Long Hard Seemingly Endless Bataan Death March to the White House

*Special Thanks to the Daily Show, they came up with that title, which seems fittingly appropriate*

The Primary season is drawing to a gracious end. John McCain wrapped up the Republican nomination weeks ago. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been matched in a Democratic slugfest since then. Obama maintains a lead in the popular vote, states won, and delegate counts, but Clinton refuses to go away.
Many pundits say that Obama has already clinched the Democratic nomination, and all that is left is for Clinton to concede the race. Thus the rumor mill begins to churn…

Rumor is Clinton is hanging on in the race not because she thinks she can win but because she sees it as an opportunity to weaken and expose Obama. The motivation is fairly simple: John McCain is 76 years old. That means that if he wins in ’08 and goes up for re-election 2012, he’ll be 80. No one has ever been elected President at 80. Also, taking out Obama now makes he look stronger in 2012.

Another rumor says Hillary is staying in the race so that the support she draws will show Obama that she is the best pick for Vice President. An Obama/Clinton ticket, some say, would be the dream Democratic ticket, an African-American male and a white female.

Obama went on the campaign trail in West Virginia, a state he lost by a 2-to-1 margin, and he spoke at a clothing plant. During his speech he made some fairly dubious claims. Claims like “It is the right of hard working Americans to retire with respect.” I’ve read the Constitution and I didn’t see that in there. Obama also said that during his first term as President that the government would provide universal health care. That way, when the unions go to the bargaining table, they can demand higher wage instead of health coverage. This sounds great, until you realize that if a company raises wages they must raise the cost of their goods and services, or they must cut the workforce number in order to break even or make a profit. The big plan from the Democrat side of the aisle is to raise taxes 6 or 7 percent on the top 1% of wage earners in this country, a group of people who already carry nearly 12% of the tax burden. Obama even stated that if you are a senior citizen making $55,000 a year or less that you shouldn’t pay income tax at all. Sadly, it is already becoming apparent that if you disagree with Obama or his policies you will be branded a racist. Of course, disagreement with Hillary earns you the sexist label.

A study once revealed that if all the money in the US were taken and distributed equally, the richest people now would once again be the richest within five years, because they understand how to invest and make more money. But under the current tax structure success is punished and laziness and poor fiscal responsibility are rewarded.

It saddens me that there are over 300 million people living in the United States, and yet these three are the best candidates we can come up with. The polls have shown that in the last few election cycles the voting populace has been unhappy with the lack of good or even decent candidates. Yet, again we are presented with three-fold mediocrity in an election for the most powerful position in the free world.

Robert once said that our best means of electing the president was to have an American Idol style show in which we elect a drunken chimp, then let that chimp, blindfolded, throw a dart at a map of the US, then fly the chimp over the darted state, push it out of the plane, let it parachute down to the ground, and the first person it touches… that’s the President.

I have to say, that may have already happened.

I was talking to my dad a couple of days ago and he asked me what needed to happen to change the government. I told him that, if you look at the last few election cycles, you have cookie-cutter candidates. Each time someone runs for President, they are typically a white male in the 60s or older. Bill Clinton was an aberration because of the youthful charisma he brought to the office. I really think that this nation needs a younger, maverick candidate along the lines of John F. Kennedy. And I don’t think that Obama, Hillary, of McCain fit that bill.

Unfortunately, no one currently in a position of power fits the maverick style we’re looking for. The youngest a person can be to become President, according to the supreme law of the land, is 35 years old. Yet, JFK is the youngest ever, and he was in his forties when he was elected. Maybe it’s time the nation elected a younger candidate again…