By Britt Nelson

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

Politics can be so fickle. Picking a presidential candidate is like voting for homecoming king and queen back in high school. We like this one, but not that one. This one is too tall and that one is too fat. It’s all a popularity contest. We don’t know why we like some people and others we don’t. Some call it a “gut feeling” or “negative vibes.” We know who we like and don’t like. Is it fair to judge a presidential candidate by a likability factor only? No, but that’s what motivates most people to get out and vote.

Perhaps it’s just the way they walk, talk or balk. Maybe we like their hair, or he reminds you of your father or grandmother. It isn’t that anyone really listens much to the candidates other than what’s given on the biased national TV news and misleading, negative campaign ads — but we just like who we like. Not much rhyme or reason to it.

Either you like Republican New York billionaire Donald Trump or you don’t. You know he’ll kick some butt as president and Lord knows there are plenty of butts to kick in Washington, DC, across the north and south borders and the oceans.

As for Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, he is another one of those candidates that invoke an immediate response on the likability scale. He looks just like the Grandpa in the Munsters TV show and on top of that he’s so much like a TV preacher when he gives political speeches. He is a conservative, hardcore Christian — too hardcore for many voters.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is a likable man, but he’s boring and uninspiring. He is 100 percent an establishment Republican candidate and if Trump or Cruz doesn’t have the required 1,237 delegates at the Republican National Convention don’t be surprised if Kasich ends up with the Republican nomination for president.

It could be a tough and nasty floor fight among the delegates during the July convention in Cleveland if Trump comes up short in the delegate count. At this point, Cruz mathematically cannot reach the goal and neither can Kasich. Both Cruz and Kasich are only still in the race in order to drain votes and delegates away from Trump to attempt to keep him from reaching the needed 1,237 delegates to win the nomination outright.

You either like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, or you don’t. Her supporters don’t care that she carries baggage from at least 22 scandals dating back decades. They don’t care if she’s currently under investigation by the FBI concerning her handling of sensitive national secrets while she was U.S. Secretary of State.

Establishment Democrats want Clinton elected to the presidency no matter what. She has a 5-point plan for every ill in the USA and she’s taking aim at the Second Amendment — the private ownership of guns in America. The gun issue will make or break her candidacy. With her in the White House it’s certain to lead to more never-ending government gridlock with the establishment Republicans, but that’s what the U.S. Congress wants. They don’t want much to change no matter who is president. More than likely, Clinton will be the Democrat’s nominee at their convention in Philadelphia in July.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, has endeared himself with young voters across the 50 states and their voice is being heard loud and clear. His radical views of free health care for all, free college tuition and breaking up the grip of big money on the American political process is resonating among the youth of America. Sanders is genuinely a nice man, trustworthy and at 74 years old he is a father figure to many. Having served in both houses of the U.S. Congress, Sanders has been in the political arena longer than Clinton.

This Tuesday, April 26, five Democratic and Republican primaries are to be held in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Then the candidates go to Indiana the following Tuesday.

According to polls averaged by Real Clear Politics, Trump is winning all five contests on April 26 as is Clinton.

In Indiana, previous polls showed Cruz ahead, but not now. Trump has a 39 percent lead to Cruz’s 32 percent with Kasich trailing at 19 percent. Clinton is ahead of Sanders by only 3 points, 47 percent to 44 percent. In recent weeks, Sanders has closed the gap and is now nipping at Clinton’s heels.

Before April 26 and after, the candidates will be throwing spit balls and water balloons at each other. They all will be spending millions of dollars to smear each other with negative TV, radio and newspaper ads not to mention the negativity on social media, but will that determine who we like and don’t like?

About the author

Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.