Caucus Time in Iowa

Giddy Up!

I don't know about the rest of you, but this is the most exciting primary election of my politically conscious life.

1992 might be going back a little too far for me, but the Republicans had an incumbent in George H.W. Bush, and he waged his campaign like his election was a foregone conclusion. Sure, Ross Perot made things interesting in a crazy "What's he going to say next?" sense, but not in a "Who's going to be our next leader?" sense. This took a lot of the excitement from the Democrats until saxophone playing Bill Clinton slid into office. The early years were rough, but by 1996, and the next election cycle, the US was entering one of the most prosperous periods in history.

With a popular and charismatic incumbent for the Democrats, the Republicans fielded one of the most boring candidates imaginable in Bob Dole, Viagra commercial aside (unfortunately that spot seems to have been excised from the internet, so we're going to have to go with the companion piece, Britney Spears' Pepsi Superbowl Commercial). Yes, Mr. Dole and his wife are incredibly successful politicians, but hardly inspiring presidential material.

2000. After President Clinton's success, Oval Office hijinks aside, Al Gore was the clear Democrat choice, and the Republicans didn't field anybody terribly interesting. Voter boredom in 2000 was evidenced by the extremely low voter turnout. So low, that nobody really raised a
ruckus over whomever the Court decided was President.

With an incumbent in the middle of a war, 2004 was another boring presidential election year. The only truly interesting bit was the new depths attack ads reached in rewriting John Kerry's war record. He really was a war hero. But, he was also a flip-flopper.

But 2008? Whoa Nelly! We've got a showdown between a woman, a black man and a trial lawyer on one side, and a standoff between a Baptist minister, a Mormon, THE Mayor of New York City, a torturee and a strict constitutionalist on the other. And before this thing is out, there is an off chance that an Academy Award Winner and some other New York City Mayor might join the race. Yes, it's unfair to boil these candidates down to stereotypes, but it makes identifying them easier, and it pushes the candidates to the background.

America is at a pivotal juncture. The winner of this election will be faced with many known, and certainly some unknown, decisions that will guide American policy for some time. The next President is going to have to seriously address a new solution for Iraq, global climate change, the rise of China, domestic healthcare, and whatever the hell is happening (dangerous ideologies [fundamentalist Islam and/or tribalism] combined with too many guns and valuable natural resources, including poppy cultivation) in Africa and Afghanistan/Pakistan the past few weeks.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, Francis Fukuyama wrote something he has later recanted, that the future of the world is one that would be dominated by the US, democracy and capitalism, and that the world would fall under the peaceful order of the US. Rather than the "End of History," the world is returning to "History As Usual," characterized by conflicts and issues much more nuanced, gray, and difficult than the simple US v. Them of the Cold War.

The next President of the United States must deal with history as usual more than any other President of the Post-WW2 era. I wish that I could grab the collective electorate, shake them and say, "It doesn't matter if a Mexican is washing your dishes, and dammit, you're healthy enough, and please, don't even get me started on the importance of gay marriage! The future of the world is in the balance and if America elects another consensus destroyer, the American vision of Hope and Freedom will become much, much more difficult to spread. Hope and Freedom are the virtues that our soldiers have given their life for, and if we lose the ability to spread Hope and Freedom, then every single American life lost in combat and every single casualty from the other side in our conflicts becomes a life given and taken in vain. It is time that the American people make a sacrifice. If it means sacrificing some of our domestic concerns over choosing the candidate that can best raise our standing in the world, then we must sacrifice. The greatest part about America is her hope and freedom, and if we lose the ability to spread hope and freedom to the world we have committed a crime against the world."

That said, I'm all for the black guy who attended an Islamic school, admitted to using drugs, didn't have the opportunity to vote for the war, and, even though I'm not religious, is the most genuine candidate when it comes to his religion. Plus, he doesn't seem scared of anybody or anything, unlike all the other candidates who seem to be itching for the chance to show just how tough they can be.

-----NOTE-----
This is not the tone I originally intended for this post... I was going to write about Xinhua's primary coverage and how everybody seems to be excited by this Primary, but I got carried away. That said, Xinhua's coverage on the English page is pretty boring, but you get lots of fun stuff in the Chinese section. They're pretty sure that China's going to be an easy target for all of the candidates, and while playing the "Crying Card" can be good for US Presidential Candidates, it is not recommended for female US Presidential Candidates.