Politics

With President Ford passing away, I was thinking a little bit about politics and where we are today. The big topic now is who will run for president and who has the best chance. It really does seem like the field is wide open. The Vice-President is not running and the President is in his last term. And, both parties do not have their clear choice to push forward to the American public. Of course many out there are already proclaiming the greatness of Hilary and Barack. But if recent history has any sway, we're still early in the running and recent victors did not really have great momentum this early into the race. We're talking a marathon and not a sprint. John Edwards has declared his intention to run. He's interesting as well. There are other names out there such as Giuliani and McCain; some others not as well known, but worthy candidates that need to be looked at. This is an early prediction, but I will say this. I think people are looking for a moderate and an overall good package. With the redefinition of the Vice-Presidency and the First Lady (or Man), I think it's now more important than ever to look at the entire package that will get elected. And thankfully, I think the American people will know that and get that right this time around. I think people will vote according to not only who they like as President, but also who they like as Vice-President, First Lady (or Man) and so forth. Because there are some big names out there, I think two or three big names competing against each other will be a wash. I don't think Barack or Hilary alone will make much difference. People are over that and get the name recognition thing. What will drive this election is who teams up with who and who gets the best team and endorsements in place. I also think the majority has spoken and the political pendulum has swung back to the middle. The Republican Party cannot go the Rove route and push politics (and their base) further to the right. That initially worked, but ultimately it cost them Congress and may end up costing them the Presidency if they think of running that way again. Overall, I think the Republicans understand that and will move their agenda and sales pitch back towards the middle. It will be classical politics in that the race will be who can get to the middle first and gather the moderate or "purple" vote if you will (I heard that term used by Donny Deutsch and I think it's brilliant). Much remains to be seen, but it will be really interesting this time around. Who do you like and why? Tell us in your comments.