The Presidential Campaign

Our political system has a tradition of preselecting a mundane list of candidates, and then presenting them to the voters in the Primaries. This year is much worse than average in this regard.

I must be candid in acknowledging that my view of the system is quite cynical. Though our constitutional system is democratic on paper, in reality, no one makes it into the halls of power without having sold their souls to the power brokers and handlers. This proves that power always rises to the top, and tyranny always emerges, no matter what mechanisms are in place.

This year's field features those who have refreshing messages but would not cut their deal (Kucinich, Paul), those who would deal but were used as spoilers to facilitate manipulation of the race (Romney, Edwards, Huckabee, Giuliani). So now it comes down to an apparent choice of McCain, Clinton, and Obama.

The remaining campaign is not about issues or ideology - lip service is given to these during the early primary season, but that's over. The relevant question to ask oneself now is, who is controlled by whom.

Hillary is squarely in the corner of the Rockefeller faction. She represents maintenance of the status quo, while cosmetically redecorating the landscape with pleasant new images. Her foreign policy inclinations are only slightly to the left of noted warmonger Joseph Lieberman. To those eager for change from the debaucheries of Bush 43 & Co., this caveat must be applied: As Michael Rupert observed, a Gore administration would have likely conducted the same essential foreign policy as Bush – the only difference would have been much more pleasant theme music.

Obama is more of an enigma, but consider this: Despite his inexperienced status as a freshman senator, a vacuum simply cannot exist at this level of power politics. No one can rise that far without backing (and consequent ownership) of a major power group. Maybe Obama has cut his deal or maybe not; it doesn't matter. The handlers will maintain control or subtly remind him of the consequences - JFK remains the classic poster boy representing what happens when you forget who is in control.

Obama is mesmerizing the press and the electorate with Kennedyesque charisma and charm, but few are asking what policies lie behind the empty "Audacity of Hope" rhetoric. One clue is the fact that Zbiginew Breszinski has been a huge Obama booster since day one. The reader may recall this iconoclastic cold warrior from the days of the Carter administration; his obsession with geopolitical confrontation with Russia remains intact. He continues to write editorials encouraging a hard-line policty toward Russia.

On the Republican side, McCain appears to have the nomination all but locked up. He clearly is unfit to be president, displaying a nearly psychotic temperament. His bouts of independence from party ideology and "straight shooter" image are refreshing, but serious flaws are evident. His cynical singing of "Bomb, Bomb Iran" at campaign rallies raises the art of warmongering to a frightening new level. His attention span on issues he doesn't take interest in is abysmal - one quote he will surely regret is when he told reporters that he knew nothing about economics, that he had only "read Greenspan's book".

McCain’s surge toward the nomination raises serious questions about the degree to which the campaign process is manipulated. His campaign was on life support toward the end of 2007. Suddenly, several Iowa newspapers, which previously had expressed opposition to McCain, endorsed him just prior to the Iowa caucuses. Someone flipped a switch, and things turned completely around. Could a few calls to newspaper editors really make that much difference? Depends on who makes the calls, I guess.

Huckabee is interesting. Thus far, principally the darling of the Religious Right and Home School fanatics, he has stirred distrust among hard-line conservatives. Despite his rep as a social conservative, he has had to explain a record of being soft on death-row commutations and assistance for illegal immigrants. His defense? His Christian faith teaches compassion. Wow. That is a first, coming from a supposedly conservative religious politician. He also talks as if his economic policies might be similarly influenced. Amazing. No wonder the right-wingers are appalled.

Romney and Giuliani – no tears shed for their departure here! Romney, greatly reviled by the other candidates, displayed his greatest talent in his chameleon impersonation, like when he was caught trying to join the NRA and buy his first hunting rifle as campaign season opened. Giuliani was complicit in the 9/11 charade, not to mention having more skeletons in the closet than the average politician.

A major concern remains that no one in this campaign, other than Paul and Kucinich, has questioned the fascist drift our Republic has been taking under Bush 43.

The Patriot act remains on the books, 400 pages containing who-knows-what draconian provisions, passed in the anthrax-obsessed fear-filled chaotic days following 9/11. Anyone care to ask the candidates if they support repeal?

America’s reputation has been tarnished by the continued presence of the inexcusable gulag at Guantanamo Bay. Anyone care to ask about closing this monstrosity down?

Bush and his henchmen have repeatedly used the “Unitary Executive” principle, borrowed from Nazi Germany, to justify a wide range of illegal acts, such as torture of suspects, wiretapping without warrants, and maintaining a network of secret torture centers in remote corners of the globe. Does anyone running for president care to voice a concern? Are we willing to accept being on the same moral level as a brutal third-world oligarchy?

I have a theory that explains all of this: Elections in this country are just a farce. Somewhere behind the scenes, there is a power center in control, and none of those responsible are visible to the public. The controllers don’t answer reporter’s questions or discuss issues in debates. They have bought total control of the media, and will limit our choices so that it doesn’t matter which party wins. If all else fails, Diebold will come to their rescue.