One of the most common conversations on campus this Fall has been on the upcoming election and the distaste for both main party candidates.

    “Who are you voting for?”

    “I don’t know, I hate both.”

    At this point, many students have come to consider alternatives to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Many students have gravitated toward Gary Johnson, a Libertarian who offers perspective from the fiscal right and the social left without the circus of the Trump campaign and the dishonesty from Hillary’s camp.

    As a Libertarian, Johnson supports the maximization of choice and limitations on government intervention. He is pro-choice, supports gay marriage, and wants to legalize marijuana nation-wide. Alternatively, he does not support universal healthcare, would significantly cut spending to pay back national debt, and is against raising taxes on the rich. Think of Johnson like a socially progressive Ron Swanson, from Parks and Recreation.

    Chatter about Johnson being included in presidential debates started to grow to legitimate political consideration, and Johnson was emerging as a promising third party not associated with two of the least liked candidates in modern history. Johnson needs to poll in at 15 percent to get on the debate stage, and several voices from the GOP have rallied behind Johnson as an alternative to Trump. On September 7th, Mitt Romney tweeted out his support for Johnson and running mate Bill Weld, and Johnson looked poised to make a splash as a the lesser of three evils in the 2016 election.

    And now his campaign is on life support.

    In an interview with MSNBC, Johnson was asked about the current humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, a town in Syria that is the center of conflict between Daesh (also known as ISIS), Kurdish rebels, and Turkey. Anyone paying attention to the big stories in foreign affairs has seen gory images of bloodied children, crumbling buildings and violent chaos unfolding in the Middle East. The crisis in Syria remains one of if not the most pressing issues in the national media. Daesh is currently number one on America’s list of international threats, and each presidential candidate should have a plan ready on how best to handle the issues currently unfolding there, right?

    Johnson’s response to the question: “What is Aleppo?”

    The answer might have played better with Alex Trebek on an episode of Jeopardy!, but the reality is that Johnson simply did not know where or what Aleppo was and why it was important. As a Libertarian, Johnson has spent the majority of his efforts pushing domestic reforms and changes, but the evident lack of knowledge in foreign affairs brings up glaring concerns with his competency to serve as Commander in Chief.

    So what now? Johnson might have just killed his chances. Sure, some voters won’t care. Johnson will still get support from his Libertarian backers and might even make some noise come November. For the majority of undecided voters, however, Johnson’s mistake rules him out of the race. This wasn’t a typical mix up or minor flub that most politicians encounter on the political trail, it was a colossal oversight and speaks to Johnson’s ability to manage foreign policy. Sure, everyone makes mistakes. But everyone isn’t trying to be the Leader of the Free World. Being president means managing domestic disputes along with international relations, and a candidate who doesn’t understand the landscape of the latter is unfit to serve.

    The misstep might derail Johnson’s entire campaign, meaning students on campus are once again left searching for an alternative. Is it Jill Stein? Probably not. The draw to Gary Johnson was that his policies gave people at least something they liked. Progressives got a liberal social platform and conservatives were given a fiscal plan that they could rally behind. Stein is essentially all left, meaning many moderate or right-leaning voters are left without candidate to support. Even though there might have been aspects of Johnson’s policies that were disagreeable, many voters were inclined to support Johnson anyway to avoid the mess that the Democrats and Republicans have made, while still getting at least a piece of a policy they could support.

    With Johnson’s hopes dwindling and no other legitimate third party threat, undecided voters are once again stuck with Trump and Clinton, or no vote at all. There’s always the Mickey Mouse write in. But for anyone with serious hope for Johnson should shift their focus elsewhere.