Do We Really Want Another Delusional President?

There was an interesting commentary on Hillary Clinton and her dream in Thursday's Financial Times. It was written by Sally Bedell Smith, author of For Love of Politics: Inside the Clinton White House (Random House).

She addresses much of what we already know from Hillary's pact with Bill for political glory, putting up with his infidelities to the point of denial, "dodging bullets", real or otherwise, and the morphing of her dream to be the first female president into the idea the public "owes it to her".

It troubles me when ambition becomes so intertwined with a lack of reality. Remember back when Bill was President and she had conversations with Eleanor Roosevelt? Her supporters sluff all such talk off as being no more than campaign rhetoric. Yet I look at the most recent episode of the Clinton version of Fantasy Island. Mark Penn, her chief campaign strategist, met with the Colombian ambassador regarding having his firm lobby for a bilateral free trade agreement; an agreement Clinton is against. Yet the campaign sees no conflict of interest. Boy, I do.

So here I have a picture of Hillary badly in need of her Box shots or a new makeup artist. This is the real Hillary. Deep down, beneath the rhetoric, the exaggerations, the half truths, etc. For all woman who hide from reality under layers of cosmetic improvements, it is not that the rest of us don't want a woman as president. It's that we don't want this woman.

Then there is John McCain. He can go on Letterman and slap down old jokes all he wants. He is old. How's his health? Why won't he release his records before we're expected to vote for him? His history of cancer is of concern.

His attitude on Iraq concerns me. Al-Maliki began raiding Shiite militia strongholds. It was to be another "defining" moment for the Iraqi forces. Just last Sunday I wrote a post with a photo showing those forces handing over their weapons to al-Sadr's militiamen. Now the raids have been called off completely.

There are several points to consider. The Iraqi forces cannot or will not stand on their own. And, as Shiia, they do not want to fire on their own. How many times have similar instances occurred and how long are we to wait while Iraqi civilians and U.S. military continue to lose their lives?

War aside, I see little of substance or understanding of the issues, what's more solutions. He has also hinted he may be a one term president. That puts a governor on his efforts from the get go. Plus, due to age and health issues, will we really be electing his vice president? Just who will that be?

True, the unexpected can happen to anyone. I think in this circumstance, however, odds need to be factored in.

We, the people of the United States, do not "owe" either of these candidates the presidency. To believe otherwise is delusional!