My take on the 2008 Presidential Primaries

Rudy Giuliani

His campaign seems to me to place far too much emphasis on his role in 9/11.

Also, on an unrelated note, you aren't going to win over social conservatives by repeatedly dressing up as a woman.

Mike Huckabee

Referred to Bush's foreign policy as "arrogant bunker mentality" in his well thought-out essay in Foreign Affairs, proving that unlike some of the other Republican contenders, his foreign policy would not be a regurgitation of the Bush doctrine.

Led a successful state government in Arkansas.

Likeable personality.

Also lost nearly 100 pounds. Gotta admire him for that. He's like the anti-Taft.

He believes creationism should be taught in science classrooms. Yes, you read that correctly. The man is a creationist. Read my previous blog entries on the topic to see how I feel about this.

While I consider myself to be a religious person, I am also a firm believer in the seperation of church and state, and if I felt his religion would compromise his ability to lead the nation, then that would defiently be a problem.

Mitt Romney

Grew up in Oakland County, Michigan.

(This recent article in the Oakland Press definetly served to humanize a candidate that othewise seems distant and robot-like.)

He seems really fake to me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the way he talks, the way he acts, it all just strikes me as being incredibly phoney. He always says to his fellow canidates during the debates that they ought not resort to personal attacks, and yet his ads are probably the most negative out of any of the Republicans. Hmm....

Plus, he's an aristocratic flip-flopper from Massachusetts, and we all know how that turns out.

John McCain

He is, without a doubt, the toughest and bravest person in this line-up, having spent five and a half years in a POW camp in Vietnam, refusing to give up information or be released earlier than his fellow soliders.

Easily has the most experience of any of the candidates. Frequently goes against party lines to get things done in Washington as a senator.

The man is a war hero and conservative reformer, wisecracking sense of humor, what's not to like?

He was asked by someone during a Q&A session what he thought about Bush saying that we might stay in Iraq for 50 years. McCain responded "make it 100!" I have to ask, Senator....are you insane?

Ron Paul

Has the most consistant record of any of the candidates.

I share his sentiments of low taxes and reduced government spending, as well as returning to a more non-interventionist foreign policy. However...

He answers every possible problem with "let the free market decide", which on paper, can sound great, but in practice, puts too much faith in large corporations.

On several issues, he is just way too extreme:
• He not only supports the use of "medical" marijuana, but wants to decriminalize illicit drugs entirely. (Good for getting the "stoner" vote, I suppose.)
• He contends that automatic assault weapons ought to be protected under the second amendment. (It boggles my mind why any citizen would need an assaut rifle.)
• Wants to return to the "gold standard" for our monetary system. When you have $3.65 trillion dollars in gold on the entire planet, but nearly $7.3 trillion in circulation in the United States alone, you can begin to see how that just isn't possible. (A return to the gold standard would also artifically inflate the cost of items and industrial processes for which gold is used.)
• I don't think he really understands foreign policy. He thinks that if we didn't have an air base in Saudi Arabia, that 9/11 wouldn't have happened. (Puh-lease!)

Too "out there" to be elected.

Fred Thompson

Has a son who is six years older than his current wife. (Creepy!)

Entered the race late and doesn't strike me as having the momentum or the charisma to get nominated.

Also, you will notice he's the only candidate with a picture here that doesn't show him smiling. I attribute that to his generally grumpy demeanor.

Hillary Clinton

I'm not against a woman president per-se, but I am against THIS woman becoming president.

She is pretty much the queen of pork barrel spending, wasting taxpayer's money more than any other candidate. Her pet projects include one million for a Woodstock museum and sending a quarter of a million dollars to a "historic quilting mill."

Luckily, she has the highest negative rating of any of the canidates. (Maybe I should list this fact in the other column?)

Barack Obama

Charismatic. Easily the most likeable of the Democratic contenders.

His 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention showed he is more about national unity, and less about "the pundits who slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States."

Would make for the most interesting and historically significant presidency. Out of the Democrats, he's my favorite.

Has the support of nearly every liberal interest group under the sun.

Lacks expereience.

John Edwards

Makes totally unrealistic promises such as: "end poverty in 30 years" and "college for everyone". When your campaigning, sure, that sounds just peachy. But it's completely and totally unrealistic. Even Jesus Christ himself said "you will always have the poor." Oh, and I'm curious how you will pay for this "college for everyone."

Just another tax and spend liberal.

Mike Gravel

It amuses me that all the senators from Alaska are insane.

He supports this idea of a "guaranteed annual income" of $5000 per person. Regardless of if they work or not. I don't know about you, but I think if you hand $5000 to a hobo, they are going to buy booze with it.

Also, watch his ad. There is something seriously wrong with this guy mentally.

Dennis Kucinich

His wife is pretty. (And also 30 years younger than him?!)

Most liberal person on this page.

Would burn the Constitution to keep small woodland animals warm.

Bill Richardson

It boggles my mind that this guy was the U.S. Ambassador the United Nations, because he clearly has no grasp of foreign relations.

In the ABC Democratic debate a few weeks ago he said that he would "ask Musharaff to step aside" as leader of Pakistan. Sure, I don't like him either, but a head of state is not going to step down just 'cause we as him to. If you think we have that kind of leverage, then you're a moron. Besides, who would replace him?

Oh, and he also referred to modern-day Russia as "the Soviet Union". Shows you how in-touch he is with the times.

Chauncey Gardener

Brilliant economist and confidant of businessmen Ben Rand who rose to national prominence after his appearance on the Gary Burns show.

When asked about the state of our economy, Gardener stated, "As long as the roots are not severed, all is well, and all will be well in the garden." This guy clearly gets it.