Who's Next?

Now that the election season has come and gone I've noticed a big drop in traffic as I'm sure many of you have. It's not the end of the world but it's slowed down a bit. I'm guessing things will pick back up in a week or two, maybe a month. This was a great election season that brought the birth of blogging but many will be willing to turn their back on this form of media until the next presidential election season in four years. So I'd like to start a bit early. I believe the first order of business is to find out who's going to be there in 2008. So lets begin this with who we believe are potential candidates.

Republicans:

Jeb Bush - The brother of current president George W. Bush and Governor of Florida. Even if he runs I don't believe he's get a snowball's chance in hell of winning. If there's a ballot joke to be had he's the butt of it.

John Thune - The David to Tom Dashle's Goliath. No one expected him to take down the senate minority leader but guess what? He did. I can't remember the last time anyone was able to do this. The only way I've ever seen a minority or majority leader go is by retirement or death. It was a great feat, one he may be able to take all the way to the White House.

AAAAnuld - I really doubt that anyone will change the law to allow foreign-born Americans the ability to become president but stranger things have happened. How many governors do can you remember that have been movie stars....wait, never mind. Must have forgot about Reagan in the same state or Jesse Ventura in Minnesota. If he is a candidate I'd be willing to bet his father's sordid past with Nazi Germany will be drug through not just a mud pit, but a bog.

John McCain - The Republican candidate that lost the nomination to George W. Bush. If anyone mentions some leftist crap about Bush slandering him like he did to Kerry you will be instantly banned for life. John McCain has had an exemplary war record and it was brought up in the most recent campaign. He's someone the Left can accept for his frequent splits with the hard line Republicans and the right loves him because, well, how many POWs doesn't the right love?

Rudy Giuliani - The mayor of New York on 9/11. His is a name that has been kicked around by a few people here and there. He represents The core of our turbulence with terrorism. Anyone stating that he doesn't care about terrorism would be summarily beaten with a wet noodle. If this next election turns out to be about terrorism then Rudy's the man. If the next election is about something else then it's anybody's bet.

Democrats:

John Kerry - Kerry lost by a miniscule 2% - 3% of the popular vote. He managed to get more votes than the best previous winner, ever. Many people like Kerry and with four years to think about it he may be able to hash out his plan for America into something a little less nuanced. He'll be a front-runner in 2008, I'd put money on it but unfortunately I don't gamble.

John Edwards - Bob's Big Boy or the Breck girl, any way you slice him he's still considered a young pup on capital hill. In two years I'd be more than willing to bet that he'll be there again. And in four years he'll be sitting at that table again with Kerry, Hillary, Lieberman and of course, everyone's favorite, Al Sharpton. Maybe he'll get the nod in 2012 if the Democrats don't win in 2008.

Joeseph Lieberman - Many people on the right have taken a good hard look at Lieberman and feel that he's a lot closer to the center than any of the other candidates. I know that this usually doesn't equate to a Democratic nominee but it makes him more appealing to the Republican Party. It's not the hard left that they need to worry about; It's the hard right.

I just had a frightening thought: we could have Liberman against Shwarzeneggar, the Jew Vs. the Nazi. That would be rather ugly.

Barack Obama - His speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention mad a lot of people stand up and take notice. If nothing else he's a powerful speaker and more than likely a great debater as well. I don't see Barack taking the White House in 2008 for the same reason I don't see it for John Edwards; He's a kid. He doesn't even fill out his suit. It looks like his suit was borrowed from his father. Again, look for him coming up in 2012 or even 2016.

Hillary Clinton - The wife of Bill Clinton has had multiple nods from the media nearly begging her to run. She continually states that she's not going to but who really knows what she has in mind. The same on this goes for Jeb Bush that claims he's not running in 2008. Both of them will be in the media spotlight come 2008, mark my words. As for Hillary's ability to take the White House, I don't think she'll make it. Many of her views and decisions are much further left than most Republicans could pallet, and even further than some on the left are willing to go.

Other:

Dick - Dick has announced his candidacy for president and I'm sure many of you reading this would agree he'd get things done even if he had to kick a foreign leader square in the balls to do it. Dick has my vote for the pure and simple fact that he'll put me in his cabinet if elected. Another benefit is that we can put some really cool bumper stickers on our cars.

I'm sure I've left a few people out. Heck, I didn't even consider the Green, libertarian, Constitution or even the Socialist parties. I'm only going to be focusing on the two major parties, and Dick as I really don't foresee any legislative miracle that would allow any of these other parties any chance for election. Dick is the exception as if all the bloggers in the world push him out there we could make history. Hell, we brought down the whole of the mainstream media. The White House should be a shoe in.

So this is what I'm looking for: If there are any major players on either side of the fence that I've left out let me know. I'm sure there are a few. In a few days I'll put up the first election 2008 poll. If I do it now I think I'll be the first one. If not, it should still be fun to see where everyone's preferences lay. This will also be an non-discriminate vote. I'll separate by party but I encourage everyone to vote on both candidates.

May the 2008 elections commence!