Iowa Heating Up!

Looks like the Iowa Caucus is a dead heat between Dean, Kerry,Gephart and Edwards. Should be interesting come Monday night. I am still of the opinion, that Kerry would be the best candidate in a one on one debate with GW. He'd shred the guy like a rapier going through cheese. Kerry has that Clinton like mind. Dean, I'm afraid appears often uncomfortable and I'm afraid he'd blow it with one insensitive remark or another. Gephardt is too strident and so is Edwards at times, although I like Edwards and he'd probably be my second pick. I thought it was interesting that a caller to the Larry King show ,when Ann Richards was a guest, was concerned that Howard Dean just didn't have the persona that comes across well on TV to be elected by the general populace. Ann, who now supports Dean, sorta stumbled on that one - she did admit that he needed to throw a bit of levity into the mix now and then and not be so serious. But I think the caller is representative of the average American voter - you're gonna vote for whom you like and for whom your gut tells you is the best person and if they don't come across well on TV (where most people get their news), then it's a tough road ahead. (Remember Kennedy/Nixon?) Of course, one does then have to wonder how the hell GW ever got elected - if there ever was a guy who looked dumber than a bunch of rocks, I'm not sure who that would be.

But this country is swamped with religious conservatives at the moment who are zealous in nature regarding their cause - most other folks aren't quite that zealous and thus don't have that unified drive that it takes to push a lot of votes to a candidate. And all it takes is GW to invoke some religious voodoo to get his masses all heated up. Personally, I'd like a president who kept Church and State separate and took care of business in a thoughful and certainly non-unilateral manner. It's fine if you're strongly religious, but do me a favor and keep it to yourself - it's your choice to be so, let me make my own choices.

Someday our President,whom we elect, needs to remember that although he ran on a party platform (in Bush's case, he has departed from the Republican platform and is performing on his own platform), he now represents ALL the people and can not cater to his own special interests. It takes quite a person to sometimes go against his own Party and choose wisely for EVERYONE. Will we find that person in 2004? We will, if people get off their lazy tushes and vote - Americans only have themselves to thank for the Patriot Act, the rape of the environment,etc,etc. - had more Americans voted, we'd wouldn't be in this quandry now. Time to shake off the cobwebs America and open your eyes.