I’m starting to read the news again, now that the Presidential race is underway for real. So far, I haven’t become depressed, which is a big step for me. Actually, I am surprised at how detached I am about the election. I can actually see photos of Hillary without my blood pressure rising. I guess my “news sabbatical” paid off.
This year’s race should prove to be interesting. It looks like for the first time in history, we are guaranteed that the Democratic candidate will be a minority. Barak Obama, is more or less black, and Hillary is technically a female, although she appears to have more testosterone than some of the male candidates we’ve seen. And, contrary to the bizarre fundamentalist e-mails making the rounds, Obama is not a Muslim.
On the Republican side, we now have three “iffy” candidates. Romney, of course, is a Mormon; perhaps we should see who their new “prophet” is before we decide on him. Huckabee is a radically beyond-conservative Christian, who has some very not-mainstream ideas about the role of religion and politics. He scares me, but it looks like we won’t have to worry about him, as he’s falling way behind. And then there’s McCain, who scares me more than anyone. It seems apparent to me that he’s got some issues, and I wonder if he may not have some latent PTSD. Besides, he’s pulled some sneaky underhanded stunts in the last year or two, and I don’t think we can trust him. Of the three, I’d have to choose Romney, who overall seems like a nice, honest guy.
Overall, the Republican race is boring, and in my opinion none of them really deserve to be President. The Democratic side, on the other hand, has more intrigue than a David Baldacci novel. Obama is doing his best to keep the upper hand, while Bill plays the hatchet man for Hillary. Although, Bill has been so over the top – and now it comes out that he’s still selling his political clout to the highest bidder – that I wonder if he’s really trying to tank Hillary, or at least give her someone to blame if she loses.
Hillary is the most interesting candidate, mainly because she’s so hard to figure out. I don’t think we’ve ever seen the “real” Hillary; I suspect everything she does is an act. We should be calling her “the chameleon,” as she tries to blend in to whatever situation suits her. She’s liberal one day, conservative the next, an overcomer one day, and a victim the next. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why anyone would vote for her. I dont’ think that anyone really likes her; I mean, how could you, really? Friendship usually implies some kind of trust – and from what I’ve heard from ex-“friends,” trust is one thing you can’t do to Hillary.
Obama impresses me, even though I probably disagree with much of his politics. I think he, of all the candidates, is the most humble and even-keeled. He is able to present his thoughts in a very clear, well-reasoned way, and he – as Caroline Kennedy has said – is inspirational in a way that we haven’t seen for a while. He also presents his Christianity in a very sound way, and seems to have really thought through the issues of faith and politics. He, and perhaps Romney, have the greatest potential to unite the country.
At the moment, I’m supporting Obama – the first time I will have voted for a Democrat in my life. If Hillary gets the nomination, then I’ll vote against her. But, if McCain is the Republican candidate, I may just stay home.What will be really interesting is if Hillary and McCain end up on the final ticket. That, at least, will be a campaign to watch. As BTO sang, b-b-b-baby, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
I’m open to being persuaded otherwise about McCain, but he’s got a lot of baggage going back to the 2000 race to overcome.
What really cracks me up is Ann Coulter saying that if McCain is the Republican nominee, she’ll campaign for Hillary… and Pat Caddell (a Democrat) arguing that Hillary would be the worst choice.
Such is the state of politics today. I will revert to my main stand on politics: the 2 party system is broken. Perhaps it’s a good thing that we may end up with a liberal Republican running against a conservative Democrat. It’ll make good for TV, too, which is always a consideration. 😉
I never tell anybody how I’m planning to vote, not even my wife and kids. This gives me a couple of advantages: First, it lends me an air of mystery that I lack in just about every other area of my life except for women which are a total mystery to me. Second, by keeping my choice secret, I’m never publicly responsible for whomever gets elected. For the past 20 years that has been a significant plus.
Besides, the person I really want to be president isn’t running at all. My wife wouldn’t let me.
I dunno, I like McCain.
-He has war experience, but is not hawkish.
-He has been perhaps the most bipartisan senator we have seen in awhile.
-He is not afraid of the border situation like some of the other candidates on both sides are (perhaps because he hails from a border state).
-The man survived a rocket slamming into the fuel tank on his A-4 Skyhawk while on the flight deck of the USS Forrestal. He climbed down the nose cone and jumped off of the refueling probe to escape the flames. What that proves about his capacity for presidency is minute, but it does speak to his badass-ness. I am ready for the return of a superhero president–we haven’t seen one since Reagan, and before him Kennedy.
He can also talk using intelligible sentences and without conjuring the muse of word coinage. Romney scares me. If McCain’s greatest fault is referring to his war experience too often, Romney’s is thinking that overseeing an Olympics gives him credibility as the leader of a nation. Also, it is beginning to appear as if Giuliani will step up to be McCain’s number 2. Both of these men have experience working with the opposition party, which is going to be crucial in the next four years if any of the major issues are to be addressed.
I am going to be concentrating on the Minnesota Senatorial campaign this year, and only do a bit of campaigning for the presidential race. So, I’ll be out doorknocking for Al Franken, and then as I leave I’ll say “By the way vote for the Democratic candidate for president while you are at it.”
I like Obama, but I think more will tell as far as who he has around him and I fear that the Clintons may not have the most “savory” of advisers.