After Obama, there are no more cool presidential candidates

Over the course of his eight year presidency, Obama has notably hung out with Beyoncé and Jay Z and more recently, released a video with Macklemore to discuss tackling the drug abuse problem in this country.

Addressing issues like LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, Obama showcased his understanding of the millennial generation and our priorities. Coming from eight years of attention, it’s no wonder we’re hesitant to embrace the newer lot of older candidates. The three remaining major party candidates, Clinton, Trump, and Sanders, are all almost two decades older than Obama. Their children are grown up with families of their own, culturally removing the candidates from the diverse millennial population. Attempts to relate to popular culture have resulted in more memes and parody videos than progress.

Being cool isn’t quite the job description of being president but there are definite advantages to been seen as a cultural icon. The current lot of congressmen fail to represent the youth and diversity of the millennials. A president who relates to this generation is an advocate for causes that might not have the lobbying power of groups like Medicare, which applies to people 65 and older. It is unreasonable to expect that college students will be keeping up with Senate debates on C-SPAN but viewing parties across the country and hashtags on Twitter show a spike in political conscience when events like The State of the Union air.

Being a cool president is certainly a legacy to aspire to but the job doesn’t necessitate being a cultural icon. The president, through advisors and his cabinet, has access to greater expanse of knowledge than the average American who comments about politics on social media. He or she has a responsibility to utilize that knowledge and power objectively in decision-making. The media often dissects and critiques the character of presidential candidates because if being cool or popular is their main priority, they might not succeed in being POTUS.

So where have the 2016 candidates gone wrong?

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton had audiences waiting for her candidacy since her loss in 2008 and stint as Secretary of State. Many women initially jumped on the bandwagon because they saw this as their chance for representation in the White House. However, Clinton’s campaign over the last year shows that being a popular figure doesn’t guarantee an easy journey to the White House. As much as her new wave activism about wages and equal rights appeals to young voters, her history dates back to her husband’s term in the late 90s. She built up a repertoire in politics that many millennials were unaware of simply because they were still young children. Clinton’s longtime experience in the political arena backfires in engaging young people because she speaks the political lingo and therefore, is critiqued with the same degree of skepticism that we apply to seasoned politicians. Furthermore, Clinton efforts to use colloquial millennial language in her speeches have been teased more than appreciated. Bottom line: Clinton trying to dab is about as cool as your grandma trying to – it’s cute at home but no one takes it seriously at the White House.

Donald Trump

You’re Fired. A tagline and a TV show encompass Trump’s claim to fame in the eyes of America’s youth – that and the multiplicity of memes making fun of his hair, his skin color and basically everything else. Jumping into a strongly conservative GOP Party race in a year flush with potential contenders, Donald Trump was an outsider – and an outspoken one at that. Like most celebrities who jump on political bandwagons, analysts discarded his attempts. However, he trumped all the odds (pun intended). Donald Trump’s rise in the polls continues to shock and intrigue the media. Not because he doesn’t discuss the issues but because he’s just a hard guy to like sometimes.

Compared to countries around the world, the USA regards itself fairly highly on the scale of political correctness. Take for instance a conversation about weight – my Indian grandmother has no qualms about informing me that I’ve gotten chubbier since the last time we met. However, this type of open discussion about body fat percentage is something you’re unlikely to hear at a high school reunion or other function. Even if we aren’t, we like to appear polite. Trump just isn’t a nice guy. He argues we need to build a wall on the border with Mexico, that Islam is a problem to be addressed (last time I checked, it was a religion), and he calls people names (Lion Ted sound familiar?). If I was a guidance counselor, I would say this is a classic case of bullying. Among a diverse millennial population that is constantly protesting for equality, bullies aren’t welcome.

Bernie Sanders

An independent from Vermont is now running as a mainstream Democrat. On the coolness scale, I’d say Bernie beats out Trump and Hillary. If Hillary is your uncool grandma, Bernie is the quirky lovable grandpa who, like most old people, goes on soapbox rants. A relative outsider to the Democratic party, Sanders, like Trump, was discounted as a formidable rival to Clinton. If you didn’t think being cool mattered, turns out it might. Sanders speaks about many of the same issues as Clinton, whether it is the issue of wages, the squeeze of the middle class or the need for equaility and opportunity.

He pushed the bounds of liberal views so much so that he has been criticized as being socialist. Millennials are in a stage of life where their political views are still changing and developing. Sanders’ call for a political revolution reflects the sentiment that political progress has stagnated over the years (i.e. non-stop war and slow economic growth). With a demographic who coined the term binge watching, the sense of urgency that Sanders calls for is appealing. Someone who knows what they want and goes after it is cool. Not to mention his campaign picked up heat with a catchy social media tag (#FeelTheBern). But being cool doesn’t mean Bernie is a surefire winner. He’s got an uphill battle against constituent Hillary in proving that he’s more than just a big talker.