Superville Review

2007 is here, countdown to presidential election 2008 and I dare say
what is shaping up to be one of the most interesting presidential elections
in my young, but growing old, life. Citizens, there are no stand-ins for the parts we will play in this election. We must show up, on cue and off book. Everybody in, everybody in. This play will be legendary for its socio-political hidden meanings, intellectual spawings and political ideas as presented by an all-star cast.

Introducing the main players...

Hillary Clinton, the female candidate as villain, loved and hated equally by the elite and the regular jane's and Moe's from sea to shining sea; former first lady mired in health care,
real estate and infidelity scandals with a wildly popular husband known as Slick Will.

Barack Obama, the Hendrix-esque rock star who is charismatic, seen as "clean" in the regrettable words of Joe Biden. He's the innovator of political speak; in an age of politicking for points with style and little substance, Obama is the forthright candidate who no one has been able to pin down on the substance of his potential platform. If this were a 1970's comic he would be, The Black Candidate.

John Edwards, country boy politician with a core of steel, burnished in the shadows of Vice Presidential nomination in '04. Running as the candidate for the common man, he has already shocked the competition, putting forth a plan for universal health care for all Americans. He's the can-do man, but can he make it do what it do when it's time for votes to be counted and nominations won?

Joe Biden, as foot-in-mouth or the gaffe-man; undressing his chances before they even have an opportunity to catch the carriage that would have turned back into pumpkin further on the election trail. But every story needs a bumbler for comic relief.

John McCain, the tough talking centrist, running as a republican in this era of Republican as "right" and all the way to the "right." Will his support of more troops in Iraq rally the GOP throng to his cause or turn off a sizable segment of Americans Republican and Democrat who have come to see this war as the quicksand it has become?

Rudy Guiliani, former Mayor of New York, socially liberal, but so hard line in terms of policing and urban renewal during his reign over New York that the "Apple's" black and brown citizen's will tell you the man has no people skills. He has not officially declared, but it seems a matter of time. If he does win I won't leave my house in 50 states without I.D. and my hands in plain view.

Mitt Romney, flip-flopper. As Governor of Massachussetts, when it came to abortion, he was for a woman's right to choose, but since he's running for the GOP nomination, he's realized that he had a change of heart. Who is his campaign advisor, John Kerry?

Truthfully, I'm looking forward to seeing if an independent candidate can present enough votes to be blamed for losing another election for the Democratic or Republican candidates. This country needs an infusion outside the main stream. Obama, could be that, to a degree, but is America ready for a black president or what about a woman president? A Republican president who is occupying the same center Democrats tried to occupy in the 2000 and 2004? Will the Democrats willingly return to their roots on the left and be unapologetic in doing so? How many of her issues will America confront in regards to race, gender and class? There is no room on the fence in '08. Stakes are high, war is stuck in netural in Iraq, a conflict with Iran is being courted by "W", global warming is starting to get the world hot under the collar and terrorism and it's various ways and means are as much a threat today as it was after 9/11.

This country of ours is about to change course in ways that will prove historic and possibly transcendent or tragic. Which outcome Americans see will be determined by the effort everyone of her citizens is willing to contribute in this electoral process. Everyone has a part to play in this production. No American can, in good conscience, sit this election out. With so much on the line and a variety of candidates that have not been seen before (a black man and a female with a legitimate chance for success and Republicans who could be called moderates.) it's imperative that each candidate is researched, given audience, and challenged, not followed down party lines, racial lines, gender lines, or other. This election is about the policy and the plan. Fellow citizens, let's go to work.

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Presidential Election 2008, Rudolph Guiliani