Closer to the Hillary Years....

The news is unsettling, but I suppose it is always unsettling. But the news is perhaps more troubling than usual because of the potential effect on the future of our Nation.

Thompson catches Giuliani in GOP race

This headline marks the beginning of the end of any hope that there will be an electable alternative to Hillary Clinton. Truthfully, from what I know of Thompson, I'll have a real difficult time voting for either candidate.

From the Article:

"The poll also suggests Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton would beat Thompson in a general election by 13 percentage points, 55 percent to 42 percent.

When CNN and the Opinion Research Corp. asked the same question in June, the New York senator edged out Thompson by 4 percentage points, 50 percent to 46 percent.

When paired with Giuliani, Clinton comes out on top by four percentage points, 50 percent to 46 percent. Clinton was ahead by 1 percent in the same match up in June, 49 percent to 48 percent."

Thompson, by my perception is out of touch with the majority of the United States population. In a pre Iraq-war world he may have won the Electoral college with the southern vote and a handful of Midwest states.

Take note that his popularity against Clinton has gone down as the public slowly is finding out who he is (aside from fictional roles he's played on TV). At this early stage.... that is a pretty bad sign.

As things are, Thompson will not take any Midwest states unless he can showcase a charisma and leadership quality that I do not believe he has. The current administration is continuing with a war strategy that is basically too little to late. The modest gains in Anbar province are promising, however they are not what the administration sought out to do with the troop surge. Additionally the Iraqi government is still dysfunctional and uncooperative. This could continue for 20 years at this rate with little to no change other than perhaps a continued demolition of any infrastructure or signs of civilization.

Obviously it is a catch-22 because simply pulling out will likely cause an increasingly violent battle between the Saudi supported Sunni population, and the Shiite population sponsored by Iran.

One of the few plans, which purportedly echoes some of the Independent Baker panel (sanctioned but later ignored by Bush) is Joe Biden's 5 point plan. See a quick summary below or click on the link for the editorial containing this information. It was drawn up a year ago but still holds relative because of the ongoing quagmire.

First, the plan calls for maintaining a unified Iraq by decentralizing it and giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis their own regions. The central government would be left in charge of common interests, such as border security and the distribution of oil revenue.
Second, it would bind the Sunnis to the deal by guaranteeing them a proportionate share of oil revenue. Each group would have an incentive to maximize oil production, making oil the glue that binds the country together.
Third, the plan would create a massive jobs program while increasing reconstruction aid -- especially from the oil-rich Gulf states -- but tying it to the protection of minority rights.
Fourth, it would convene an international conference that would produce a regional nonaggression pact and create a Contact Group to enforce regional commitments.
Fifth, it would begin the phased redeployment of U.S. forces this year and withdraw most of them by the end of 2007, while maintaining a small follow-on force to keep the neighbors honest and to strike any concentration of terrorists.

If there is any good news, it appears that the Mitt Romney campaign is finally stumbling. The GOP's answer to John Kerry isn't going to be winning any elections. (I blame Romney for our current spending crazed governor Deval Patrick. Romney's dreams of power and grandeur were all he ever had in sight from day one. Governor of Massachusetts was always a mere stepping stone and nothing more. We would have been better off with Jane Swift.)

So Christian Right, with Thompson, in the short term it may seem like you get what you want. But mark my word, if you elect Thompson in the primaries all you are doing is electing Clinton/Obama for president with a Democrat controlled legislature....

National leaders should not enter office based on their religious ideals. (See how well that works in the Middle East, See how well that has worked over History) Elected officials should be leaders who have the interest of the masses at heart, not the exclusive interests of a few.

Hello late 1970s here we come. History repeats, except this time it could be uglier. The oil will be pricier (even after adjusting for inflation) the housing market will crash (it already is) and the inflation will sky rocket. Couple all that will the decreasing worth of the American dollar, an out of control National Debt, higher taxes (for the socialized medicine... which works soooo well every where else) and the increasing destabilization in the world... well you get the picture.

Now perhaps as with the first Clinton administration, the political process will be so ridiculous the first two years that the GOP will again sweep the legislature in the 2010 election.... however the stakes are too high this time and those are two years we can't afford as a Nation.