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What are some pros and cons about the 2016 elections in the United States?

Since you are asking about the election itself, I assume you are not asking for an evaluation of candidates but rather of the election process and the media coverage of the election.


My own sense is that there are far more cons than pros. Much of the election coverage has, in part due to the antics of Donald Trump, been reduced to tweets and gossip rather than focusing on issues and policy details. It reveals a very highly polarized society, often prey to sensationalism rather than reason, where truth and fact checking are replaced by partisanship. Much of the populace seems frustrated with the political process.


On a positive side, many of the procedural problems and tricks that have been used, especially by the Republicans, to make the election process undemocratic, are being revealed, including egregious gerrymandering and putting in place rules that are intended to prevent minorities and the poor from being able to vote. The election is making these tactics obvious and many groups are beginning to challenge them, possibly leading to improvements in the future.


Another positive is that we now have the first female candidate for president representing a major party, something that may break the ultimate glass ceiling in US politics. Unfortunately, this has also revealed the depths of gender bias in both the media and among certain segments of the US population. 

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