You might call it the Presidential Race of Firsts. To begin with, it would certainly qualify. When I looked at the front page of my USA Today on March 12, 2007 I was greeted with this headline: 2008 race has the face of a changing America. That would be a correct observation.
USA Today's Susan Page noted that "After 218 years and 42 presidents-all of them white and male-the field of White House hopefuls this time includes credible candidates whose race, gender, ethnicity, religion or personal history probably would have ruled them out in the past."
These announced candidates represent "firsts" of those who are fighting for a party nomination:
Hillary Rodham Clinton - The First Woman
Barack Obama - The First Black
Bill Richardson - The First Hispanic
Rudy Giuliani - The First Italian American
Mitt Romney - The First Mormon
John McCain - The First Over 70
Clinton, Obama and Richardson are Democrats; Giuliani, Romney and McCain are Republicans.
Other candidates with credibility but not firsts include John Edwards among the Democrats and Newt Gingrich among the Republicans. I would not give Edwards or Gingrich much of a chance, and feel the same about Richardson and McCain.
Then there is a whole laundry list of has been, never were, never will be and egomaniac candidates-some announced and others unannounced--who fancy themselves as credible candidates and live in some fantasy world by themselves.
This list includes Democrats Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Al Gore, Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich, and Republicans Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Chuck Hagel, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, George Pataki, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo, Tommy Thompson and Fred Thompson.
Good Grief. How many more of these "noncandidates" are going to suck up tax dollars as legitimate candidates? The entire list of Republican candidates could field an offensive team in football and still add a placekicker, a punter and a kickoff return artist.
What does it all mean?
Well, for one thing, as Bob Dylan said long ago "the times they are a-changin'."
For another, we may have progressed to the point where a white male may not be elected as our next president. For yet another, a country that has become so inundated with recognizing and honoring "special populations" may have set the stage for a special population to register enough new voters to swing an election.
This is clearly not the norm as presidential elections go.
This is all I need to know: Hlllary Rodham Clinton raised a record $26 million in campaign contributions during the first quarter of this year, and Barack Obama raised $25 during the same period.
Clinton had 50,000 donors and Obama twice as many. Obama raised $6.9 million online.
Mitt Romney led the Republican candidates with $20.6 million. Giuliani raised about $14 million.
The total raised by both parties is $127 million so far, up from $31 million at this point four years ago.
If you think Obama has some eye-opening support you are right. Whether he can continue to impress in the coming months remains to be seen.
Given what happened to Howard Dean in his presidential bid in 2004 we know anything can and probably will happen. Dean gave real meaning to the term "mouthpiece" by the time he was finished.
Traditional positions on certain issues have clearly changed. We have credible Republican candidates who are pro choice and pro gay. We have Democratic candidates who are pro involvement in Iraq. Nothing is the same which is good. We will be forced to think more carefully about our choices.
I do not know who you listen to, but I think Dick Morris is about twice as sharp as anyone else I have seen or heard. I do not think there is anyone more aware or astute than Dick Morris when it comes to knowing the dynamics of what is going on politically.
I have no idea why more people do not listen to Dick Morris. I can only imagine that they are so filled up with hate or stupidity that they will not listen. It does not matter to me if I agree with Morris or not, but I do recognize that he has a much better handle on knowing what is going on than anyone else I have heard. Because I have owned a media property and have been a managing editor of daily and weekly newspapers for 20 years, I have been approached by politicians of all stripes for an endorsement at election time.
Now I have much more fun just watching the political scene from the sideline.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary on 5 Subjects: Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, and Internet Marketing. My intention is to inform, educate, delight and motivate you the reader.
Read my 5-Part Series On Politics, including "Giuliani Is a Pro Choice Republican - Part 1", "News Writers Are Really Political Hacks - Part 2", "One of the Most Lucrative Jobs in America - Part 3", "Propaganda Is Now Disguised as News - Part 4" and "We Are a Nation Divided When It Comes to the "a" Word - Part 5".
Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/LessonsinLife.html
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