Could This Work?

I see politics as a lot like sports. When it comes to sports, I enjoy nothing more than speculating about possible trade scenarios and line combinations for the upcoming games and seasons. Speculation can be applied to politics as well, and if used correctly, could influence the current political landscape.

That being said, I cannot help but imagine what a John McCain and Hilary Clinton ticket would look like. Impossible? Nope. Likely? Nope. Somehwere leaning towards dream: Yep. I dont think the odds are even between slim and none but I would find this ticket fascinating and the ONE way for the Clintons to save face after this drawn out campaign. It is true that the media outlets and the once "Hip" counter culture scenes like Rolling Stone and MTV threw Hilary under the bus after 15 years of loyalty all because some spiffed up new guy who caters to all things hip and involving "change" came out of obscurity to challenge her throne. After the unfair beating she has recieved, one would think Hilary would finally realize the plight of Conservative candidates over the last decade. What could happen next would be an all out civil war.

Say Hilary knows the nomination process is over (she does ) and she decides she hasnt nearly had enough after all this. Wouldnt it be awfully convenient for a call from crafty John McCain to come in just moments after she concedes? McCain knows the two of them are going to win the midwest and the southeast with ease. Barack may carry the black vote 90percent in states like North Carolina and Georgia but the two oldtimers could hold out. California would go to the McCain-Clintons and we all know New York would too. This could very easily be a landslide win.

Now, before you start thinking about how different the ideologies of these two candidates are, remember that they have just as many similarities. The Iraq War can be continued as Hilary was never clearly against it, as long as it is minimalized to some extent and slowly ended. The economy would be handled by a political figure during the last balanced budget to this date and a veteran Capitol man who carries a bigger distance between himself and big business than the last Commander in Chief.

Besides these issues though, is the fact that if McCain-Hilary faced off against say Barack-Edwards, the clash of two different Americas would finally come together. Throwback liberals and blue collar Southerners mixed in with middle class Americans will come to blows with the liberal elites, minorities, and the power barons in the media and communications industries.

I think this would be downright awesome and would serve to teach the Keith Olbermanns and Dan Abrams of the world a serious lesson, no matter how much you think your hype impacts a race, in the end its the people who determine the next president, not the talking heads.

A Sea of Wasted Campaign Dollars

On my way to the library today, I couldnt help but notice the possibly hundreds of campaign signs for local politicians scattered around the grassy mall in front of the entrance. I was pretty curious who decided it was a good idea to spend about 10 dollars worth of material used to make that sign only to place it in the shadow of another sign.

Politics today is far too concerned with conformity to ever really inspire the electorate. The first leader to really break away and say screw it, "I'm not putting a sign in front of the library!" or on a grander scale, "I'm not going to interview with the mainstream media." will be a man or woman soon forgotten. That type of person will be quickly feasted upon by the conformists waiting for any petty oppurtunity to make themselves seem the most "normal" of the batch. This is a poor strategy as usually, 5 or 6 candidates will be winnowed out of any major election before a winner is declared. At least by skirting the usual routine, a politician will seperate himself from the dead weights.

This leads me back to my initial thought. Walking into that library, the only signs I noticed were the ones featuring names I had seen regularly in the news before. We had people running for everything under the sun and they all seemed to feel signs would be the best way to reach the people. While I happen to think a personal touch will always defeat the fleeting prevalence of a website or a chain letter (no, i dont find those cats playing basketball cute, stop sending me the pics grandma!), I also believe if a politician had simply stood outside shaking hands for just 15 minutes, he would have increased his votes by a fairly substantial amount. Even if said politician didnt have the time to do it himself, could he not send out some cute girl or better yet, ask her to do trivia night at a popular bar, all the while dousing said candidate in praise to the men and to a lesser extent, lesbians, in attendance? Just an idea....

Or screw it, how about a sign that says, "This is the best I could DO?"