...And The Winner Is...

Ah, another group of primaries today.  I'd like to say, "May the best man win" but alas there is no best man.

As I watch clips from the various candidates I wonder when they going to realize that in their attempts to oust The Donald they look weak and pathetic.  At least to me.

This is supposed to be an election to choose the President of our country.  I don't know what exactly I would relate it but it certainly isn't what one would expect for that presidency.  My assessment remains the same.  Donald Trump scares me, not so much because of his behavior and course language but because he's an unknown quantity.  However, if he wins the primaries fair and square the "establishment" would be slapping the faces of all those who voted for him.  Do they really want to hang that around their collective necks?

Ted Cruz also scares me.  I don't like his evangelical fervor which seems to change depending on his audience.  Also, should he win, how is he going to get along with Congress if it is so that they "hate" him.  Hate is a strong and destructive emotion and I'm not sure it isn't more an intense dislike.  What worries me is if he will use presidential fiat much as Obama has and for just as many divisive  reasons.  Yes, others have used it but I don't recall it being made such an issue.  I could be mistaken.  The old mind isn't as sharp as it used to be.

The there is dear Marco Rubio.  I have to give him an "A" for effort but I think the handwriting is on the wall. The question about him is what's he going to do for a living since he wasn't going to run again for Senate.  Will he join the ranks of lobbyists and revert to type as an end of career fall back?

Who knows.  The more they tangle the more I'm sure I'm going to vote for none of the above.  The more they fall to the bait of a Trump victory the more I see them throwing tantrums when any thing else comes up that doesn't mesh with their tunnel vision.

I won't be commenting on tonight's results.  We're off to Yellowstone to seek out the bears emerging from their slumber and the wolves who will stalk the weaker ones.  The analogy pertaining to current politics is that the weak ones, Cruz and Rubio, are stalking the strong one, Trump.

What I do know for sure the bears and the wolves are consistent in their roles and behavior.  Too bad the political class isn't the same.

I'd Vote For Who???

A friend sent me one of those questionnaires that often circulate around the web.  It was  about which Presidential candidate matched most closely my way of thinking.  I take them for fun on occasion but half heartedly because there are always caveats to my answers.

Actually I don't know where I stand these days  but the questionnaire gave me pause. The candidate with whom I most closely mirror is Marco Rubio!

Well, at least it wasn't Trump or Sanders! I remember seeing Rubio with Trey Gowdy and Tim Scott and wondered if they are the faces of the future of Republican politics.  We could do worse.  I do like Gowdy and Scott a lot.

Having been away all day yesterday it was no comfort coming home to the news and seeing the nasties going at one another in clips, ad nauseam, off and on all evening.  One thing for sure, who ever gets the nomination won't be choosing cabinet members from the current crop of candidates.  This has gone far beyond typical election year antics. It's down and dirty and likely to get worse.

I keep telling myself to not let age be a factor in my judgement.  When you're my age anyone ten or more years younger look like kids.  I also try not to fall prey to the curse of one term senators or house members.   They aren't all dunces.  When Lindsey Graham endorsed Jeb rather than Cruz or Rubio he used the age factor by saying when he wasn't ready to take on the presidency when he was a mere forty four.  Well, truth be told, the voters didn't think he was at sixty either!

It's a far more complicated formula than age alone or time spent in national politics.  Now Rubio is a political animal for sure. He talks a good game but the question is can he deliver. The same can be said for Trump. He's pushing 70 as is Hillary and Bernie is over.  Maybe it is time to put the old war horses out to pasture and let the youngsters have a crack at it.

I think the most unfair thing I can do is look at how inexperienced Obama was when elected and judge all others by the same criteria.  What we did learn from Obama is that the Presidency is not the time nor place for on the job training. On the other hand the voting public seems to want outsider and that leaves Dr. Carson.  He's probably more intelligent than the rest of them put together but his soft spoken demeanor has been a drawback.  Oh how I wish that weren't the case. I just don't see things turning around for him.  Thank you Ted Cruz.

So much for my musing about the current choices before me.  The field will be whittled down to size soon enough.  One last shot at wishful thinking - that Trump grows up or just takes his ball and goes home.  I do understand why he's on this third wife. Who could put up with having to massage his enormous ego and insecurity 24/7?

Cruzin' For A Bruisin'

I've though for some time now that Ted Cruz is the modern day Elmer Gantry.  Full of high minded hypocrisy.  In other words he's not my "second choice" for President and definitely not my first.

I thought the Iowa caucuses were more than enough for my loony tune fix.  I mean, come on, deciding a close election with a coin toss?  Best of six?  And Hillary wins each one?

Oh well, back to Cruz.  I thought he showed bad judgement when he tried to filibuster to defund Obamacare.  shutting down the government really solves nothing. He preached the high moral ground never-the-less.  Now he speaks of what he will do if he becomes President. That's a bit cheeky for a man who is extremely unpopular in his own party. Can he work with Congress?  I have my doubts.

The final nail in the Cruz coffin, though, is his sending out official looking statements telling the recipients if they didn't turn out for a caucus he'd reveal their voting record to the public. The other was his claiming Ben Carson was dropping out and to caucus for him instead.  The end result?  Well he won Iowa but I resent the idea that 180,000 people are going to sway how the rest of us vote.

I heard Ben Carson say there should be consequences for his actions.  Losing would probably be the best. I know how dirty politics can be but for it to start this soon is frightening.  What other stunts are his people harboring?  And how often does an after the fact apology wash?

Next comes New Hampshire.  Marco Rubio is out polling him and Trump retains his lead. What's next?  If the people really want an outsider, it isn't Cruz.  It will be interesting to watch.  Rubio becoming the establishment favorite seems likely because Kasich, Christy and Bush aren't making any headway.  Two of those three will probably be out if they don't do well in New Hampshire.  Bush still has money. Carley Fiorina and Carson will be soon to follow for the same reason.  No one wants to pour money into a losing cause.

That leaves Trump, Rubio and Cruz.  Wow.  What a choice.  And forget the Democratic side.  Cruz may be a dirty player but wait until Hillary starts after Sanders.

It would be great entertainment, watching from the sidelines.  If only it wasn't for President!

The Crude And The Corrupt

Sounds like a title for a good soap, doesn't it?  Well, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and these two are proof positive.

As I've said on many occasions I understand Trump's appeal as well as Hillary's lack of same.

With Trump there's no pulling punches, you know exactly what he's thinking because he says it.  Not that it won't change in 5 minutes.

With Hillary it's much the opposite.  She's mastered the art of dodging - and the accompanying cackle when she thinks she's gotten away with it.

Let me ask, is either of them what you want as the face of our country?  Hillary is a shoo in for the Democrat nomination.  Democrats have decided she's due her due.  Why I have no idea except that perhaps they've bought into the sanctity of the party rather than the country.

With that as a given we have to look at the Republicans.  With 12 candidates still in the running is there not one of them who can articulate Republican frustrations in a more civilized manner than Mr. Trump?  I find it hard to believe that at least one of those candidates can't match his understanding of the electorate's frustrations and able to voice them with a modicum of personality and what Trump is missing ~ charm.  No, not all the love and joy malarkey, that doesn't cut it.  Neither does Trump's broad brush srtokes, truth be said.

The pundits I habitually listen to, be they old timers or of another generation, all are students of politics and haven't yet grasped that this cycle shows the evolution of the process.  Not necessarily in a good way, but it is evolving. No longer is what has been going to be.

With Iowa getting ever closer perhaps a cold winter night in Iowa will knock Trump down a peg. Don't expect him to be gracious about it if he doesn't win and who ever does win had best don a suit of inpenatrable armor.  I would expect him to bluster his way through New Hampshire and if he behaves he could even win Nevada but from there it's any ones guess.

I have no resolutions this new year; only what is probably misguided hope.  Hope that those who care enough to vote in the primaries also care enough about their country to let it be known rude and crude isn't enough.

As far as a corrupt self-serving candidate is concerned, the Democrats are stuck. You'd think that after 7 years of Barack Obama they'd know better and have the courage to turn away from a nearly mirror image.  Not in appearance, obviously, but in ideology, respect for the people, the Constitution and our laws and devotion to the country.  They get none with Hillary.  They do get the latter half of Crude and Corruption.

And so it begins in earnest.  What more can I hope for?  An outlier in both parties.  A hope that I'm afraid will never come to fruition!

Boring As A Disqualifer?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  The candidates will do anything to dissuade the electorate from selecting Romney as the Republican candidate.  Even to the extent of calling the kettle black when they're the pot!

Consider Rick Santorum calling him "bland and boring" , therefore we should not vote for him. After all, McCain and Gore were boring and they both lost!  Now there is sound reasoning.  This from Rick Santorum?  I hadn't noticed that he was Mr. Excitement.  Mr. Odd perhaps, but hardly Mr. Excitement.  Besides, what is more boring this day and age than a sweater vest?

On the other hand, Romney himself is caving to pressure on his impeccable three piece suit image.  He's taken to dressing in jeans and button downs for campaign appearances.  Is he defeating his own intent by wearing Tommy Bahama jeans rather than Wranglers?  I will certainly keep that in mind when I'm ready to pull the lever.

Newt isn't to be forgotten either.  His bone to pick as all else is failing is the idea that Romney  (gasp) speaks French!  Just like John Kerry, that Liberal elitist who also lost! Jon Huntsman speaks Mandarin.  What does that make him?  I stumble with high school Spanish - but then I'm not running for anything.

Santorum suggested Romney, with his perceived stand offishness, too resembles Obama to be electable.  Here I thought Obama was the epitome of hope and change and his following  was  cult like in its fervor.  Well, that may have been true during the campaign but since being in the White House his stand offishness is self evident.  It seems to me he's never really stopped stirring the pot in campaign mode.  If there's anything he's standoffish about it's governing.

There are reasons I'd prefer another candidate than those above.  As far as those are concerned, however, this man who seems bland and boring has been successful in business to the point where he can buy and sell most of us.  Forget, for a moment how that was achieved. That's another subject entirely.  This man who is bland and boring turned a failing Olympics into a dynamic success.  This man who is bland and boring has put together a political organization that is leaving the other candidates in the dust.

If this man who is bland and boring can put his nose to the grindstone and govern the country with a steady hand and a meaningful, if not perfect, agenda can he be all bad? Sorry Mr. Santorum and Gingrich,  there are scores of differences between Romney and Obama that are actually meaningful. Perhaps you'd be better served by pointing out the same about yourselves.

And Then There Was One

I see little point in spending a lot of time reviewing the year just past.  Enough others are doing it.  I'm more interested in what the future will bring.

Every reasonable Republican candidate for President has had his/her moment of glory in Iowa except one.  Jon Huntsman.  Just who is this man?  If you don't know, you should. If you don't it is evidence of the flaws in our campaign finance laws - where a serious contender is left on the fringes because of money.  Or lack thereof.

There are other reasons, too, concerning Huntsman.  First of all, he is the most moderate of the candidates.  You know, the type likely to win in the general.  He doesn't believe in ethanol subsidies so why even try to play in Iowa?  He's not an evangelical, he's one of those dreaded Mormons.  His daughters are better known for their You Tube ditties than Dad is as a candidate.

So the question is, will he score high enough in New Hampshire to carry him on?  He has picked up some heavy duty endorsements in South Carolina but you'd have to scour the pages of the press to find them.

In reality he's the last man standing between Mitt and the nomination.  Strange, isn't it, they are both Mormons.  Remember when Catholics were as reviled?  The country didn't fall apart when we elected the first Catholic President.  In today's race both Santorum and Gingrich are Catholic.  So forget what religion a person chooses to follow.  It should be a personal issue anyway.

I could go on for some time on a number of topics, but instead I'll sum up what I expect to see in the near future.  Paul and Santorum will fade quickly. While Paul's ideas on isolationism sound nice, they aren't realistic.  People don't play as nice as he seems to think.  Santorum is too far right to appeal to the moderates and independents.

Perry and Bachmann should pack it in and pay off their debts.  Nice try but you can't fan a flame without at least a spark.

Gingrich may last through Florida but I'll be surprised.  Weeping over the memory of his Mother won't be the reason.  It will be his expedient hypocrisy.

Without a ground swell at the last minute, Huntsman  has too much ground to make up no matter how much  I'd love to see him do it.  I don't think he and Romney particularly like one another so I don't even see him in a strong cabinet position like Secretary of State.  I'd like to though.

My guess is rather than anyone but Mitt it's going to be Mitt rather than any one else!  We'll see if I'm right.

All I can say for sure going into 2012 is that I'll be as passionately opposed to Obama this cycle as I was for him the last time.

On that note, enjoy your New Years celebration. 2012 looms!

Getting To Know Them, Getting To Know All About Them - Ugh!

I read one explanation as to why the voters in Iowa seem to still be in a state of flux even though caucus day looms.  The reason is there hasn't been enough retail politics this cycle.  Candidates have much smaller on site staffs than in previous elections and have spent much less time on the ground themselves.  For the most part.  Forget those like Rick Santorum this time and Chris Dodd last time who practically lived there.  We know how Dodd ended up.  Thank goodness.

Do you suppose one reason is the crunch of everyone striving to keep their place in the primary cycle no matter how ridiculous a January 3rd caucus date is.  Much has been made of the weather being a potential factor.  Yep.  I went to college in Iowa.  Winters aren't the most pleasant time in which to venture forth - especially at night if it's snowing and blowing.  Both distinct possibilities.

I read where one woman has decided to support the one candidate she had an opportunity to meet and actually travel around with for a time.  She was a party chair from somewhere in the state and her choice is Romney.  Her experience with him was from the last set of primaries in 2007!

I have a lot of reasons for not liking the emphasis put on the results from Iowa, but there is one thing I think they've gotten right.  Get to know the clowns before you put them into the big top.

Think about it.  People are luke warm about Romney because they do know him fairly well this time around and are uncomfortable with his religion and his purported flip flops though I think too much is being made of both.  Then there' s the likes of Herman Cain.  Likable, funny, but then oops.  A little short of substance when it comes to world wide issues.  I'll be nice and not add in his alleged infidelities since Newt is getting a pass.

Then there's Newt.  The more I see of him the less I like him.  The smile he's been wearing of late has all the warmth of this wife's hair do.  I cannot imagine what a children's book written by those two must be like.  Sorry.  I'm being catty.  Deliberately so.  Sometimes my patience runs thin.

Let's take the arrogance factor instead.  Newt has been whining ever since he failed to get the 10,000 legitimate signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary.  Anyone who can't get 10,000 plus a cushion to allow for illegitimate ones is obviously lacking organization - and appeal.  I mean, come on, Virginia is a pretty good sized state!

His tactic has been to criticize the state for having a failed system.  Hmmm, how about a failed campaign organization?  Then he claims the setback as being similar to the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I'm still trying to get my head around that one.  Being the history professor, I'm sure Newt can explain it to me.

Strange that none of the other candidates qualified either, except Romney and Paul.  I haven't heard a peep out of any of them.  That in itself seems strange, but I'd expect them to take themselves to task for sloppy preparation rather than being the victim of a sneak attack!

If anything positive comes out of this primary season perhaps it will be a crackdown by the national party organizations on setting the dates for primaries.  Another item for my wishful thinking list I'm sure.  In lieu of that, at least Iowa and New Hampshire do get a look at an actual body and can read the body language and see if any of them will look you directly in the eye or answer a tough question without dancing around it.  Most of us don't have that opportunity.

So Iowa and New Hampshire, until things change I've got to put my trust in your ability to sniff out substance, character and ability.  Brother.  Is this but another item for my wish list?

$1000 And You Can Run For President

It's true.  If you want to run in New Hampshire. The Wall Street Journal informs me there are already 30 Republicans and 14 Democrats doing just that.

It dawned on me while reading the article just what is the matter with this country.  We consider the most important process to elect the most important position in the country as no more than entertainment.  We have become no more than a cult led by political personalities.  Substance?  What's that?

Have you noticed how many words like that are disappearing from our political vocabulary?

One New Hampshire candidate wants no more than to get  the powers talking about Thorium, a replacement for uranium in nuclear reactors.  A worthy conversation, I'm sure, but enough for a Presidential run? Ah, what's $1000 bucks.  I can't think of a better cause that could use it.

Another said God told him to run but gave him no guidelines. He is not one of the current seven known candidates, but he could be!

This one particularly appeals to me.   Vermin Supreme, that's his name, wants zombie preparedness.  That should get us ready for a new Congress.  Mandatory tooth brushing.  Bringing hygiene to the 'Occupy' enclaves.  And a pony for every American.  Boy, I always wanted a pony as a kid.  Didn't you?  At least he admits his platform is designed to show the absurdity of the process.

Ah, the absurdity of the process.  How on the mark.  What could be more absurd than Donald Trump setting himself up as arbiter of what the candidates should profess.  Or Greta Van Susteren giving him air time night after night to wax profound.  Or Trump moderating a debate.  At least Romney, Huntsman and Paul have had the good sense to decline.

Speaking of Paul, the man who thinks Iran will like us better if we're nicer to them.  Didn't Obama try that?  And Newt.  Oh well, no one will mind if their kids are required to help clean the school along with the janitorial staff to learn a work ethic.

Somehow the gentleman promoting zombie preparedness seems no more absurd to me than most of the first and second tier candidates.  That's what scares me.

Why don't we take it seriously?  It is serious.  Dead serious.  My Saint Bernard buddy, Jub Jub, is going to audition for 'America's Got Talent' next month.  If all the candidates would audition for the show I'd wager on the dog winning. He'll be the serious contender.

Actually, Jub is auditioning for the right show.  The candidates seem to be auditioning for 'Lost'.  That too is serious.  Dead serious.

Our Broken Primary System

I see where Michele Bachmann's entire staff in New Hampshire has resigned en masse.  The reason was her lack of commitment to the state.  Instead her main focus was on Iowa.

The need to lead the primary season by Iowa and New Hampshire does not serve the country nor the candidates well. Neither is representative of states outside of their region making a good case for a one day cross country primary.  Let the candidates cover all the states beforehand then let us vote.  And structure it so the media has to cover campaigns in all the states, not just a chosen few.

As it stands now New Hampshire is in a snit over a purported attitude by Bachmann.  In actuality I think she thinks she has a better chance of winning Iowa and has limited resources to boot.  So who wins?  She's banking on a big win in Iowa to propel her through New Hampshire.  If she loses Iowa she's done.  It's a pretty flimsy way to run for President.  Since she obviously hasn't caught on,  should she pack it in now?  If Iowa is her only chance then I think she's too weak to go further.

The same with Jon Huntsman, who in my humble opinion, is the best, most experienced man running and I don't give a fig about him being Mormon.  But again, with finances tight, he's putting all his eggs in New Hampshire's basket.  The result has been lack of visibility in the rest of the country.  Suicide for an unknown.  He'll have to win big in New Hampshire.  People will still be asking who is Jon Huntsman?

Less likely for the job but highly visible are Cain and Paul.  Why?  Because they're out there! I don't think they have more money though admittedly I haven't checked.  They're being prudent with it but spreading it around.

This leap frogging of primary dates isn't helping matters any.  I really wouldn't want to attend a caucus right after the first of the year.  I wouldn't attend one before Christmas!  What's the rush?  Tradition, in this case having to be first, should be ended!  A lot can happen between the end of this year and the general election next and I don't want to make my choice too far ahead.  I also don't want early states having undue influence.  Perhaps they won't.  Perhaps by the time later states hold theirs,  the results of the rush to judgement by the early ones may fade as the candidates are more current as the election nears.

As with everything else going on in government these days, the whole process is a mess.  But then we have a President who spent his career as a Senator campaigning for President and hasn't stopped in between campaigns to bother governing.  Most incumbents stay in the White House and do their job.  Times have changed.

The challengers have a tough time because we take their time away with early primaries and the President never stops.  What will we have next November?  I don't have a clue now and doubt I will even after the fact.