Loading ...With the presidential primaries reaching a climax on February 5th, I feel at this point that I am paddling in circles within the Sea of Insanity. At the time of writing, many candidates have withdrawn, essentially leaving four: John McCain, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama.
The Republican race appears to be McCain’s to lose. After Tuesday the pundits will start speculating on who McCain will choose as a running mate. Time will tell on that one.
The Democrats have a more interesting dynamic going on. One is the first serious woman candidate for the presidency; the other the first black American to do so. Both are very intelligent people; both have egos large enough to sustain them through the process they are now going through.
So, who would not only be the better candidate, but who would make the better president? Democrats seem split 50/50 on this right now. Sen. Obama is charismatic; he actually DOES transcend many things that heretofore have separated Americans. His problem is that he is still rather unknown on specifics. His rhetoric is wonderful; he’s one of the finest public speakers I’ve heard in a long time. How that would translate into effectiveness as a president is obviously debatable.
Hillary Clinton has many attributes that would suit her well. She’s determined, intelligent, and obviously not afraid of planting her boot in the backside of those who need a little motivation. Her being a woman with those characteristics may alienate those who prefer women who are demure and silent. I, for one, do not. Ego and aggressiveness are necessary for a chief executive. Margaret Thatcher had it in spades, and she is a lady nonetheless.
Sen. Clinton’s millstone is her husband. And this is where the history scrabble comes in. Suppose that we could swap the terms of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. How would the two decades…the 90′s and this one…have been different?
Here we run into a bit of a quandary. What makes the difference, the presidents or the times themselves? The 90′s were to a great extent a fallow period, almost exactly spanning the fall of Soviet communism (but not communism itself) and the arrival of the Paranoid Period on 9/11/2001.
President Bush would have revelled in the 90′s. Oil probably would have risen in price no matter world markets, but otherwise he would have been smack in the middle of a time that favored the conservative cycle. It’s doubtful that he would have invaded that many countries, although what action he would have taken in Haiti or Afghanistan would have been more forceful than Mr. Clinton’s was.
President Clinton, on the other hand, would probably have done much better in this decade. During his second term he would have been able to take advantage of the slow swing from the conservative to the liberal cycle. With all due respect, Clinton’s savvy and intelligence far surpass that of George W. Bush, and his handling of many post 9/11 factors would have been much different, and more than likely better.
History might read like a story; all that happened in the past seems inevitable. Yet that is not so. History is flux; a constant change that requires adaptation by the people living it. We are not the same people we were at the time of our birth, and neither is our nation. A century from now the United States will be much more different still.
Our last two presidents were, in my opinion, the wrong people at the wrong times. THIS election is one of the most important in decades, because whoever it is must be the RIGHT person for the RIGHT time.
Sen. McCain I’ll look at more carefully in the future. As for the choice between Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton it’s almost a toss-up. I have greater hope for Obama than Clinton. Yet all the same I’ve changed my mind about moving to Canada if Hillary Clinton moves into the White House.
Sen. Clinton’s biggest failing is this: she has not developed her own identity. That is why Bill is a burden. For if she becomes the nominee….if she becomes the president, then it must be made clear that a Clinton II administration is politically divorced from her husband’s.
If the odds favor a Democrat being our next president, then I would warn both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton of one thing:
Our best presidents made major decisions with an eye on history itself. It’s a much better guidepost than polls or pundits. We, as individuals, come and go. The republic itself is sustained by wise decisions.
We’ve had enough bad ones lately.
**************************
Cross-posted at Michaellinnjones.com
The Republican Party is a sick joke, and the people of this country are fed up with them.
From Nixon to Bush, and from Scooter to Larry “Toilet Stall” Craig, the Republicans have proven themselves to be a bunch of lying, corrupt, evil, perverted, over-spending crooks.
When you look at all the money Bill Clinton left this country, it makes us all cry to know that Bush spent it all.
When the money was gone, Bush went to China for help.
Just think, we owe money to China!
That is the Bush way.
Cheney is no better.
You can’t trust either of them.
No one does.
Why are we in Iraq?
The war should be on terror, not in Iraq.
Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, and yet Bush has spent all that money to fight “his” war.
Yes his, because many Republicans have backed off from the war.
By the way, the war in Iraq has cost the U.S. almost five hundred billion dollars.
Forget Rudy.
Rudy Giuliani is no hero.
While he is often called the hero of 9/11, the truth is that Rudy was a terrible leader during his years as mayor of New York City.
He made bad decisions and took a girlfriend while being married.
In fact, he even wanted his lover to live in the same house with his wife.
Most people would call this perverted.
New Yorkers were so sick of his antics, that they wanted him out of office.
Then came 9/11.
The only reason people call Giuliani a hero today, is because he just happened to be NYC’s mayor during that bad time.
Any mayor would be looked at as a hero if they showed their face under those circumstances.
If there was no 9/11, Rudy would have become a joke.
This is not the kind of leader we want in the White House.
In closing, the New York Post reported in their paper on April 23, that Giuliani spent more than 48,000 dollars of campaign money on posh hotels while claiming to have spent the least of all the Republican candidates.
Rudy is a good time leader, and does it with other people’s money.
Forget Mitt.
His ads look bad.
He can’t seem to get his facts right, and will say things to make himself look good.
Red flags go up around him.
I spoke with his son Tagg at the New Hampshire debates back in June (2007), and while he seemed like a nice man, Tagg could not get his facts right either.
The worst Republican as of late, though, is Larry Craig.
He is a lying pervert who wanted gay sex with a strange man on a dirty toilet seat.
He pled guilty, then said he was not guilty.
Say what?
He is another Republican moron.
Did you hear about Washington State Republican Rep. Richard Curtis?
He offered $1,000 to a young man for unprotected sex while dressed in women’s lingerie.
This sort of thing just goes on and on with them.
Remember Mark Foley?
Here is a letter I wrote that was in many newspapers and Web sites:
Once again, the Republicans have turned my stomach with shocking and repulsive behavior.
Mark Foley, a Republican member (now ex-member) of Congress, has sent many e-mails with perverted sexual content to a sixteen year old boy.
This is the same man who while in Congress, backed a bill that was meant to protect children from child predators.
Foley himself, is a man who preyed on a child with lust.
What is also incomprehensible, is the fact that some Republicans knew of Foley’s behavior, and yet, did not take a hard stand against this until it became public news. If I had a teenage son and/or daughter, I would not want them to go near any Republican leader for fear of either or both becoming a victim of a sick Republican pervert.
George Vreeland Hill
There were more than three hundred such letters in newspapers in 2007 alone.
Many of them in New Hampshire.
There are thousands on the Internet.
No lie.
THOUSANDS!
This does not even include articles, ads, radio, TV and other areas where the public takes notice.
In fact, one Republican in California wanted me stopped once, because I was hurting some Republicans in their elections.
I just want to do my part in helping to get rid of every Republican scumbag.
From phone scams to the Union Leader (NH) covering up for Republicans, the garbage never ends.
But the Republican Party will end.
Did you know that George W. Bush once made fun of the issue of Weapons of Mass Destruction?
He did, and in front of some shocked people during a black-tie event in 2004.
He said…. (While looking under a piece of furniture) “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere.”
Then, while pretending to look out of a window, Bush laughed as he said….. “Nope, no weapons over there.”
While he was laughing, there were men and women fighting and dying in Iraq because of WMD.
George W. Bush should be removed from office because of that alone.
Face it, Bill Clinton lied about having sex, and was impeached because of it.
George W. Bush however, did far worse, as he laughed at the very people who are fighting for the United States of America!
That about sums it all up!
(By the way, this Bush/WMD was part of an article and letter I wrote as well.)
This leads us to John McCain.
All he seems to do is attack other candidates.
His Woodstock ad against Hillary Clinton was boring and without the facts.
He tells of Hillary wanting to spend a million dollars on a museum while he (McCain) supports spending more on the war in Iraq.
He wants you to believe that the Democrats are the big spenders, while it is McCain’s Republican Party that has spent all the money Bill Clinton left us to a point where Bush had to borrow money from China.
Think about that again.
We owe to China.
That is the Republican way.
Also, it must be noted that McCain even laughed at war.
Remember when McCain changed the words of a Beach Boys song to Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran?
McCain even laughed when he was done.
He thought starting a war with Iran was a laughing matter.
That is the real John McCain.
He just can’t be trusted.
He is another George Bush, and you know what we got with him.
The Republican Party is a mess, and getting worse.
People do not trust any of them, and we are all tired of their act.
I am doing my best to make sure that no Republican wins an election.
Thank you for your time.
George Vreeland Hill
Around The Campaign 2008 Sphere // Feb 5, 2008 at 12:28 PM
[...] Hillary Or Not To Hillary That Is The Question: Michael Linn Jones has an excellent post on The Gun Toting Liberal (a high caliber blog) that needs to be read IN FULL that steps back and tries to put the [...]
Mr. Hill – I’m one patriotic American Republican who thinks your comments are way off. You are more than entitled to your opinion but you DO NOT speak for all the people of this country.
I would trust just about any Republican more than I would trust any of the socialist, tax-grabbing, pre-born baby-killing, my-hard-earned-dollars-stealing, ignorant, evil, dim-witted democrats like Hillary and Obama.
The GTL was HACKED!!!
We can’t post anything new right now. Coincidence? I think NOT. Could be anything — higher-ups at the company I work for during my “day gig” (if so, I’ll find out and name names if they don’t get us back up and running ASAP) or powerful politicians who despise my disdain for them. Could be either of the two, seeing as I’m QUITE the pain in the ass to all of the above
Either way, we’re still here in the comments. Super Tuesday is VERY interesting to say the VERY least. Post your comments below, please
I think Hillary’s biggest downfall, to be quite honest, is her last name. It has nothing to do with her abilities or experience. I am one of the few who seems to remember that Hillary was a Goldwater Girl, and I even agree with Ann Coulter to a point (and I think I threw up in my mouth a little as I said that) that she’s more of a conservative than John McCain– and in all the ways that matter to me. I’d love to support Hillary Clinton– if only it weren’t for her last name.
Essentially, I think that the U.S. is so divided right now, and that needs to be healed. Electing another Clinton will only further that division. I think Obama is more likely someone who will pull everyone together. Add to that, Obama is very much like Hillary on nearly every issue and my belief that he’d be quicker to remove our troops from Iraq… I’m gonna go for Obama, if the choice is between him and Hillary Clinton.
Hillary’s downfall is that folks have memories. In the general election cycle when she stonewalls on releasing the “public business” communications with the President from her time as first lady; or who funded her wing of the library (names not released yet) folks are going to start thinking “Rose Law Firm”, etc.
As for Obama he is a great speaker, there is now doubt. Some of us would like some details other than “Change”, though. His stock answer to “how” anything he’s proposing will work is that ‘people want the system changed’, but never gets to what kind of change that means.
I think that the clear choice between Clinton and Obama is Obama. He is more likely to get the moderate and independent vote than Clinton. Clinton will drive those voters over to the republican side.
‘come on Dems! We can’t throw this election away by choosing the run canidate like we did in ’04!
Obama will win if he is the canidate; Clinton, maybe…
I agree with Christina!
Also, I do not like Clinton’s Health Care plan that is MANDATORY for everyone.
I like Obama’s take on it. We will provide it to those who can’t afford it at a lower rate. However, we will not make it against the law not to get it and fine you.
I sincerely hope we are seeing the
beginning of the end of the “Religious Right”
as a political force in this country.
The last two terms are an example of their best
efforts, and we can stand no more.
They are anti-human, anti-education,
anti-intelligence, anti-compassion.
They are fixated, closed minded and plain
stupid.
They also do tend to have more than their
share of liars,perverts, bigots and frauds.
I am sick of their arrogance and stupidity.
They are religious extremists of the US,
and differ from their Muslim counterparts
only in degree.They would rule us all just
like the Muslims rule their theocracies
if they could, with thought police and
public floggings and death squads.
I was raised in a religious environment, and
in a religious school-I know that these
people really want total domination
over everyone else.
I have hated them all my life.
I will be glad to see them go.
mark
t
Good Posting Mark!