The Candidates...

I am not yet old enough to remember many presidential races, and for that I am grateful, but there comes a time before every race that there is an unfamiliarity with some or all of the candidates; a time when you don’t know who you would vote for, or if you will even have the desire to vote for any of them. Indeed, there is a time when the future President of the United States is nothing more than a last name followed by a year so ridiculously far into the future that it makes you think, they can’t possibly be running for that election, can they?

The politicians, bloggers, and talking heads can never bolt to the next election quick enough. As soon as one is over they start thinking about the next one. I don’t know about you, but today is too early to spend that much time getting to know all the potential candidates. Even when “getting to know” them only means reading impersonal, murky accounts of the future president in the paper, magazines, and on the internet. Before November 4, 2008, I will do the best I can to educate myself on the candidates, but for now this is what I know or presume about the 2008 options from my own experience, reading, and observations.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
I don’t know too many Republicans that like this lady’s husband. Those people found their reasons to dislike Bill Clinton long ago, but somewhere along the line their distrust of the former President Clinton enveloped his significant other. Honestly, I don’t why. Hillary strikes me as a pretty intelligent woman. She loves the power and attention, but if that bothers you tell me of a politician that doesn’t enjoy that. Maybe there is something that the throngs of right-wingers know about Mrs. Clinton that I don’t know. Maybe I should dislike her for some heinous act. Maybe I shouldn’t trust a word that comes out of her mouth because she married Bill Clinton. It would be foolish to think it a good idea to never pay attention to Senator Clinton just because her husband once lied to the nation. Everyone in Washington has their faults, dark secrets, and something in their past that they are ashamed of. We all do, and I wouldn’t say that having a last name that starts with “Clin” and ends in “ton” is one we can hold against her.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 President Bush enjoyed an approval rating 50% higher than his current rating. Not surprisingly, the man strutting beside him in the weeks to follow 9/11 rose in popularity as well. It was President Bush that tried to lead the nation in the wake of an unthinkable attack, but Giuliani had the intimate duty of leading the people most affected by the tragedy through it. While he had to comfort, console, and promise action, the actions ultimately taken weren’t his decision, they were Mr. Bush’s decisions. It is safe to say that if the decisions fell upon Giuliani then, and we were in the same, wonderful situation in Iraq as we are now, he would not be able to ride the wake of 9/11 into the White House. By all appearances that is what a successful Giuliani campaign will need to do, but this isn’t September 12, 2001. Regardless, the man is wildly popular, a political hero born from the ashes of the World Trade Center.

Senator John McCain of Arizona
Quoted in TIME last week, McCain said on Iraq, “I think we must succeed in Iraq. We cannot fail. We must do whatever’s necessary.” In response to this I would ask Senator McCain, “What will success in Iraq look like?” I am not sure what his response would be. Actually, I am not sure of McCain in general. He has disagreed with President Bush before, but I get the impression that he would many times over if he were truly being honest with himself and the voters he hopes to win over. I remain hopeful about the Republicans, at least hopeful enough that whoever ends up running for the presidency in 2008 will not wait until they are in the Oval Office to be an honest person. I hope McCain would be more transparent regarding disagreements with the current administration. We do not need one of those politicians who think criticizing Bush is unpatriotic. Likewise, we don’t need one of those politicians who will critique Bush only when it is the thing to do. Thusly, I remain hopeful that whoever wins the Electoral College in 2008 will not hide his or her intentions. I feel McCain might be hiding his own intentions a little in order to keep the far right. That may not be a good gamble for McCain because as Iraq continues to descend into chaos the convictions of most on the far right, that thought this war was a good idea, are being shaken loose, and moved a little to the left.

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois
Barack is not seen on TV without legions of fans lining up for him, cheering him on, and asking for his autograph. Truly, I don’t know that much about him at all. I know as a politician he doesn’t have a tremendous amount of experience under his belt. Actually, he has just as much as Lincoln had before he became President. Most would agree that lack of political experience didn’t hinder Abe. However, Lincoln’s story is not enough for me to put faith in a similarly experienced candidate, hoping that he would turn out like an Abe Lincoln. There is no doubt about it, Barack has legions of fans, but I feel like most of his fans couldn’t give me any political proof for their devout following of him. That makes me a little worried. I don’t really understand what people are all so excited about, maybe that is because I haven’t heard Barack speak. Back in the day lots of people didn’t become fans of Jesus until they heard the man speak. So I might do well to hear the man speak, and since The Daily Show told me that his theme song is “Jesus Christ Superstar”, he shouldn’t be hard to find.

Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
This guy has a good smile. Every time I see him in a magazine, in the paper, or on the TV he strikes me as a nice, honest fellow. I like that he hasn’t been a formal politician since he ran in 2004. Healthy, the practice seems, for politicians to get a little more in touch with Americans. Considering the fan base Edwards has, it seems that he is in touch with quite a few Americans. I don’t feel in touch with him yet. I need to be able to look at John Edwards as a 2008 presidential candidate, and not as Kerry’s 2004 running mate. In order to win the votes of an influential number of Republicans, Edwards will have to campaign like he never was John Kerry’s snuggle bunny on the stages of their 2004 campaign; if he doesn’t, he won’t win enough of the right to win the election, that is, even if he gets the Democratic nomination. Like all the Democrats running, he has his work cut out for him, especially since Jesus II made it official today, February 10.

Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
Chuck is a presidential long shot, but if you saw him on C-SPAN a couple of weeks ago then you might know why I have him up here. Senator Hagel was ranting and raving about Iraq, how politicians get nothing done, why politicians are out of touch with the people of America, and how being a politician is a tough job, and if you don’t like it, leave. A politician telling it like it is? Hard to come by these days, but so is a politician who doesn’t say things for show. If Hagel keeps that rant up he will not win anything. I want him to keep it up though. If he drops that routine it will quickly become evident that he wanted his fifteen minutes of political fame, and cares more about winning than being honest with his colleagues and constituents. I couldn’t hold it against him though. You might laugh after the first few seconds of seeing him on C-SPAN, but then you might ask yourself, is this guy serious? I wish politicians could win and still come off as enthusiastic and honest as Hagel did on C-SPAN that day.

*More 2008 hopefuls (possibly): Former Vice President Al Gore, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Former New York Governor George Pataki, Sam Brownback, Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo, Christopher Dodd, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and Tom Vilsack. In the interest of not taking another month on this blog I chose six possible candidates, but thought I would include the names of others that could have easily been written about.