Recently, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the potential presidential candidates, the most talked about being Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Phrases such as “World War Three is going to happen,” “His/Her arrogance disgusts me,” or even “I am going to move out of the country if so-and-so wins the election,” have been said on a regular basis.

Now, do I believe that Trump will start World War Three? No. Will I move out of the best country in the world based solely on the fact that Hillary Clinton becomes president? Most likely not. But I’m not going to bore you with my political views or an analysis of political policy. Rather, I would like to focus on what people should look for in a presidential candidate.

First – character. A man and his character are one in the same. A person’s character is the foundation on which he builds his manhood. Simply saying that a candidate should have “good character” is a little too general. In my opinion, a good candidate should be headstrong but humble, stern but kind, courageous but cautious. A president of the United States should be perceptive, honest, polite, intellectual, and patriotic.

Now, by this point you’re probably thinking that this just about rules out every human being in this country besides Gary Pennell and Tamara Nafie. You’re right, but remember we’ve thrown realistic out the window and are talking about the ideal candidate.

Personal characteristics aside, I think that military service should be required in order to qualify as a presidential candidate. How should a president be able to be “commander-in-chief” over the military when she has never shot the rifle or dug the foxhole herself? I don’t mean that every candidate has to be a battle-hardened warrior with killer instincts, but at least have some first-hand knowledge of the camaraderie of our soldiers and what they fight for.