My Endorsements

Ok. So I live in Ohio. We have one of the latest primary/caucus events in the nation (its sometime in March). Needless to say, no one around here is following the presidential race. Well, I am, and have always been, for a national caucus day. I know it has its drawbacks--people like Huckabee don't have as much of a chance. Only the big money candidates have a go at winning. And I think that is a setback. But no solution is perfect. A rotational early primary state system would be nice too, but flawed in the sense that its going to result in widely different candidates each election cycle. For example, if Hawaii was the earliest primary state, Kucinich would be more likely to be our nominee. Ok, that would be nice for me, but only about 500 other people would be pleased.
But that is not what I am here to talk about. I want a tiny say in the electoral process too! So why can't I make some endorsements and hope that someone gives someone a second lookover because I mentioned their name? I know, its unlikely. But I figure, its worth a shot.
I've decided to make two endorsements for each party. The first endorsement is my long shot endorsement. This is the person whom I think people should vote for on conscience, to make a statement. Unfortunately, everyone is too cowardice to vote with their heart. Everyone wants to be on the winning team. Which results in our 'lesser-of-two-evils' system. So, taking this into account, I have a second endorsement, of someone who actually has a chance of going on and getting the nomination. So...without further ado:
let's start with the Democrats:
My long shot endorsement is...Dennis Kucinich!
Justification: Alright, I worry about his sanity too. But despite his strange 'interconnected' stuff, he does seem to be right on a lot of issues. His health care plan is non-profit. He actually wants to end the war (unlike the front-runners). "Strength through Peace" is his motto. Damn thats cheesy, but that is politics.
My actual chance endorsement is...John Edwards!
Justification: John Edwards is like Kucinich-lite. Truly, if you look at them on the issues, they fall very close together. I'm sure Edwards and his followers would deny it. I've heard conservatives call Edwards a 'neo-socialist'. And I'm ok with that. Edwards does want to take care of people. He does think its everyone's business--including the government--to do something about the poverty problem in the U.S.A. He is the only front runner that isn't a Centrist. Don't try and tell me otherwise. The only way I can tell the difference between Hilary Clinton and George W. Bush is that one is criticizing Bush and the other isn't. Policy-wise, I see little difference. Its all rhetoric. Obama is honest, as far as I can tell, but he is too centrist for my taste.

Republicans:
My long shot endorsement is...Ron Paul.
Justification: Ok, I disagree with Ron Paul on nearly everything. (His comments on Pakistan were just ridiculous. Yeah, let's just leave a country with nuclear weapons alone. Let's just stop making a big deal about it. What!?) But he is so principled, and he is an extreme form of what Republicans should be. Not this warmongering neo-con crap that is going on, but a party that represents liberty and free market economics. Yes, Republicans should be tough on defense. But pre-emptive military strikers are not the Republicans of yesteryear.
My actual chance endorsement is...John McCain.
Justification: John McCain is an American hero! You can't deny it. He is the kind of Republican that keeps people respecting Republicans. He is pro-war, but he understands the misery of war. He is pro-war on terror, but he is also, and more importantly, pro-morality. Other Republicans just want to rip the testicles of terror suspects, while McCain actually has the guts to stand against them and say "Hold on a minute. Thats ridiculous. We are America." Its fortunate that he is a vet, because otherwise I'm sure he would be a 'treasoner' to the talk radio circuit. And, well, McCain is a centrist, and he is a principled man. So I guess I would vote for him over Hilary, because even though I disagree with him, I trust his judgment--after all, he does have more information in front of him than I do.

So. Good luck on Thursday. If you live in Iowa, please go caucus. You have more power than you know. Vote for whoever you want (please not Hilary!).