Personally, my choices for President are, in order: Alan Keyes, Pat Buchanan, Bob Dornan ... Phil Gramm, and Bob Dole. Can I pick longshots, or what? I am proud to say, however, that nowhere on my list are Steve Forbes or Lamar Alexander.
Seriously though, I think Keyes' and Buchanan's downfall will be lack of political experience, especially in the areas of foreign policy. Then again, they have at least as much as Clinton did. I doubt that they really have much chance of being nominated by their party since they are political outsiders, though, but you never know.
Dole is just a relentless curmudgeon. I think that he belongs where he is in the Senate, working with whoever the Republicans pick to get elected. Sadly, he will probably be nominated by the party because of his political experience. If this is the case, I think his choice of Vice-President then becomes crucial because of Dole's age and/or health.
I am interested to see what will happen. I just hope the Republicans can get it together or Uncle Willy will manage to slip by them again while they scramble amongst themselves. I can't believe that anyone will still give Clinton a microgram of credibility after looking at what he has said compared to what he has done over the course of his Presidency. Unfortunately, people are always willing to see exactly what they want to see. The media is of course more than happy to put the right spin on his exploits, as usual.
Fifteen years ago, I was content to just grumble about government in general. I had utter contempt for the whole political monster, AND PRETTY MUCH STILL DO. My cynicism largely stems from a government class I took in high school in 1981. That class bred the belief that there was just too much political inertia that needed to be overcome to truly affect a change. I still recall a quote from our textbook, "Democracy does not exist in the world today simply because we believe it to be the most perfect of all political systems."
The last presidential election in 1992 was, in fact, the very first time I EVER voted. Had I voted before that, I'm sorry to say, it probably would have been for Democrats. Such were the whims and ignorance of my wayward youth, and my disdain for WHOMEVER was in power at the time.
I know that we are privileged to live in the country that we do. It is sad to think, however, that so many citizens are more politically naive and ignorant than I ever was. The fact that so many take for granted a right that so few other nations have fought so hard to possess is somewhat disheartening. It is largely this apathy that has allowed the bureaucrats to run rampant perpetuating themselves, and the lobbyists to dictate public policies. It has also allowed the politicians to entrench themselves in power and to ingrain the people into believing that they know better than the average citizen what is best for them and their families.
We must reclaim this country in the spirit with which it was founded. No longer must we allow ourselves to be ruled by elitist, rich, (mostly) white males who have usually never worked a real job in their lives. It has become far to lucrative to be a politician in this day and age. Don't ever let anyone tell you that we are not a Monarchy. At the least, our government in its present practice, is an Oligarchy. To put it another way, we are a Government of the Politicians, by the Lobbyists for the Special Interests. Sorry about that, Abe!!
I feel that major moral and political reform is necessary for our
government to survive and to thrive in the new millenium. A major paradigm shift
must occur or the dream that is America shall be extinguished. This is much more
critical than military or economic concerns. In fact it is the basis for them.
That is why I am leaning towards the moral messages of Keyes, Buchanan, and
Dornan, over the political rhetoric of Dole and, to a lesser extent, Gramm. The
reconstruction of this country's moral fiber will go a long way towards solving
our other more superficial problems. We must treat the disease not the symptoms.