Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. Both of these presidents are considered to be some of the greatest from the 20^th century. John F. Kennedy led the United States as he prevented a potential nuclear war with the Soviet Union with resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy also laid the groundwork for what eventually became the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and fought for racial equality in his short time as president. Ronald Reagan’s economic reforms gave confidence back to a nation that was hindered by rising inflation throughout the 1970s, and saw the defeat of Communism as the “Iron Curtain” fell across eastern Europe. This would also lead to the eventual fall of the Soviet Union itself.

If either Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy would have run in their respected party’s primary today, neither would have a good chance of winning their party’s nomination. That is the cold hard truth. Critics would have cited that both candidates were “too moderate” and “too willing to compromise and accept ideas” from across party lines. John F. Kennedy led economic reform by cutting taxes, including cutting the taxes of the richest Americans from 91 percent down to 65 percent. Kennedy also increased the military budget by 20 percent while approving the infamous “Bay of Pigs” invasion of Cuba, attempting to violently overthrow the Castro regime. Ronald Reagan granted amnesty for over 3 million undocumented workers that were currently staying in the United States, and also led social change by nominating the first woman to the United States Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor. On the Supreme Court, she was regarded as a moderate conservative who was open to new ideas and ways of thinking.

How could neither of these great presidents win their respected party’s nomination in today’s election cycle? It’s quite simple actually. Over the course of the past few decades, partisanship between both parties have grown and driven the parties farther apart in ideology. Donald Trump’s call for mass deportation of all illegal immigrants, and plan to initiate a temporary ban of all Muslims from entering the United States, are just a few examples of his hard-right, extreme views. Ted Cruz, on the other hand, is well-known to be borderline aggressive with his moderate Republican comrades. Against the wishes of some of his other Republicans, Cruz filibustered the passing of the health care reform, and ended up helping to facilitate the shutdown of the federal government back in October of 2013.

However, this type of extreme front-runners is not just on the Republican side. On the Democratic side, a self-proclaimed socialist named Bernie Sanders has risen rapidly in the polls, nearly defeating Hilary Clinton in Iowa and is poised to beat her in New Hampshire. Bernie Sanders has stated that a 90 precent tax rate for the richest Americans is not out of the question. This is completely contrary to what Kennedy believed, which was having generally lower taxes for Americans. Hilary Clinton is also no moderate Democrat. Throughout this election cycle, she has championed herself as someone who will “fight against the war on women," and has taken firm stances on women’s reproductive rights. Kennedy, a devout Catholic at the time, said that abortion would be considered “repugnant by all Americans."

As you continue watching this election cycle, keep in mind about how deeply divided and contrasting the two political party’s frontrunners seem to be on the issues. But not only that, look into how far both parties have gone to the right or left ideology. With both parties seeming to continue to go their separate ways on the issues, do not be surprised if less and less is achieved in Washington. We saw this with the rise of the Tea Party in Congress, and we will see it again if the general public elects an ideologue into the nation’s highest office.