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If you want to make sense of some of the general chaos that seems to surround the presidential primaries this year, read Andrew Malcom's "political primer on primaries" on his L.A. Times blog. Even if you know everything that's going on, it's a good read. -- Phillip
Iowa. New Hampshire. Nevada and South Carolina. Super-duper Tuesday. Not-so-super Tuesday. The never-ending carnival of presidential primaries continued its twisted walk through the house of mirrors this week as Florida Democrats could be banned from voting at the national convention next year. The last time someone tried this hard to get to the head of the line, Rick Perry was having his security team usher him to the front row of a Ted Nugent concert.
Thanks to the onslaught of early primaries, we will most likely know who the next Democratic candidate for President will be within the next six months. Normally, I wait until the start of the election year to really delve into the candidates -- to review their policies, follow their day-to-day discussions, etc. -- but this year, I can't wait that long. No one else in any other state can, either, and the circus of "who picks first" is starting to overshadow the larger question: "who do you pick, period."
Here in Texas, it seems a foregone conclusion that the candidate will be decided before our March primary; therefore, the only discussion about presidential candidates seems to focus on how it will affect down-ballot races. Will Hillary doom conservative Democrats? Can Obama's energy translate to stronger turnout in Dallas and Houston? Could Edwards' southern roots help propel Texas Democrats to new heights? The prognostications are all fine and dandy, but at the end of the day, the question for many still remains: who do you pick?
Who will I pick? I want to vote for Hillary Clinton whenever President Bill Clinton asks me to. I want to vote for John Edwards every time I hear him talk about health care or the environment. I want to vote for Barack Obama whenever I want someone new and fresh to stir the stale pot of politics. I want to vote for Dennis Kucinich whenever I see the "you must be this tall to run for President" sign...OK, that one wasn't real. I still bop around between the big three, and if you're any of thousands of people around the state who have "kind of, sort of" been paying attention to national politics over the past few months, you're probably like me: undecided.
Over the next few weeks, I'm going to present a series titled, "Presidential Candidates." Each day will focus on a particular policy in each platform (the dozens of debates that have aired are OK -- but let's face it, they're basically practice for the candidates to hone their sound bites). I may only do one or two a week, as I want to find my own individual research and others. I know I'll touch on health care, the environment, education, foreign policy, LGBT issues, and the "student vote." Maybe more, depending on time. Either way, my hope is that this series will provide a closer search into the policies of each candidate.
Because it doesn't matter if you pick first or last, so long as you pick best.
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