Friday, January 04, 2008

Random Thoughts From The Edge...Of The Buckeye State, 1.4.2008

My ol' lady, a.k.a. the sweet person who set up this blog for me, says that I need to have something on the front page. She's right, but it has taken me a little while to figure out what I wanted to do. Since it is on the front page, I wanted to do something that wouldn't exactly fit into any of my notebooks.

Giving this feature the title of "Random Thoughts From The Edge..." seems to me to be a great place to start. It gives insight into my state of mind, which, as you will learn, is typically on the edge of something, or anything. The "...Of The Buckeye State" part, is self-explanatory when you factor in geography. I draft this missive a little less than a mile from the shores of Lake Erie.

Fair enough? Good. Let's proceed with edition #1.

Election 2008 has begun. Barack Obama for the Democrats and Mike Huckabee for the Republicans have emerged from the Iowa Caucuses as favorites for nomination. They’re good guys, but can either help America rebound from the disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush?

America has endured, to present, seven years of the current "resident", eight years of Bill Clinton before him and four years of the current occupant's father prior to Mr. Clinton. Mr. Clinton's spouse now seeks to be the replacement to the current occupant.

Let's do the math. Assuming Madam Clinton becomes the newest "resident" and attains re-election in 2012, the United States will have spent the previous 28 years prior to Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017 with two families occupying the White House.

The reality is that after 28 years of the Bush/Clinton dynasty that the America that existed in 1989 will bear little resemblance to the remains of America that will likely exist in 2017.

Assuming eight years of a Madam Clinton reign, America is likelier to be more unfriendly, isolated, polarized and suspicious that at any point in her history. Of all the candidates in 2008, Madam Clinton is the runaway favorite to maintain the status quo for the foreseeable future.

Can America afford to be this cavalier with its choice for the next president than to simply settle on the familiar and send Madam Clinton to the White House?

If Iowa is a bellwether; there may be hope. According to the coverage from MSNBC, there is a feeling that there may be yet another generational change in the offing and that if present trends hold firm in the election, that the Baby Boom Generation may be no better than two Presidencies deep.

The priorities of the post-baby boom are insular, yet appear to be focused on bringing America back to a sense of reality. The next generation doesn’t seek to dominate the world and engulf its subjects with ideology.

The post-baby boom is fearful that basic things like health care are going to end up posing a choice between good health and a regular meal on the table or basic transportation to employment that has not been shunted to a third-world country.

We'll see the election play out. For what it's worth, I'll be looking forward to the dismantling of the status quo of the Bush/Clinton cabal. American can ill afford much more of what is happening now.