The 2008 Presidency

I've been reading about the potential presidential candidates for the Democratic ticket in 2008. For the most part, I am not impressed. I think that Hillary would be a disaster, not for any personal reasons, but because I don't think the U.S. is ready for a woman president yet. Maybe living in rural north Idaho has disconnected me from eastern big city life, but my New Jersey relatives also wouldn't vote for her, so I don't know.

I know that Obama has been a real crowd pleaser lately, but I think that's his problem: he tries to please everyone. I've heard more than one person say this about Obama and, I'm not entirely up on everything he does and says, so I could be wrong. Unfortunately, and I hesitate saying this, but I think that Idaho, at least many of the people in the north, would not vote for a black President. Many of us in the north have been fighting racism and the white Aryan image we have, but let's face it, we're mostly white up here. And I know that there is an undercurrent of racism throughout north Idaho, if not the country, that causes people to say, "They're (Black, Asian, American Indian, Jew, Arab, etc.) okay, but I wouldn't want my child to marry one." I say this from personal experience.

So who else is there? I seriously think that Al Gore could win again. Yeah, people in north Idaho think he single-handedly destroyed the timber industry (how disconnected is that?), but he won once, and if he can keep the DLC monkey off his back, then I think he can win again. After all, he is the most qualified candidate. And with a good VP selection, like John Edwards, the vote may be so overwhelming that not even the Vote Stealers could rob him again. I suggest Edwards as the VP because I think that his charisma, southern charm, and intellectual brilliance would offset all that the press loves to hate about Gore. Also, Edwards does admit his senate voting mistakes about the Iraq war and Patriot Act. I don't think he'll make those mistakes again because I think the timbre of the Democratic National Party is changing, and the influence of Howard Dean is beginning to shine through. Finally, through my son, a UW student, who attended a John Edwards book signing recently, I know that many young people are supportive of Edwards. And it's about time that we drew in that younger vote in way that hasn't been seen since the sixties.

Of course, all above opinions could be moot, given how people in north Idaho vote. I just read in the Idaho Statesman that people in Coeur d'Alene, and indeed, all of north Idaho and the west in general, are being priced out of their homes because their wages don't meet the required amount for buying an average-priced home. And yet these same residents of north Idaho voted for Idaho Legislative candidates who oppose raising the minimum wage and who are satisfied with the Idaho Right-to-Work program, as it is. Again, how disconnected is that? I think the blame does not reside entirely on the voters either. I think that the media, as well as the partisan controlled, Republican legislature, should bear their full share of the responsibility.

So, I am left wondering who the next president of this wonderful country will be. But I have no time to wonder about the color of Idaho because I am determined to see it once again become a state of the people and turn blue!