The Political Spectrum

Sure it may be some 1100 days until the 2008 presidential election, but it’s never too early to do some handicapping. I can say with almost one hundred percent certainty, and you can quote me on this, that Joe Biden will not be the next President of the United States of America. It was nice knowing ya, Joe, but come on, even Sam Brownback is laughing at your presidential odds.

Approximately half of the United States Senate is running for President, despite the fact that no Senator since John F. Kennedy has been elected to our nation’s highest office directly from the Senate, and Kennedy himself was I believe the only one ever elected from the Senate. But never discount the fact that we are dealing with the largest collection of ego ever assembled. Way to go 17th amendment.

One Senator in particular is making a rather noisy splash. Mme. Hillary Clinton (D-NY/AR/IL/CT) is the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and by positioning herself slightly to the right of Le Pen on immigration, might even be the favorite to win the whole thing. The possibility of the return of the Clinton dynasty has sparked enormous enthusiasm on the far left, so much so that our very own repeal was driven to write:

oh, and don't misquote me by saying its a lock, but HJC has got the electoral math and you know it...and you're scawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwed.

I’m not sure about the electoral college count, but I do know for certain that I am not “scawwwwwwwwwwed,” mainly because I really don’t know what “scawwwwwwwwwwwwed means.” Now I can only assume that Mr. Repeal’s fingers slipped, and he merely meant to type “scawed,” but that still leaves me at quite the loss. I remember there used to be some form of music that the kiddies used to like called ska, so perhaps to be scawed is to be wed with ska music playing in the background. But ska is not sca, so that seems rather unlikely. It could be some unusual method of spelling “Scott,” but that also seems rather unlikely. Besides, what would “being scott” mean exactly? I’ve known a few Scott’s in my life, and they haven’t always impressed me, so that could be taken as an insult. But I don’t think that’s what repeal means.

It could, with some squinting, mean “scared.” In that case, well, no. Not exactly.

Don’t get me wrong. I would not exactly embrace another Clinton presidency with open arms. The thought of experiencing four or more years of a President whose voice resembles that of the aliens from Mars Attacks does distress me to a great deal, but thanks to the wonders of the remote control I could always just flip the channel whenever she appeared.

No, I am not exactly scared by the prospects of a Clinton presidency, and for two primary reasons.

First of all, I don’t think she’s going to win. I honestly don’t know whether she will get the nomination, but I do think she will have mucho difficulty in securing the electoral college. Oh, sure, she could pull it out, and much depends on the Republican nominee. Heaven forfend that some charismatic dud like First wins the nomination - in that case we could see another Clinton presidency. But there’s really no telling who might be pitted in a showdown with Hillary, and a reasonably strong candidate should be able to emerge victorious against the woman that many Americans love to hate.

But even if Hillary does manage to win in 2008, though displeased I will not take it as a sign to make permanent travel plans to Australia. Unlike my left-wing brethren the prospect of having someone I dislike in the Oval Office does not send me into apoplectic fits of rage. You know why? Because the president is just one person, and no matter how powerful that one person may be, no one is so strong as to be able to inflict that much damage on the Nation.

Seriously folks, people of all political persuasions drastically overrate the importance of the President. Indeed the office has grown beyond the Framers’ wildest dreams, and there can be little doubt that the President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. But again, he/she is just ONE person. We ascribe far too much praise or blame on this one person. If the economy is great, we laud the President’s management of the economy, while quickly castigating the officeholder once the economic indicators slide downward, all the while ignoring the fact that there is very little tangible effect that the President may have upon the economy.

Again, don’t get me wrong. I do not mean to trivialize the office. Obviously the President makes all sorts of important decisions that impact all of us. War-making, judicial nominations, bureaucratic appointments, etc. are all vital elements of presidential prerogative. But even here the President’s powers are tempered by Congress – remember them? Both mouldfan and I have written of Congress’ self-neutering, but while we may lament the loss of much Congressional power, we cannot pretend that they have completely forsaken governance. Recent actions only help demonstrate that Congress is not a complete non-entity.

It will be a cold day in hell before I cast a vote for Hillary Clinton. It will be a colder day in hell before I allow the election of one person drive me to fits of irrational rage and fear. Most of all, it will be a cold day in hell before I become “scawwwwwwwewwwwwed” of the prospects of a President Hillary Clinton.