Every time I begin to doubt my “predictions” that Herr Bush will not see a second term (and might not even make it to the end of this one), articles pop up hinting that I might just know what I’m talking about. I’ve been known to make some rather astute observations about current political atmospheres, and I dearly hope that my latest foray into this realm also holds water. No, I am certainly no prophet – or even a pundit – but I saw the downfall of King George the First long before most of my friends noted the kinks in his armor. Sure we were in junior high at the time; but dammit, we actually read the paper!
Anywho, I started checking out some info on candidates for the next year’s election. My biggest fear for the coming battle is that the Democrats simply have no leader. We can blame the court case or the nut case as much as we like for the loss of 2000, but the election would never have been that close if Gore had not acted so weakly. And when I looked at the candidates that began to emerge for 2004, I had even less hope. But finally a fire has been lit under someone’s ass.
Yup, the whole country is a twitter about the former Governor of Vermont and his Bush-bashing ways. Dean has gone from nigh obscurity to the current frontrunner in a matter of months, and while he’s by no mean perfect, he represents a shift in the political wind the Dems have greatly needed. It will still be some time until a lot of his policies are truly hashed out, but until then he’s given the other candidates something to think about. As a side note, The New Republic Online’s Franklin Foer believes that an even better candidate is still waiting in the wings in the form of Wesley Clark, a former Commander-in-Chief and all-around nice guy. He’s a Democrat and a big war hero who happened to help bring peace to the war-torn Kosovo region of the former nation of Yugoslavia. On top of that, he thinks the Patriot Act is stupid (my words not his). This guy is so popular that there are websites petitioning him to run for the Presidency. The political clime is shifting, and it might just be for the better.