Predictions for the coming political season

» Predictions for the coming political season

2 February 2007 - 9:04pm

Predictions for the coming political season

By media girl

Nobody's going to be talking about Hillary with any excitement a year from now, though she'll still be a contender because of the money. She seems to be smart, but she really lacks charisma, and given her middlin' stances over the past several years, I don't think I trust her, either. It's sad to say -- I wish I could be enthusiastic about her candidacy -- but when it comes down to it, she doesn't have much to say.
Barack Obama is going to surprise people when the going gets tough, and tough it will get before summertime. Let's face it, too many people are threatened by Barack. Just look at the Fox News Tall Tales about Obama's childhood, and the Dems aren't going to like this upstart making such eloquent noise, either. A year from now, as we are truly pushing into earlier and earlier primaries, he'll be one to reckon with.
Joe Biden will be the golden boy crowned by the DC media, that is if he doesn't implode first. Let's not think about the plagiarism charges from the past. Let's not look at the rather sad comb-over. His flashy teeth are enough for the cameras, and based on his recent Jon Stewart appearance he's not quite taking himself so seriously. He's the Establishment candidate.
Late this year, we're going to see at least the beginnings of a Republican push to get Cheney out of office. They will push for him to take the fall for Iraq. The gambit will involve pushing a trusted presidential candidate into the VP office, to gain immediate cache. This new VP might end up getting a lot of extra attention from the Washington press corps, becoming a front-runner for the nomination, with a little boost for the next general election.
Part two of this gambit depends upon the political climate, but it's certainly possible that the Republican leadership will quietly push for the impeachment of George W. Bush, while letting the Democrats (reluctantly) take the lead on this one. Call it the Angew-Nixon tango, repeated. Maybe this is just too much wishful thinking on my part, but I'd like to think this is not only possible, but even possibly likely.
After a rather rough start, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will prove that she has what it takes, and becomes one of the toughest Speakers in recent history. I've had very low expectations after her rather weak minority posturing over the years, and her bungled meddling in the campaign for Majority Leader, but she has done well since, and as long as I'm making predictions, I'll give in here to some ~~wishful thinking~~ hopeful anticipation.
John McCain? You gotta be kidding me! Is that something on his nose?
Sam Brownback will get all sorts of attention for his born-again anti-war campaigning, but people won't like his notions of faith-based prisons and state-controlled human breeding. A bit too nutty for America.
On the flip-side of nuttiness will be Newt Gingrich, who will curmudgeonly poke at all the other Repuplicans for being fiscally irresponsible, while posing ironically as some sort of uniter, pointing to his cooperation with Hillary Clinton on computerizing medicine. His flag will go down with Clinton's.
Bill Richardson will come on strong, winning a lot of support, until someone makes a big deal out of his support for decriminalizing marijuana. At that point, he'll be tarred with the Just Say No Brush of Shame, and all his intelligence and solid experience will be dismissed out of hand. Besides, in this age of racist anti-immigration hysteria, I wonder if an Hispanic can win a nomination.
Bill Richardson will be back, and be taken all the more seriously next time. 2012 anyone?
Can we forget John Edwards? He's handsome, he's smart, he's a smooth talker, and, when you actually stop to listen to him, he makes a lot of sense. However, maybe he's a bit too slick in this online political age. Maybe he can get knocked down early, and have to resort to really exposing himself as a human being. It seems to be there, under his polished image and immovable hair, but he needs some mussing before he'll reveal his grit, and that mussing just may not come soon enough for him to react.
Tom Vilsak will prove disappointing, though everyone will talk about how sharp and charismatic he is in person. Nobody will even care about the Herbert Hoover library.
Rudy Giuliani will appeal to some centrists, but there's no way the GOP base is going to go for a divorced cross-dressing gay rights supporter from New York. And progressives won't like what they hear about Rudy's pre-9/11 record. Busting hot dog vendors for blocking sidewalks paints the wrong picture of the "law and order" candidate.
Who else are we supposed to be talking about? We'll be talking about him -- or her (?) -- a year from now.