And The Winner Is

And The Winner Is

I realize it is way too soon to be talking about the next President in 2016, but when blogs enter my pea brain I have to write about them or I'll go crazy. Just the thought of 2016 blows my mind. All the sci-fi movies of the 50s, 60s, 70, and even the 80s has earth overcome by monsters or robots from another planet by 2012. So I never expected to be talking about 2016. Anyway I digress.


Let's start with the candidates. For the Democrats it simple. Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton or John Kerry. There might be a long shot in there somewhere, but it's going to be one of those three. Of the three, John Kerry is the smartest, Joe Biden is the most loved and Hillary Clinton is the most probable.


Kerry tried to run many years ago, but wasn't very good at debating. Biden is loved by everyone he meets including most people in Congress. He is like your lovable Grandpa. However, will anybody vote for your Grandpa - I don't think so? Clinton will be able to get the woman and Latino vote, but will have to deal with the baggage that follows her.


Remember, she tried to create a health care bill way before Obamacare and failed. She isn't liked by most Republicans and a few Democrats. She has the stink of the 2012 Benghazi attack. Hillary also has a problem in that she couldn't take more than a few years of being Secretary Of State. Some will say that if she can't last in that job, how the hell will she last in the President's job.


However, I believe she will be the Democratic candidate for President. I also believe her running mate will be John Kerry because he will run after she's done (assuming she wins which is not going to be easy).


The Republican candidates are not so easy to predict. My favorite would be Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey. He is a slightly right of center Republican and is very well liked. He also tells it like it is and that works for me. However, I have two concerns. One, he is a very big man. Actually, he is a huge man. To me he looks like a heart attack waiting to happen. Two, He's from New Jersey so that means he will have to pick either someone from the south or worse yet, a Tea Party candidate as his running mate.


The other Republican candidates could be Bobby Jindal, Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan or Marco Rubio. There could be a lot more, but these are the ones I believe have the best chance to run. Sooo, let's take a look at them:


Bobby Jindal is probably the smartest of the bunch. However, he is too thin to run with Christie because he would make Christie look like Sasquatch next to him. To be honest, he is not the best looking guy in the bunch and has very little stage presence.


Jeb Bush is a solid candidate, but would the country really vote for another Bush? His brother did him in years ago. It's unfortunate because of the three Bush's he would make the best President.


Mike Huckabee ran a great campaign before, but that was a time when religion played a significant role in the race to the presidency. I just don't think voters in 2016 will give much weight to someone who will run on a religious platform.


Rand Paul, Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio are all Tea Party candidates and again I don't believe that idealism will be able to get the majority of the Presidential votes. If the economy gets better by 2016, the Tea Party's loud noise will become a small squeak.


OK, so here are my predictions. Hillary Rodham Clinton with John Kerry by her side will run for the Democratic party and Chris Christie with Rand Paul by his side will run for the Republican party. Assuming the economy is in good shape by 2016, Clinton will beat out Christie by a very small margin in both the popular vote and the electoral votes.


Now for the biggest issue, which party will control Congress? If we have the dysfunction we have now it won't matter who wins the Presidential election. I believe both candidates are good enough to run this country. However, if they can't get anything done because of a split Congress it will be sad for all of us.


Government does play a role in our happiness. Although it's not until 2016, it's critical that we all pay attention to who is running and who we vote for.

Even more important is that each and every one of us VOTE!