Random Political Thoughts

As spring and summer come around and the little girl is starting to crawl, my blogging is slowing down, how the heck do people keep up? So frequently I am going to turn to an old friend, the list. In some ways, I'd like to be to politics what the lovely ladies at the Herald are to Boston celebritydom (read JOCKS) in the Inside Track.

Here's some thoughts coming to my head as I start thinking about handicapping the 2008 election. Like watching some horses in local races before the Kentucky Derby, you don't know if what you see here is going to be the same as the Run for the Roses.

Can Ron Paul running as an independent be the "Republican" version of Ralph Nader, stealing votes from conservative but non-theocratic/kleptocratic voters? I think he's interesting to the potheads on both sides and those people that really don't like to pay taxes. Also to those who want a protest vote against business as usual. I don't agree with him on a lot, but as Bob says those who don't want the government "in their head or in their bed" may lean towards him. Does 2-5% make the difference in close states?

Where does Bloomberg fit in? I'm thinking of the movie, Brewster's Millions if you have ever seen it. Another independent, I think a lot of us amateur, wannabe pundits like to push the envelope nearly 17 months til the election, think of what weird scenarios would be interesting. Also a billionaire, Red Sox fan from Medford who is a liberal Republican mayor of New York City, this guy has got to be funny. And in a potential debate with Romney, oh you're a multimillionaire, "that's cute."

Is Sam Brownback the American Christian Right's version of Ayatollah Khomeni? I dunno, I just thought this was kinda funny. I was watching something about the Ayatollah returning to Iran from exile and just had these weird images in my head of hordes of anti-evolution/anti-modernist Americans carrying around big pictures of Sam Brownback. I imagine if you had been a big picture printer in Iran in the late 70's you made a ton of dough, it must have been like their pet rock or rubik's cube.

Will McCain change strategy back to the maverick right center or will he continue to pander to the right wing lunacy? I think a lot of us want McCain to be the McCain of 2000, Straight Talk Express making fun of GWB but I think that South Carolina swindle took a lot out of him, we would have liked him to never like GW and his cabal, but he really wants to be President and get that evangelical and Pioneer and Ranger money so for the primaries at least he runs along with the rest of the right wing idiot horde. He's still right on some things, still the favorite in my book for the nomination but disappointing at least to the Angry Middle.

Will the Democrats realize that their best candidate (check that, most able candidate) is Joe Biden and that being said, it's about time to start knocking on some unannounced candidates doors. I'm a Clark guy, smart, war hero, general, progressive, but as we know all in all a complete dork. Makes Mike Dukakis look like Will Smith. He's the guy to go to for an amazing Presidential Chief of Staff. But seriously, only with this group of candidates could the Democrats lose the election, shoot, some of them scare the crap outta me. I'm a huge Obama fan as an orator and a senator, but can we have someone with a little foreign policy experience to help clean things up here, I mean didn't we just go through the last 7 years of that? Hillary, c'mon, the Republicans pray that Mrs. Clinton gets the nomination.

Will women voters vote for Fred Thompson in the general election, completely decked out with trophy wife? Yes, in case you were asking that is her giving good old Paul "the Wolf" Wolfowitz a little loving. Freddie according to reports has a lot in common with Ronnie Reagan, lazy, multiple marriages, "plain speaking", actor; I got no idea what he's got going for him, actually. Liked him on Law and Order though. Hear he rented a pickup truck. Freddie's got a kid the same age as mine, he's 65, damn, I feel like I'm going to drop dead and I'm not nearly his age.

Will every presidential candidate who voted for the war without reading the intelligence reports dropout of the race in self disgust and with apologies to the American people? (harakiri is probably too much to ask for) I built a Rubbermaid shed last weekend and read the instructions three times before working on it. Is it too much to ask before you vote for war to read the damn report? Do you need pictures? Sign language? A cute congressional aide to read it to you outloud while you're in a bourbon stupor? Make a freaking effort. Want to read someone with thought. Here's Ron Paul's speech on the floor.

Can we request the Browback, Tancerdo, and Huckabee run a science fair? These are the three guys who didn't believe in evolution. I just want a college science fair. We could have the faculty from Liberty University come and judge it. I'm going to apply for Huckabee's science advisor, that must be a pretty easy job. "See, right here, in Genesis, good to go."

Where is Hagel? Another interesting character who is staying out of the early fray waiting to see what comes from the "surge" and where things go. There are likely many "anti-war" republicans who are waiting for a champion for their cause. Is he running for second banana? Hagel's got some attractiveness as a candidate, another war hero, speaks in full sentences, looks good on TV, just enough grey to be distinguished not enough to be run up to Brooksby Village. Also like our friend Fred Thompson, he too appears to have access to a pickup truck.

For the love of God, Dennis, you couldn't run Cleveland, why President? I gotta pick on some Democrats, mostly I'd like to pic on my state pols, who show equal shortsightedness to the Republicans nationally. (for another time) Dennis is another one with a very young wife, that's six feet tall. He's the darling of the electric car set. I don't quite understand this, he's the equivalent of sniffing glue of candidates, give your money, get a quick high and then all you got is an awful headache and dead brain cells.

Good Lord, we need a good haberdasher to run. Are there any good haberdashers around?