My Thoughts On The 2008 Race

It's amazing we're already in full swing with the 2008 Presidential race. It's long been announced that my home city of Denver will host the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Rep. Mark Udall (D-CD2) has announced he will run for Colorado Senate -- one of the biggest battles for a Senate seat you will find in the country come next year. And the race for the Presidency has a sizable group of candidates from both sides of the aisle.

Before I talk about each one, let's make something clear, if it isn't already. I'm a proud Democrat. Not only that, but I am disgusted with the people who are running this country -- namely, the Bush Administration. Never have we seen such a group of war mongers, greedy bastards, oil execs, and downright liars. Not to mention the illiterate bastard that supposedly runs the country. So of course, I'm going to favor a Democratic candidate in 2008. As will the country, quite honestly.

And now that being said, do know this about me. I'm fair and honest. I'm not just going to rail or rewards someone based on their party. I am not a party zealot, I am simply a Democrat because I believe that is what's best for this country.

I mean -- to quote a bumper sticker I've seen: "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!"

So, here's my rundown of the top 6 Democratic and Republican candidates for 2008 in no particular order:

Hillary Clinton - The biggest name in the race. Self-proclaimed Republicans love to hate her and say all sorts of vile things about her, but here's a little game you can play: When someone you know says "Oh, I hate Hillary!", ask them why they do. 9 times out of 10 they will say something to the effect of "Oh, I don't know, she just rubs me the wrong way." At this point I usually say, "Probably because you're a mysoginist," just to piss them off.

Hillary isn't a bad candidate. She's very much in the center. I like her social views, but am a little concerned with her views on war. I'd be happy to see her in there, especially representing the first female President. But, she's my 3rd choice.

John McCain - My father-in-law's favorite topic leading up the 2008 announcements was how well John McCain would do as "the perfect middle candidate."

Boy was he fucking wrong. :-)

John McCain has led a horrible campaign, and his allegiance to Bush's policy was never a mystery to most of us who paid attention. Nowadays, he is married to Bush. He is Bush. In fact, he is tying his whole campaign to the "troop surge" in Iraq. A few weeks ago he went on a rant about how safe it was to "walk the streets of Iraq" -- too bad we have the puis of him walking the streets.

With a bulletproof vest on.

And 100 Army soldiers surrounding him. (After they'd spent hours clearing the area in advance.)

And a group of Apache helicopters flying overhead for additional protection.

Yesterday, he was caught singing "Bomb Iran". Yeah, go ask the soldiers' families how funny they think it is that as soon as they get home from years of Iraq warfare that McCain would love to send them right into Iran.

Go ask the country what they think. 4 more years of Bush?

No fucking way. McCain is done.

John Edwards - After losing the nomination in 2004 to John Kerry, then becoming his running mate, Edwards is back in a Presidential run. This time, he has a lot of experience to work off of, and he's a very good candidate -- in fact, the anti-Iraq War Edwards is a favorite of the net community.

Edwards has a great distinction in this race. He is the most Christian candidate and also the most liberal candidate. The Focus on the Family psychos will flip over this comment, but it's true. The reason is that, for years, the Republican noise machine has tried to smear the Democratic Party as godless. Well, it's ridiculous. So get over it. We're not.

Complicating some matters in this cycle, John Edwards's wife was diagnosed with cancer again. This time, it's incurable -- though treatable. Elizabeth Edwards is also the best First Lady candidate. She's a great and authentic human being.

Rudy Giuliani - Ask a New Yorker what they think of the former NYC mayor and you will most likely hear bad things. Rudy has literally incited a race riot against the former mayor, David Dinkins. He's "Clintonized" the mayor's mansion with his trists -- and now he'll run for President. How can he?

Well, ask anyone else who Rudy Giuliani is and you'll hear something to the effect of "Saves us on 9/11!" Well, that's an overstatement, but the Giuliani still has positive associations for people on 9/11. And looking at the polls, he is far outpacing the other two Republican candidates. So he has a good chance of winning the nomination.

His strengths also are nearly identical to his weaknesses. His best strengths are that he's a liberal Republican. He is pro-choice and even supports publicly funded abortions. His weaknesses? He is pro-choice and even supports publicly funded abortions.

it will be very interesting to see what the votes are in the south for Rudy. In addition to the above, he's also been seen on TV dressed in drag (for a performance, not his own accord) and the holier-than-thou Southern Baptists will probably think his liberal views blasphemous.

Mitt Romney - The top Republican fund-raiser in Q1/07 and former Governor of Massachusetts. And a shocking amount as well, in the 20 millions. He is the sole Mormon candidate, and if you care about that sort of thing you probably realize his chances are small of winning. Apparently, Christians don't agree with Mormons. I stay out of it, and I don't much care about religious affiliation.

I think Mitt is the best candidate the Republicans have. His poll numbers are terrible, though. Perhaps it is the religious war going on within the Republican Party. Perhaps it is his affiliation with Massachusetts that riles a base that has been trained to hate that "gay lovin'" state.

Mot agree that all the money in the world may not raise his name recognition enough to contend. It's too bad, he could probably be a pretty good President.

Barak Obama - I save Barak for last because he is MY CHOICE for President of the United States. :-) Barak is the ULTIMATE candidate because he is the most mediating, compromising politician we have today. Here's why:

• He is one of the most religious candidates running, a real Christian. But he doesn't throw it in your face or try to control you with it.
  
• He speaks not of red states or blue states, but of the United States. he is not polarizing in any way.
  
• He has risen from poverty. He has risen from losing his father. He has risen to be a successful businessman.
  
• He has youth on his side, he's only in his 40's.
  
• He is the most inspirational candidate who can help us rise from this dark period in our nation's history (9/11, Iraq War, various White House scandals...)
  

He is against this Iraq War, and has been against it, from the beginning. He is also pro-choice. He will have my vote.