Mike Gravel?

Apocalypse Cow has kindly asked my opinion about the crop of presidential contenders for 2008. I've also been contacted by the Socialist Party USA regarding my possible service on a committee that is to find a presidential candidate that will either run as a Socialist, or we can support. Knowing the SPUSA, they won't back someone who isn't actually in the party. I've decided not to serve, but I hope they find someone who will surprise everyone and really make a proverbial splash on the news and attract a lot of people into the radical left.

But that won't happen. My friend and comrade David McReynolds is easily a genius, and is an intellectual of the highest order. He ran for president for the SPUSA several times, and in 1980 got about 8,000 votes. That sounds absurdly bad, but most of them were write-in votes.

For who am I going to vote? It's a little early to say, but I'm certain that I won't vote Republican, naturally. So who among the Democrats speaks to me, at such an early point in the campaign? Well, I despise Hillary Clinton, who I think is a political opportunist and pragmatist who would support mass murder if it got her the presidency. This woman has no spine! I thought I liked John Edwards, at least from a distance, but he voted to give Bush the power to wage war in Iraq (as did Kerry and Clinton), which is unforgivable. About a quarter of the US Senate had the brains to vote against that bill, including Sen. Byrd for W. Virginia and one of my Senators, Ted Kennedy. Congress should NEVER abdicate it's responsibilities like that, and those who did revealed themselves to be cowards at best. At worst, it was a callous, cynical vote meant to avoid risking taking the blame if the war went bad, as it did, of course.

So that leaves me with former Senator from Alaska, Mike Gravel, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Christopher Dodd and Senator Barack Obama.

Let me start with Joe Biden. He consistently "talks a good talk" but has a poor voting record by my reckoning. I've decided not to fall for his compelling eloquence and earnest appeals to compassion and logic. In reality, he votes like a bit of a jackass. He just panders to the left and then votes down the center. I don't want anything to do with him...he can cram it.

Dennis Kucinich is wonderful on the issues. He opposed the Patriot Act, the war in Iraq and even won something called the Ghandi Peace Award. It's all good. He may actually get my vote, but something is holding me back. It could be his elf-like appearance or the bizarre and embarrassing song-and-dance he did at an NAACP function. He has that nerdy Ross Perot patina that just says, "I'm totally unelectable!"

I don't know enough about Governor Bill Richardson or Senator Chris Dodd. I'm inclined to think that Richardson has a much better chance of getting the nomination, but with Obama, Clinton and Edwards out there it's a long-shot.

Now we get to Barack Obama, the fellow that Hillary-Haters are glomming onto with the hope that it's not inevitable that Clinton will get the nomination. And there's a lot of good reason to think that Clinton has peaked too early. Unfortunately, she is painfully good at what she does and has tons of money. Obama's greatest strength is that he is young and comes across as smart and likeable, sort of like Robert Kennedy. He seems to be more than a man, he's a movement. When he spoke at the Democratic Convention in 2004 people were so taken that they talked about "drafting" him back then. So whatever it is, he has it. But as people find out more about the lad, he'll lose support. That's the problem with coming into focus. This far out, though, he looks great. Time will tell.

Finally, there is Mike Gravel, who will be 78 years old in 2008. That's a bit of a problem, as is his lack of money and unusual campaign style. A video YouTube has him staring at the camera for several minutes and then just walking away, stopping only to throw a large rock in a river. You think I'm kidding? See it here.

I think I love him!

Here is a man who supports a socialized health care system, wants to leave Iraq immediately, opposes any military action in Iran and wants to save Social Security by forcing the government to pay back the SS Trust Fund. The more I read, the more I think I've found my candidate, old fart or not. So for the time being, I'm a Mike Gravel man.

Well, that's all the time we have today. My next post will be about the Republican contenders for president. Fun!