The Bushes and the Clintons are very different American families. One has roots in Texas, the other in Arkansas. One is tied to the Republican Party, the other to the Democrats.

Although they differ, they are similar in some ways. Both families have had a devastating impact on the world and bafflingly continue to have members thought of as viable to run for the presidency and lead the nation.

With President Obama’s second term winding down, the eyes of the American media are now turning to the race to succeed him in the Oval Office in 2016.

A group of wealthy Republican donors are trying to coax Jeb Bush into seeking the nomination, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The very idea that anyone thinks someone from this family should lead the nation is deeply alarming to me.

Things are not much better on the Democratic side.

According to data from left-leaning Public Policy Polling, Hillary Clinton would beat every likely Republican candidate in a general election.

What we desperately do not need is a sequel to the Clinton years or a finale to the trilogy of terrible leaders that the Bush family seems so intent on completing. One only needs look at history to see just how bad another President Clinton or Bush would be for the country.

In the ‘90s, Bill Clinton’s team failed to understand the problems in Afghanistan that were being brought forth by the Taliban. According to author Ahmed Rashid in his book titled “Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia”, the United States moved to establish diplomatic relations with the Islamic fundamentalists when they seized Kabul in 1996.

Amazingly, State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said at the time the U.S found “nothing objectionable” in the steps taken by the Taliban to implement Islamic law.

If an official in Bill’s team can say something that foolish, who knows what troubled nation Hillary would ignore if she were in office. My bet’s on South Sudan.

Then there are the Bush administrations. I could try to focus on one terrible thing, but there are just so many. The terrible economy, wars with Iraq, support for dictators in Saudi Arabia and Kenya, the list is endless and endlessly terrible.

To me, what sticks out the most is the egregious erosion of civil liberties that occurred under the rule of Bush 43. During his years in office, the federal government used terrorism as a pretext for doing some terrible things.

Yes, the Patriot Act was passed after 9/11 and we were told it would keep us safe from further harm, but that’s a load of crap. According to The Hill, original writer of the law U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., has turned against the mass spying that his bill originally authorized in late 2001.

If Americans vote for either Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush in 2016, they will be rewarded with another terrible administration that damages the nation and the world beyond our borders.

Hillary once told a group she was going to take things away from them on behalf of the common good, according to WorldNetDaily, and Jeb once said he would probably do nothing for African-Americans if elected, according to The Economist. Remember, you reap the seeds you sow.

Don’t plant a toxic crop

– Evan Pretzer is a junior communication major from from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.