So the meaningless Florida presidential primary was held yesterday. The results should have surprised no one (Clinton and McCain). The newspaper stories could have been written (and probably were) a couple of days ago, with only the actual numbers filled in at the end. Rudy Giuliani's half-hearted campaign is all but over and out. He may have already quit by the time you read this or even by the time I finish writing it.
Former presidential hopeful Joe Biden gave us the funniest thing I've read about Rudy Giuliani: "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence, a noun, a verb and 9/11." (Giuliani's office shot right back: "Senator Biden has never run anything but his mouth.") Rudy was obviously hoping to cash-in on the national recognition he gained during the terrorist attack on New York City in 2001. Sure, the whole country knows his name now, but what else does the country know about Rudy? Not very much. Or not enough, apparently.
I had no doubt McCain would win. Florida is filled with old people who probably regard him as a war hero. But there are stories aplenty circulating through the internets concerning McCain's activities as a P.O.W. and the special treatment he received. Time will tell whether these will catch any traction and do any real damage to his candidacy, just as Kerry's reputation as a swift boat hero was torpedoed last time.
A friend said something interesting about McCain: "He's like a house that's been on the market too long. Why hasn't it sold already?" Good point. Is John McCain our perennially Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time President? I'm so ambivalent about him. I can see him in the Oval Office; I just don't know if I want him there.
I'm kind of leaning toward the view that whoever we elect to be president should be a governor first. Governors know how to run things; senators do not always. With that in mind, I think Huckabee or Romney would probably be "better" presidents than McCain.
The thing about Hillary is that if she's elected, we get him back. As much fun as Bill Clinton had in the White House last time, imagine if he got to live there again? If she were smart, she'd ask Bill to be Vice President so they'd have to live in separate houses.
Seriously, my theory is that Hillary should ask Barack Obama to be her Vice President. What a ticket that would be! They'd get most of the vote from women, plus ALL of the black vote. Clinton/Obama? Unstoppable! Teaming up is their only chance. If not, I just don't think that this country is yet ready for a woman president or a black president. We're just not there yet...although I could be wrong.
In the end, come November I believe it will be a Republican president. We'll either be saying "President Huckabee" or "President Romney." With all of the anti-Bush backlash in the country, the Democrats were virtually handed this election on a platter. It was theirs to lose, and I think they're going to do just that.
Who Am I?
- Bob Barbanes:
- A nobody; a nitwit; a pilot; a motorcyclist; a raconteur; a lover...of life - who loves to laugh, who tries to not take myself (or anything) too seriously...just a normal guy who knows his place in the universe by being in touch with my spiritual side. What more is there?
4 comments:
Fascinating theories. I'm completely stumped as to what will happen. This election buildup has been pure chaos, impossible to forecast.
I agree, Michael. And it's so silly. The underlying problem is that neither party has offered us up a truly worthwhile candidate- you know, someone who stands out from the crowd...a real statesman or visionary for whom we could say, "Yep, that's our president!" and mean it proudly, not with the sarcastic eyeroll as we do now. It's always just more of the same prefab crap, packaged in slightly different ways...big rhetoric and vague, non-specific, empty promises. I mean, do we REALLY think Huckabee could get rid of the IRS? If I thought so for one second, I'd be out campaigning for him like nobody's business. I'd be going door-to-door, man.
Ironically, the candidate I like the most is also the one I like the least: Huckabee. The good thing about Huckabee is that you know exactly where he stands. The bad thing about Huckabee is that you know exactly where he stands.
Of the Democrats, I was hoping that Edwards would make it, since he's at least nominally pro 2nd Amendment. I think he's too much of a pretty boy for folks to take seriously, and his association as Kerry's running mate last time didn't help.
My choice among the Republicans would be Ron Paul. (Figures, since it looks like he doesn't have a chance.) He's the only politician in recent memory to have the guts to champion States Rights, or at least he's one of the few of any prominence. After Paul, my next choice would be Huckabee, because he's forthright enough that I can actually figure out what I don't like about him without having to do research.
I know one thing for sure: If I ran this country, things would really be screwed up.
I don't know how you guys felt about Ronald Reagan, but one thing is for sure, in tonites CNN Republican debate, Huckabee brought up the fact that Reagan was able to bring us Americans back to having pride in our country once again and I think it would be great if one of these candidates would accomplish that rather than take the we need to "repair" our reputation with the world approach. Listen to interviews with foreigners regarding the stock markets...they live and die by the US markets.
kman
Post a Comment