The month-long government shutdown, Trump’s most recent presidential address, and his blossoming friendship with dictator Kim Jong Un have had me looking forward with a sense of desperation to the 2020 election. This election may result in four more years of Trump’s threatening, pouting, and appointing underqualified bureaucrats with questionable morals. My hope is that Trump will be replaced with a person whose concerns are for the American people and not for their own personal gain. Despite my liberal views, I believe that the best president to take office in January 2021 would be a moderate one.

Division in the country intensifies following each election; one party wins, one loses. The favored party undergoes a gloating period while the losing party simmers and prepares for a comeback. I believe that Albert Einstein said it best: “Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perpetually rejuvenated illusions.” Essentially, this means that the cycle of politicians through the government is inefficient and tiring. Whatever changes one administration may make, the next administration will attempt to undo those changes, and the cycle repeats itself.

A moderate president would appease the general public, prevent the pendulum from swinging, and begin to heal the division in the country. However, this is not to say that more extreme liberals or conservatives would not have a voice. Representatives at the state level should be as left or right as the people decide.

Currently, 18 Democratic figures have made their candidacy official, including Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, and Bernie Sanders. I believe that if either Warren or Sanders were elected to the primaries, it would be a colossal mistake on behalf of all Democrats. I believe that both are too far left to either win the primaries or heal the country’s division. However, candidates such as Booker and O’Rourke are more moderate and therefore a smarter choice. I firmly believe that it is important now more than ever for voters to engage with reliable news sources and to not limit themselves to a specific party, especially as the only Republican candidate is Donald Trump.