Bush won the electoral vote he was voted into office. An election that initially appeared one sided was eventually too close to call. During the election, George Bush was perceived by many to be unprepared for the job, unsophisticated, and incurious. George Bush is consistently ranked among some of the worst presidents of all time and people still wonder what would have happened if Gore was elected instead. With the upcoming election coming up it is important that we do not forget the past and make the same mistakes.

Al Gore's loss was, at least in part, due to third party candidate Ralph Nader. A third party candidate, Ralph Nader did not have as much funding as the other two candidates. His campaign ran on the ideas of universal health care, environmental issues, campaign finance reform, and stronger labor rights, among other very valid issues that do need solving. Knowing that he did not have a strong chance of winning, Nader instead tried to get the 5% that he would need in order to get the government to fund the green party in future elections. As we all know, Ralph Nader did not in fact win the election. He ended up with 2.7% of the popular vote. Many now believe that by running as a third party candidate, Ralph Nader took votes that would have gone to Gore: a man with similar ideas and values. Nader's candidacy cost Gore critical votes that allowed Bush to win. If not for Nader running for president chances are that Gore would have won and the early 2000s would have turned out differently.

With Bush, the result was exactly what we anticipated. During the Bush presidency: a tax bill that unfairly helped the rich was passed, the united states started using fossil fuels more, and directly violated the Kyoto Protocol: which tried to limit the emission of gasses into the air. The September 11th tragedy was not President Bush's fault or doing. It likely would have happened under any president's watch. Something as horrific as this tragedy would shape any president's legacy and George Bush's is no different. Following the attacks we went to war with Al-Qaeda. During this time there were measures taken to help our safety in the future such as the NSA and Homeland Security. We also set up a prison outside of our country which meant that we would not have to follow the Geneva Convention in this prison. Outside of the war: our economy crumbled and our education systems suffered. His lack of preparation and curiosity led to him giving most of the decisions to his vice president and cabinet.

It should be noted that George Bush was in fact a politician before becoming president though. As poorly as the country did under his eight years in office he still had some qualifications for leading our country. Donald Trump has no qualifications. That brings us to the 2016 election.

Donald Trump is not a politician. He's a failed business man. He's a liar. He's a thief. He hides behind hate speech and feeds off of hate speech too:

Donald Trump is openly supported by America's enemies: North Korea, ISIS and Russia. He is a man who advocates war crimes. He is a man who does not want to be president, he just wants the title. He is a man who is supported by the KKK and Neo-Nazis and refuses to disown them right away. Donald Trump is a man who has suggested that Hilary Clinton should be killed. He is a man who encouraged Russia to commit international espionage on the United States. A man who read a book written by HITLER every night before going to bed. Like Bush, the consequences of a Trump presidency are predictable. Trump is considered far less prepared and thoughtful than Bush was and he explicitly offered all domestic and foreign policy to John Kasich when he tried to get him to be the vice president.

The list could go on forever but that is not the point of this article. My point is that we cannot forget how the 2000 election turned out. If not for the third party candidate Ralph Nader, chances are Al Gore would have won the election and Ill say it again but bad as George Bush was as president, at least he had a history in politics. This relates to this election because of Gary Johnson. He is a man who has many good ideas but there is little to no chance that he will win. It's unfair that our system is like this but that's the reality. Hillary Clinton may not be the best choice. It is true that she was wrong with the emails and how Bernie Sanders was treated was unquestionably unfair. However, she nearly nearly forty years of public service and working with presidents. Out of all the candidates, Hillary Clinton has the most experience to make the world we live in today better. She is all that stands between us and a reality tv star ruling our country. Gary Johnson is a good candidate with many good ideas, most of which are similar to Hillary's, but he cannot be elected. Donald Trump is a far worse candidate than George Bush was and the 2000 election showed the danger of voting third party. Instead, we all need to vote for the only candidate who can keep him out of office: Hillary Clinton.

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