As the presidential race continues towards the convention in July, it seems that Hillary Clinton will most likely be the nominee of the democratic party. This fact is one that has both upset and disrupted a majority of Bernie Sanders supporters but actually in fact, appeased the democratic establishment.  The pushback against Hillary from younger white voters is most likely a result of the state of the overall election this year. Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have evolved out of feelings of distrust and disgruntlement with establishment and bureaucratic politics. Hillary Clinton arguably represents the consummate politician, one that changes minor viewpoints on a whim, and seems to lack true principles as a person. However, in any other election year this would be seen as commonplace, Barack Obama flipped on same-sex marriage in the same way Hillary did. Hillary did at one time claim to be a moderate, but now totes the progressive banner, Lincoln Chafee used to be a republican,  Bernie Sanders flipped on gun manufacturer’s liability, O’Malley recently changed his views on Marijuana. 

Politicians throughout history have been influenced by the feeling’s of the people, that, some would say, is their role in society. Hillary has a strong record in foreign policy, Bernie is steadfast in his ideals. These seem comparable, but in today’s political climate the presidential decision should not be based on who is the nicest, the warmest, or the most convivial. Irrefutably, Bernie Sanders wins in all these categories. Hillary Clinton is often cold, shifty, or seems untrustworthy. The personal characteristics of a candidate are one aspect of them, but in politics, not the only one to take into account.

A recent RealClearPolitics poll shows Hillary at only two points behind the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, while Bernie Sanders is shown almost twice that amount ahead. I believe that Bernie Sanders will need to endorse Hillary Clinton in order to bring his supporters to her side. If he continues promoting his slim chance at the nomination, his own supporters, a wide margin of them independent, could easily stalemate themselves into not showing up at the polls, and letting Trump come away with the presidency. Bernie Sanders has been instrumental in forcing Hillary to veer to the left on issues like Climate Change and environment. But instead of dividing the party, Bernie needs to bring his swath of supporters behind Hillary Clinton. If Bernie Sanders would turn his agenda from stopping Hillary, to stopping Trump, he could turn eyes in the direction of the much larger and more impending problem: the possibility of President Trump. As humorist Andy Borowitz at the New Yorker put  so well, “Stopping Trump is a short-term solution. The long-term solution, and it will be more difficult, is fixing the educational system that has created so many people ignorant enough to vote for Trump.”

At end of the day my question remains. “Are we ready for Hillary?” I hear some variants on that question almost every day at school. If you had asked me four weeks ago, I might have shot you a look, said, “feel the Bern.” But now, the fact remains, anyone that ventures that question must be prepared for a response that has become inseparable, “are we ready for Donald Trump?”