Obama vs. McCain

As the primaries begin, the odds are that the race will be Barack Obama (D) vs. John McCain (R). Taking the long view, this is a beneficial development since this slate will obviate the need for me to put my house up for sale during the current Michigan economic depression. I can live with either of these guys as president. Romney or Huckabee get elected? I’m not sure I can pay taxes to a republic that could elect such people. Seriously.

For no other reason than Hugh Hewitt thinks Romney will be the next president, I now know that the Mittster is history. From the Iraq war to immigration to tax cuts, HH has been so wrong on so many opinions and prognostications that the mind boggles. Hewitt’s brand of stupid is the same that brought us 8 years of Dubya and, if you’re old enough, 6 ½ years of Nixon. It’s amazing to me that someone can actually make a living as a political pundit with such a track record of ineptitude about politics.

If you’re thinking Mitt Romney is your guy, then you probably aren’t informed about his shameless bloviating and prevarication. But then, Republican voters don’t seem to care much about such piffle.

So that leaves us Saint John McCain to win New Hampshire because there is no way those voters will go for the underlying insanity that is Mike Huckabee. An evangelical minister in the White House? Haven’t we already done the Dumb and Misinformed Guy as President thing, and isn’t it playing out as a disaster? The staid New Hampshire voters will put a stunning halt to the ersatz Huckabee juggernaut, which is proof enough that there is indeed a God.

No matter. If Iowa is any evidence, a Republican winning the Presidency in November has about as much chance as Barry Bonds being the next CEO of Pfizer. Over 70% of the votes cast in the primaries and caucuses were for Democratic candidates, so this country’s conservative heartland obviously ain’t buying the GOP’s bullshit anymore. (You may have asked, what the hell took them so long...?) This is the first time in modern history that both the Republican and Democratic primaries have been contested during the same presidential election, so history of sorts was made.

If I had to vote today with the current choices* still in the race, I’d rank them thusly:

1. Clinton
2. Obama
3. McCain
4. Paul
5. Richardson
6. Edwards
7. Move to Canada, Cost Rica or Australia.

Michigan is a cross-over state, which means that voters can choose which party’s primary participate in, and may cross over to vote for any candidate in either party. Any of the Democratic presidential candidates will be fine, so just as in 2000, I may choose to vote for John McCain in the primary in order to do my part to prevent another presidential disaster (or a capital loss on my house.)

*Sadly, Dodd and Biden, either of whom would have made an excellent candidate, have pulled out of the race as of Friday.