It’s safe to say I’m a little schizophrenic about the early directions of this election. Iowa is being pumped up as the complete early harbinger of How America Really Feels. But it’s notable that Giuliani and McCain didn’t spend a lot of time or money there. There’s a genuine long view based on individual constituencies that some of the candidates rightly subscribe to. My advice to Republicans – Huckabee’s a classy guy, and TV friendly, but the West and East Coasts, and Michigan, and Ohio, and a lot of other non-Southern states won’t have much use for a guy who argues for eliminating female choice, for eliminating gay rights, and outrightly doesn’t believe in evolution. Ultimately, Huckabee, Romney and McCain will immolate in a tricky daisy-chain-mix of religion, immigration and the war. God help us, but my early call is Giuliani’s the only one left standing by summertime.
The number one most important goal of these elections is to eradicate the embarrasment of the Bush administration. And America’s full of Republicans who will tell you that. Hell, John McCain will tell you that. But don’t kid yourself, the residue will remain for years – economically, militarily, diplomatically, politically, socio-culturally – any adverb you can think of.
Me, Godless liberal that I am, I went a little nutty. The first question I asked myself was ‘Who Among The Democrats Is The Most Qualified?’. And Biden, Dodd and Richardson took their rightful place. They were the first tier. Then Edwards, then Clinton, then Obama, then Kucinich. That’s the second tier, and there’s a huge, I repeat, huge, gap between the first and second tier. Richardson alone has been in Congress, in the Cabinet, an Ambassador, a Special Envoy to the Middle East and North Korea, and a Governor. And he’s in third! These three know what changes are needed , and the executive, legislative and judicial mechanics of executing those changes. Oh well…
Clinton, Obama and Edwards are excellent fundraisers and are great on TV. They’ll look good and sound good, say all the right things, reassure us that America will be in good hands when they’re in charge, and they won’t get a goddamn thing done. Think about all of the other people who have been elemental in the Bush administration – Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzalez, Rove, Brownie, Libby, Hayden, Tenet… feel free to add your own favorites. Trust me, residence in the second tier assures you that the counterparts in a Clinton, or Obama, or Edwards administration will be just as proprietary and influential. Who does Hillary bring in?
Who does Edwards bring in? I’ve got three names right off the tip of my tongue…but then who? Republicans were comfortable voting for W in 2000 because they knew Dad and Dick and Colin would keep him out of trouble. And look how well that went. 9/11 changed him? I didn’t want a president that 9/11 changed. I wanted a president that would deliver on the promises of who he already said he was. Will global crisis fundamentally change Joe Biden? How about Hillary? How about Barack Obama? How about (gulp) Giuliani?
Heading in a diametrically opposed direction from the Bush administration is crucial. And the media/money rock stars on the Democratic side will make us feel like that’s what we’re doing. Just like we felt that way when Nancy Pelosi became Speaker. Are you OK with the last year of our Democratic Congress? Settle in, folks, it’ll be a long five more years.
Periscope In The Bathtub 