Barack Obama has been a pleasant surprise for me. My initial support for him was abject desperation as I saw anything would have been preferable to continuing the course set by Bush II and his cronies. But, after 4 years I would most certainly have supported the president against any of the several Republican hopefuls who would have made for a wonderful season on reality television. Honey Boo Boo, Duck pluckers and Billy the Terminator couldn’t hold a candle to those stage struck shuck and jive artists.
Just for grins and giggles, compare Rick Perry to Yosemite Sam, Mitt Romney to Wiley Coyote, Newt Gingrich to Foghorn Leghorn, Herman Cain to Elmer Fudd and Michelle Bachman to Daffy Duck. There will likely never be another presidential primary as entertaining as that one.
A little in jest but…claiming that the both sides were equal in producing incompetent candidates is like saying the worse players at my golf club are equal to the worse players on the PGA. The Republicans were choosing the big fish from a pond stocked with store bought candidates. There were some good republicans who sat on the sidelines. When once thought of presidential candidate, Colin Powell endorses Obama, and other good republican people like Charlie Crist are driven out, one by one…the competency of those left continues to drop. Just having Rush Limbaugh on your side is enough of a distraction to keep good people from being involved.
“Just for grins and giggles, compare Rick Perry to Yosemite Sam, Mitt Romney to Wiley Coyote, Newt Gingrich to Foghorn Leghorn, Herman Cain to Elmer Fudd and Michelle Bachman to Daffy Duck”.
@Rod Knox–You left out Michele Bockmann. Can you come up with a comic character for Michele?
Edit–My bad. I see that you already did. I should read more carefully.
@rod knox “There will likely never be another presidential primary as entertaining as that one.” I think the next election will provide even more entertainment for you, things seem to pro_gress rather than digress, not saying it is progress. Con_gress is not working either.
There are several qualified republicans I’d vote for president. But the way the party is run now…they’ll NEVER make it through the primaries. The republican party is run by the neoconservatives. The moderate republicans are being pushed aside.
I’ll have to agree with Mike. We had former Minnesota Senator Durenburger speak at out retirement association meeting a while back. He was a pretty substantial and influential republican but said he essentially has been blocked by the party. Our former Governor Carlson was another one and a whole host of others. These were people I didn’t necessarily always agree with but had some common sense for the common good. Around 1990 there was a push to put in evangelicals in the party to replace all the moderates. It shows. From that group came Governor Paulenty who left the state in shambles. The same thing has happened in most other states. Now in contrast, the Democrats seem to have had the same kind of push to put in people way to the left of center like Feinstein and even Obama. They fiddle with their social programs and control laws while the country burns. Can’t we have a little moderation and common sense?
I think common sense is replaced by common cents. whoever donates the most money to them is how they go about doing things(like kevin pointed out).
Seen an interview of Jessie Ventura promoting his book “Democrips and Rebloodicans” and he talked about how some foreign country could completely take us over by setting up some phony business, laundering money through it and buying politicians’ votes. They wouldn’t need guns, just lots and lots of money
Dagosa,in response to your Jan 29 post, its hard to keep a good man in the running at the time in the 2000s election,I felt that the right two candidites didnt get to run,given my views at the time(pro right) I would have still maybe had to flip a coin between Bradley and McCain.
If nothing else I would like to see a third party that could straddle the fence and do the best thing for both sides.I can only imagine how much easier it would be live if the govt wasnt taking half of what you earn(thats real hard on a poor person) when I look skyward and see one of those behomeths consuming enough fuel in a coast to coast trip to keep 20 homes in a winter heated.I wonder,how much longer is this going to last? Cheap oil is a thing of the past(I believe in Hubberts Peak) rest assured that Algae secretions and net energy zero corn will not keep the Jumbo Jets flying,put simply Folks-we will have to make adjustments. Personally I hope to return to mainstreet,an economy that can foster small business and people with a dream and a clue…I will say one thing about Wal-Mart though,they have made drugs affordable again(if they are generic)
Expect everything to go up in price,particulary food because our agriculture is based on cheap petrochemicals,the ride is about over with our burgeoning population,the world economic see-saw is about to hit equilibrium,so be prepared-Kevin
Kev…
I know we talk about the better candidates, but reality sinks in when you look at statistics for winners since TV started to play a prominent roll. Taller, better looking and younger candidates always have a distinct edge. McCain never stood a chance on the national scene without an overwhelming majority support which he did not have, to offset his physical deficiencies perceived by the voting public.
The only reason Romney was as close as he was, given his clear politically stances opposing the majority is a) all Republican like Democrats will get about thirty percent of the vote just being affiliated with a party. b) short of actually having a stance that about 10 to 15 % of the independent vote can agree with, the taller, younger and better looking, gets most of their vote.
These are facts that limit a third party candidate to nothing more then a limited vote getter that only serves to hurt one of the other two parties. 60% of the vote will not be there for them without being a Republican or Democrat. Until run off elections are the norm, third party candidates will exist as a legitimate choice on the national level., only in the minds of the unrealistic.
There are other unrelated factors as well. But, minimizing physical appearance and party affiliation is putting your head in the sand. If Hillary doesn’t make the necessary physical adjustments, she stands much less of a chance of ever being considered as a presidential candidate. Sad but true for all.
Kevin
I, just like you, would long for options other then what cookie cutter politics that crank out candidates with the same characteristics and stances. But, after looking at all they have given us for choices and all who have won, party affiliation and physical presence have overwhelmingly become important to a slghtly less then majority, but so significant and dependable, it just makes it hard for a third party to have much of a chance. On the state level, issues are much more important and our state has had it’s share of independently minded choices. But, having just a million in the entire state where everyone knows eveyone, personal contact triumphs all. On the national scene, where contrived, scripted presentations, the candidate with the best advertising campaign and money gets the distinct advantage. I just hope that free access to imformation over time, can make us all better able to distinquish reality from fiction and you and I will eventually get our wish.
Well Guys some people probaly shouldnt be allowed to vote if that is the reason they selected a candidate,but how can things be any different if people are so flippant about something as important as an election? Till people get serious,I guess they get who they deserve,(kinda puts you in mind of a Jury) in the honest anylisis and critical long view a lot of what we depend on is seriously flawed.But what to do?-Kevin
I have to respectfully disagree about Hillery. While I may not support her positions in many areas, I think Hillery is an extremely smart, sharp lady with a mind that stores details like a computer file. I think she’d make a brillant and extremely good candidate for president. She has the brains, the knowledge, the class, the saavy, the domestic experience, and now the foreign affairs experience to win the whitehouse. I hope she chooses not to run. She’d be tough to beat.