This Time Let's Get It Right

Greetings good people. It's that time again, as it is every four years. Four years ago, I set up a private e-distribution list with my prognostications and polemics, but several folk suggested I set up a blog this time. So if you've come here you've decided to check me out. Trust me, I'll try to make it worth your time spent here.

For example, right now--and you're hearing it here first--McCain and Clintama (or McCain and Obanton) are leading the two major parties for the nomination. Frankly, I would have preferred Bill Richardson. He has superb qualifications: as an elected member of the House of Representatives, as Ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of the Interior under Clinton, as elected Governor of New Mexico, and (a bonus, though he initially was modest about it) he's a certified minority. However, and this is sad to say, he has no public charisma. Privately, I've heard he's charming. Publicly, he walks into a room, and everyone thinks two people just left. It's unfortunate that charisma plays such a big role in choosing a presidential nominee, but there you are.

I'd also prefer Gore, but my Obama-supporting friends say that he's old school, and that Obama is the "new Kennedy." Well, friends, I knew Jack Kennedy (not personally of course), and let me tell you, Barack Obama is no Jack Kennedy. Oh. Wait. That was Lloyd Bentsen chastising Dan Quayle.

In any case, I expect that I will be adding to this blog on a pretty regular basis, since I'm a political animal and enjoy presidential elections in particular. Not the last two, but I did accurately predict that Ohio was going to be the key state that Kerry needed in 2004, and that Gore had to win six of the big east-of-the-Mississippi seven--NY, NJ, PA, OH, MI, IL and FL--in 2000 to win. He won five, though initially FL was put in his column (remembering the well-endowed, "hanging" Chads from dubya's brother's state?!). Omy was I overjoyed when TV awarded FL to Gore, and dismayed when they retracted.

So this year, let's try to get it right. But not far right: I'm a political middle-of-the-roader, though in my current state of residence I'm probably viewed as a flaming liberal. But when the overwhelming majority of my state's citizens think that Ronald Reagan walked on water (my God, people, he could barely find the rocks to walk on!), they're so far right they're outta sight! If my current state doesn't have the most conservative state legislature and the most embarrassing DC contingent, then somewhere out there is a state all of whose villages are missing their idiots.

One of our elected national representatives has never recanted on his statement that abortions contribute to causing breast cancer; our state superintendent of public instruction is a creationist (can you BELIEVE he was elected to that post!!), and one of our senators--dare I say it? (Dare! Dare!)--tried a tryst in a twin city restroom. Your state's elected officials can't even come close.

This year, indeed let's get it right. Let's see if the national Democrats can avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, can avoid appealing to the extreme left side of the party (it may be too late for that already), and can legitimately seize the center of the political spectrum--as they SHOULD legitimately have done in 2000 and 2004. dubya is NOT the centrist they allowed him to seem to be. More projections and polemics later...along with a solid dose of humor. You all be well.

I welcome your comments.