I'm Right Again Dot Com

A new commentary every Wednesday   -  April, 1,2015 - the following is no joke. Well, maybe just a little bit.


WHEN IT'S POLITICS, THERE IS NO TIME OUT

    There was a time in the far, distant mists of the past when the race for the White House did not begin the day after the latest president was picked at the polls. We've hardly begun the last term of the Obama administration and already polls are being taken by a certain subset of the media in an effort to be first to predict who will oppose whom in the next presidential election. An entire, full time industry has now evolved in this endeavor. Shifts of political analysts are working around the clock, seven days a week.

    I can remember when fights would break out in the streets over who should win the contest, but this would be in the waning days of a campaign, more often in that period between the closing of the polls and soon after the opening of saloons; when the entire nation awaited the announcement of the winning tally. No "exit polls" announced the winner while voters were still standing in lines in front of polling places in some western states. It was not unknown for great metropolitan newspapers that normally "went to bed" shortly after midnight on the day following the election to print huge headlines, declaring victory for candidates who were ultimately found to be losers, after the final votes were tallied.

     I am brought to do this commentary by the list of announced and presumed Republican candidates to head that party's ticket that is far, far too long. For the good of the Grand Old Party, more than just a few need to pull out of the race soon, if not today. I can't remember all of their names and I don't wish to anger any of their supporters, by falling to give one or more mentions. However they should know that most of those who are disposed to vote for a Republican are now extremely fragmented and somewhat confused. 

    I saw one poll on television this past Sunday that purports to claim that Jeb Bush is the current preferred candidate for the post by 51% of Republicans polled.

    Although this is not meant to be an endorsement, there is something to be said about the political success of father-son-brother-and cousin political dynasties of the past and present: Adams, Daley, Brown, Bush, Kennedy, Paul, Rockefeller, Roosevelt and Taft, to name a few. (There will be a pop quiz later). Somehow, each inherited a machine that could not be easily sabotaged when the heir to it decided to "take the bit in his mouth." (I was born in an age when the horse was still widely used for transportation and farm work). Yes, in the case of Teddy Kennedy, this did not turn out to be true, but the good Senator—and he deserves and has received great honors for all he accomplished—carried too much baggage from indiscretions that took place early in his career.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the ultimate strategy for both parties is to choose the "most electable" candidate. Many times in the past this meant finding a successful military commander willing to run for the post. Washington, Jackson, Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eisenhower immediately come to mind. The most immediate "military media hero" of the Afghan-Iraq war apparently suffered from testosterone poisoning, a self-induced affliction that effectively ended his career in public life.

    I always admired Colin Powell. He is a great general and deft global politician. People here at home and everywhere abroad like and trust him. During Desert Storm, he proved himself to be an exceptional leader; a winner. But then, during the WMD debacle (when the CIA mistakenly claimed that the braggart Hussein had atomic bombs) Powell remained loyal to his commander and chief and played the fool before the United Nations. After that terrible embarrassment, Powell decided to take himself out of the public spotlight. We all suffered a great loss by his not seizing the torch. I believe he could have easily won, had he chosen to accept the endorsement of either party.

    The Department of Hillary Rodham Clinton for President (HRCFP)  is already in high gear. The most important aspect of advertising is "brand identification." Everyone above the age when one is first allowed to eat solid food knows who "Hillary" is. I'm not going to be snide and say unkind things about the best the Democratic Party apparently has yet to offer, only that I wish that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts could be drafted. I like what she says, but I am sorry to have to accept that when she says something, such as "I'm not going to run," she usually sticks to it.

-Phil Richardson, Observer and Storyteller. 

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