With Martin Luther King Day just a week away and the first southern primary coming up, Clinton and Obama have both attempted to inject race into the debate. When it comes to playing the race card, though, Hilary has one big factor going against her: the vast majority of South Carolinians can see. Let's face it: it doesn't matter that Hilary is married to "America's first Black president." No matter how much Hilary plays the race card, she's still white...and her commentary thus far hasn't helped her campaign any among black voters, especially since she has been crediting Lyndon B. Johnson with fulfilling Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream by signing the Civil Rights Act into law. Meanwhile, her husband has been touring black radio stations trying to do some damage control.
Personally, I couldn't care less about which candidate on the left is more racially sensitive - political correctness rarely (if ever) impresses me. It is fun, though, to watch the white woman try to out-PC the black man on racial issues.
What really bothers me about the Democrat campaign is that Obama has been doing quite well...and frankly, I believe that if Obama gets the nomination, our next president will definitely be a leftist wacko. Obama is young, charismatic, and presents a fresh, new face...everything Hilary is not. Put Hilary up against any of the Republican candidates, and the Republicans may actually have a fighting chance. Put Obama up as the candidate, and it's four years of excruciatingly PC news reports about America's first black president.
Meanwhile, the Republican side is turning into a two-man race...and unfortunately it's between the wrong two men. Huckabee has continued to be strong in the polls, with McCain close behind him. Personally, I wouldn't vote for either of them - I'd much rather have a conservative in office. However, if I had to choose, I think I'd rather have the war hero than someone as willing to use religion to get votes as Huckabee has shown himself to be.
Frankly, Huckabee's transparent use of his religious views to get votes is a bunch of bunk: Huckabee's record shows that he is not a part of the so-called "Religious Right," but is in fact a leftist in "Religious Right" clothing. The problem for Republican conservatives is that McCain isn't much better, what with McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, the so-called "gang of fourteen," and the recently defeated amnesty bill. McCain has shown himself to be on both sides of the aisle...about the only thing he has going for him is his stance on the war.
My candidate of choice is still Duncan Hunter...but unfortunately he doesn't have a prayer of winning the nomination. My second choice is Fred Thompson, and thankfully Thompson has been showing some passion (FINALLY). Thompson came out strong against Huckabee in the last Republican debate, and now his supporters are urging him to stay strong throughout the rest of the campaign.
Thompson has had a couple of things going against him from the beginning: first, he came into the campaign on time...about when presidential campaigns normally start. Everyone else started early and already had some momentum going. Second, Thompson has tried to run a rather laid-back campaign, which the media has taken the opportunity to either ignore or translate into a lack of passion. In times as partisanly-charged as these, candidates need to be recognized, and no one wants a dispassionate candidate, so these have been major stumbling blocks for Thompson's campaign.
I believe Fred Thompson could really make a comeback if he continues to address the issues strongly and call Huckabee out for what he is: a Republican liberal using religion to woo voters. So many on the right are looking for another "Reagan Revolution" - an injection of true conservatism into the debate, and Thompson is the candidate who could bring conservatism to the forefront...he just needs to get his face and his name out there as strongly as possible so that the true conservatives can know that he's serious, he's for-real, and he's the best candidate on the Republican ticket this primary season.
