The election field is becoming more crowded by the day. On the Democrats’ side, Hillary Clinton leads the pack, with Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley being the only real potential challengers at this point. On the Republican side – if you’re standing, you may want to pull up a chair – there’s Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Rand Paul, just to name a few. And that doesn’t include the projected frontrunner, Jeb Bush, who hasn’t even officially announced yet.
But according to a new poll conducted by the Washington Post, all of them may well just give up, since they’re widely considered even less likable than many of Hollywood’s most illustrious bad guys.
Most notably, Darth "I Chopped My Son’s Hand Off" Vader.
Just to understand what, precisely, that means, let’s do a quick review of some of the things that make Darth Vader a villain.
1. Betrayed a sacred oath sworn to the Jedi, which knowingly resulted in the deaths of dozens of his peers;
2. Disappointed Ewan McGregor;
— Aleisha Gabrielle (@AleishaHibbert) May 4, 2015
3. Premarital sex (Which is really only evil if you ask Rick Santorum);
4. Used the Force to choke an Imperial Officer during a religious debate;
5. Kidnapped his own daughter and imprisoned her without even a TV;
6. Blew up an entire planet just to prove he could;
7. Tried to eradicate the indigenous species of the Ewok;
8. Not to mention being pretty much personally responsible for launching an intergalactic war. A "Star War," if you will.
Yet, even after all of this, Americans still think he’d make a better leader than anyone tossing their wookie into the ring for 2016.
The presidential candidates were also outpolled by Jaws, but all he ever did was eat a couple of people before being blown up, so that’s not very surprising.
Then there’s Voldemort, the pig-nosed antagonist from the Harry Potter series. He somehow got sandwiched between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Surveyors were most likely impressed by Voldemort’s relatively progressive religious tolerance, but ultimately felt he wasn’t tough enough on unions.
— Daniel Chudzinski (@DanChudzinski) June 1, 2015
Vader does, nevertheless, have a contender. Topping the poll as the most favorable individual is the Terminator. That’s a bit of a gray area. On the one hand, the cyborg tries to kill Sarah Connor. On the other, he tries to save her in the sequel.
Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor once, so he’s as qualified as anyone, right?