Early Review of Presidential Candidates

The primaries are in full swing and some, in Iowa, feel that the republican candidates are weak and there is no republican strong enough to vote for with what the people have to choose from. The democrats seem to be the choicest bits to choose from. The most recent polls show that Mike Huckabee is at 25%, which makes him the top republican running. Republican Rudy Guiliani follows at 20%, and John McCain is right behind him at 19%. The top democrat, currently, is a tie, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at 33% each, and John Edward trails them at 20%. Something's got to give, if the U.S. is going to be able to choose presidential competitors for their views. The media has only just begun to rev up their engines to deliver the news on these people.

Let's review what we know about each candidate, starting with Hillary Clinton; She says that she embodies change and has lead smaller issues as a senator in Arkansas, but she has not shown to be a lead sponsor in any major legislation, except in her participation in helping to create the CHIPS health program for children. She was in favor of laws that would give more benefits for Guard and Reserve members of the military, since they were being called on by our country to extend their tours. As an Arkansas Senator, she led the effort to better schools in that state. She was in favor of universal healthcare, but maintained that employers should no longer be required to provide healthcare to their employees, and that the people should be required to carry private health insurance themselves. That was not a smooth move in verbalizing those ideas in such a way as to put the whole healthcare burden on citizens.

Barack Obama has started his campaign by rallying the American people for change. An example of his flexibility politically, is that he worked with republicans in 2006 to push several measures that became law. One of those were the Patriot Act, which he fought to improve before it was renewed. He was one of the few democrats that worked on ethics reform. He opposes the Iraq War and has from the beginning. As an Illinois state senator, he cosponsored laws that made available healthcare for approximately 150,000 people. There is a lot of support from the American people for Obama, because he is flexible in dealing with other parties to get the best results, and, as black man, he represents change, just as Hillary Clinton, as a woman, also represents change. But he is also a very likable character, who seems to keep his cool when others become hot headed.

The last democrat that is running third in the race is John Edwards. The views he expresses are rare, because he takes on issues that others don't think are important enough. He wants to help war veterans who are homeless in America, due to the lack of medical care and other benefits that are supposed to be available to them. He approves of stricter measures on foreign trade, especially food, to protect the peoples health and welfare. He has stated that he is for universal healthcare, but hasn't really given a plan for it. The subject of the capitol tax rate is something Edward's feels needs to be overhauled by raising it back up to 28%, since it is currently at 15%. This is one of the reasons why wealthy people pay less tax than lower income people.

Now let's go over the Republicans' views and past accomplishments. The leading republican, Mike Huckabee, despite being a Mormon, is top dog. He's popular because he played a big part in improving Arkansas highways, which are now deemed the most improved highways. He pushed for and signed laws that improved Arkansas teachers pay, curriculum standards, and education funding. But, initially, when asked about his views on Iraq, he wavered on if he was for or against troop surges. Currently, he has stated that he is all for it. We really need someone who can stand on their own, without switching back and forth between important choices like this. He, also, stressed that he was proud of being a Mormon, but would not let that stand in the way of presidential decisions.

Rudy Giuliana is a favorite in the media, because of his aid to the rescuers on the 911 attack. Although, he was suffering from Prostate Cancer, he didn't let that get in the way of doing his job as the Mayor of New York. He cleaned pornography and drug dealers out of Times Square to make it safer and more pleasant for the citizens. He established a child welfare agency in New York to help get foster children adopted. He seems like a well-rounded individual in these days and times, because he is an advocate for gay rights, supports abortion rights, though, he does have a tough-on-terrorism view. There's lots of scandal floating around in the media about this man, and that's probably what's keeping him from passing up Huckabee in the current primaries.

The third runner up is John McCain. He backs President Bush to continue the war because he believes that if we pull out too quickly, it will cause other major problems. Some of his accomplishments are in saving taxpayers $2-billion on a fake Air Force Boeing tanker deal,that put several people in jail. Fixing the tax code is another one of his favorites. His plan for fixing the tax code is getting a task force lead by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan to figure out a plan for making easier the code and sending it to Congress for an up or down vote. He seems to get the picture, but is unable to pull ahead of Guiliana.

The lack of exposure and standing of 2008's presidential candidates is making it hard for us, as a country, to dig out the important information that will help us identify with them, and make the right choice. I have given the public some information that might prove helpful in deciding who may be the best candidates. The primaries are still in their early stages, so hopefully, they can get the ball rolling. We, as Americans, need strong leadership and there doesn't seem to be enough yet, in these competitors for the presidency.