Presidential Candidates

Recently I wrote about why you should vote. Now I'm going to address who you might vote for. The upcoming presidential election is May 3. There have been so many people running it's hard to keep up with what they stand for. What they're all about. Because of the sheer numbers, I've been negligent about trying to educate myself on the individual candidates.

They are dwindling down to a precious few now but still more than most people have time to research. So I thought I'd try to help voters by providing some CliffsNotes on the top four presidential candidates, the top two from the two major parties.

The information provided is not just my personal opinion. It's data retrieved from social media, newspapers, radio, TV and the internet. I've paraphrased most of it to shorten it. I'll list the candidate then give both pros and cons for why social media thinks you should or should not vote for this person.

Republican Party

* Donald Trump

Pro: He's angered Hispanics, Muslims, immigrants, women, Catholics and the Pope. If he can alienate all these groups of people and still get elected he can probably deal with difficult world leaders like Kim Jong-un the president of North Korea. The billionaire does not need lobbyist money so he won't owe favors to anyone especially big business.

Con: If he treats Kim Jong-un like he has other people that could lead us into a nuclear war. The Donald comb over. Can anyone take that seriously?

* Ted Cruz

Pro: He's a conservative fundamentalist Christian. He's long been a passionate fighter for limited government, economic growth and the Constitution.

Con: Horror, fiction writer Stephen King says Cruz scares him. King said, "Ted Cruz is a fundamentalist Christian and it would almost be like electing the analog of an Imam." I had no idea what that meant so had to look it up. Imam is an Islamic leadership position. Analog means equivalent. So my interpretation was that King thinks Cruz would be like the Islamic tyrants just with a different religion.

Apparently it depends on one's personal beliefs whether being a fundamentalist Christian is a good or bad thing for a presidential candidate.

Democratic Party

* Bernie Sanders

Pro: He's not Hillary Clinton. Sanders was an Independent until 2015 now he's a self-avowed Democratic Socialist. He's been a progressive voice on issues such as income inequality, universal healthcare, climate change, civil rights and campaign finance reform. He's been critical of U.S. foreign policy and was a strong opponent of the Iraq war.

Con: He's 74 years old. In order to attain his American socialist programs he has a plan to raise taxes -- a bunch. Sanders wants to give Americans free college, free healthcare, free childcare and other free stuff. To do all that there would have to be a very big tax increase.

* Hillary Clinton

Pro: She is a woman

Con: She is a woman

I've not yet decided who I'll vote for. But I will vote. Hope to see you at the polls.