It can’t get any better than this. (Hillary vs. Barak) vs. John. These guys are our best, right? Well, lets take a look.

McCain lacked the guts to fight back in 2000, when he was at the perfect age to earn the presidency. He fell apart under the pressure of South Carolina and the Rove ‘black-baby’ soldiers.

He was a soldier in a prisoner camp for a long time; his fight to stay alive gives him hero-status; that was forty years ago; his dad was probably a greater hero than him for all of his years of military service.

General Eisenhower won the presidency in 1952; not 2008.

In his years in the senate, he was involved in a money-scheme with a bunch of lobbyists. He fights his fellow republicans and loves the stage; but, tell me what he has done for the nation as a whole while serving Arizona? Sounds like a Washington insider to me.

To a realist, he is nothing more than a politician who should have been limited to two terms; after that, their power-surging ego takes them all to the national stage. Some just don’t belong on that stage.

This, election cycle, he voluntarily traveled to Bob Jones University. That, in and of itself, should disqualify him for any national office.

Don’t forget his unbending support of the debacle called Iraq. If you like Cheney, vote for this guy. If you want our policy in Iraq to remain the same, this is your guy.

McCain hugged George Bush four years ago and hasn’t let go yet.

What does he offer the moderate, independent voters in between the coasts? Not much. He moved to the right a long time ago and remains a very distant cousin to anything representing the middle class.
This guy has no answer to the economic concerns in this country beyond saying that he has a lot of reading to catch up on.

His time for this office was 8 years ago. He lost to a guy who wanted to be known as the education president.

Grade – only in a pass-fail system would he get a passing grade.

Hillary isn’t just Hillary. Bill admitted that electing her would get us two presidents. Just what we need. Are you ready for the Swift-Boat Coalition ads showing Whitewater graphs from 1984?

She gets all the credit in the world for breaking the barriers that remain in place far too long. White, old men have ruled this land for far too long.

If that was the sole test, she would get all the delegates needed.

But, we must look beyond the simple facts. We must examine her policies and her statements.

Hillary was as wrong on Iraq as Vice President Cheney. She never took the time to review the Powell documents prior to voting on the bill to authorize the war. She said ‘yes’ more than Kerry; she has never stopped saying ‘yes’. She followed the republicans on the war as much as any Democratic Senator.

Hillary has championed all of the traditional Democratic economic bills with absolutely nothing to support their economic well-being. One kind of senator makes proposals to benefit their constituents. Another kind finds the funds to pay for it.

As much as Bush won on the basis of his last name (and well-conceived titles such as "compassionate conservative," etc. thanks to a guy name Rove), tell me where Hillary would be if her last name was Smith. Where would she be if she had married just another hard-working Yale lawyer rather than the Vietnam war-evading governor of the chicken-packing capital of the world?

No one can question her ability to argue, yell, listen, and comprehend. Her interest in all the subjects coming into the oval office is vast. Sounds good.

My grade – if we didn’t have to have all of the days from now until January, 2009, and she could be simply anointed as President, she would get my vote. But, the next months will be hell, just like her presidency.

Finally, we get Barak Obabma. The great hope of all who are of one color or the others. Populist, sophomore star in a long-term game of who is smartest. He wins that award. The guy has stood well above his colleagues for many years, in just about every venue he has entered. Is that enough to be president of our United States?

His Iraq line is way too simple: I didn’t vote for the war. Of course you didn’t; you were a state legislator at the time. Did anyone care how he felt when speaking to his constituents in Illinois? Come on.

Do you really think this man can bring this country around on race relations? Have you ever seen an honest politician? Have you ever seen an honest politician speak to all of the people of this nation in one tongue.

Obama can preach. But, can he lead? Obama can lead some of us. Can he lead us all?

The risks of a negative answer is so damn large. Is it truly worth the risk? Can we all afford to give this incredibly well-meaning man a chance to lead this nation (at this time)?

If he was a white guy, would everyone believe him more? Do you look at him through a color-blind window? I doubt it. No white politician has introductions from Jessie Jackson. No one wants Jessie Jackson to be president any more than we need to see Bill Clinton answering questions in the gardens of 1600 Pennsylvania.

So, can we get Obama alone? Can we get Obama without the baggage of his race, his lack of worldly experience, and his obvious populist and non-specific answers to any questions about how to pay for any of the proposals he wishes to bring forth?

Same question as above – could he win if he was a white man? Would he even be a candidate? The last senator to win the office came from the east and his name was John F. Kennedy. Everything else being equal, Obama is no JFK.



Vote – history will call him the starting pitcher in a 12-inning game. The sports pages will note that he pitched well but could not get the win.



Three soldiers. None good enough for our highest office.