Hilllary Clinton

Joe Biden Vs. John Kasich: The Most Experienced, Most Qualified Candidates For President in 2016!

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We are now seeing the full emergence of the Presidential race of 2016, with four candidates having announced, and many more to come between now and July, six months out from the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary.

It is becoming quite clear that IF the two political parties are looking for the most experienced, most qualified candidates to compete against each other in November 2016, then they will nominate Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio Governor John Kasich.

The nation would be very fortunate if this was the end result of the upcoming election, but it is not even certain that either Biden or Kasich will actually announce for President.

Biden seems to be avoiding the issue for now, fully aware that Hillary Clinton is the prohibitive favorite, but also carrying a lot of “baggage” over the lost emails and the Clinton Foundation, and the general feeling among many people of distrust of the former First Lady, former New York Senator, and former Secretary of State. But with the growing possibility that Hillary might falter, he is waiting in the wings and could decide to challenge her, rather than leave it alone and allow Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee to challenge her instead.

It is a clear cut fact that none of these alternatives can fill the shoes of Joe Biden in pure experience, knowledge, and qualifications, with Biden having had, by 2016, a total of 44 years in government, 36 as a Senator, and 8 as Vice President. Biden has been a leader in both domestic and foreign policy, and was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and has been ranked as one of the best Senators in American history. His role as Vice President has been massive, and President Barack Obama acknowledged his role and significance at the White House Correspondents Dinner this past weekend.

Of course, Biden is not perfect by any means, but has far fewer controversies than Hillary Clinton, and his faults are primarily his loose mouth at times, and his loose hands recently with women at public events, all embarrassing, but not taking away from his great leadership role over more than four decades. And his personality is a winning one, and Joe Biden is the most accessible, genuine, authentic, decent politician in America today, bar none.

At the same time, John Kasich is a man of principle, who just this weekend said he would not change his views to appeal to any particular group or agenda, and he comes across as a man of decency, accomplishment, and experience that far outstrips any other Republican nominee for the Presidency.

Kasich served in the House of Representatives for 18 years from 1982-2000, and was House Budget Committee Chairman, and understand economic matters better than most. He also has been now the two term Governor of the most crucial state in any Presidential election, Ohio, with the reality that no Republican has been elected President who has not won Ohio. This makes Kasich, easily, the best possible nominee that the Republicans could nominate, and the nation would be a lot more secure and safe with him than with any other Republican nominee for the White House.

An election between Joe Biden and John Kasich would be in the best traditions of American history, and would give us, no matter who won, a competent, qualified person to be our President for the next four years from 2017-2021. Let us hope for such good fortune to be given to this country!

The Future Of The Democratic Party: Younger Liberals In The US Senate

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When one sees that Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, California Senator Barbara Boxer, and Nevada Senator Harry Reid are retiring in 2016, and know that other older Senate Democrats have limited time left in the Senate, it makes it clear that it is time to examine who among the “younger” generation of liberal Senate Democrats may be perceived as the future of the Democrats beyond Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and even Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Even if Hillary Clinton becomes President, where is the hope for liberal Democrats in the future, as there are very few Democratic governors. The “youth” movement in the Democratic Party is therefore in the hands of the following younger liberal Senate Democrats:

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy (41)
Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz (42)
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (45)
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (48)
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet (50)
Delaware Senator Christopher Coons (51)
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin (53)
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (54)
Michigan Senator Gary Peters (56)
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (57)
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley (58)
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (59)

These are the present Democratic hopes for the future, to make an impact on the level of Mikulski, Boxer, Reid, along with Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, California Senator Diane Feinstein, Florida Senator Bill Nelson, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, Washington Senator Patty Murray, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Minnesota Senator Al Franken, and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Of course, more liberal Senate Democrats yet unknown could be elected in 2016, including Kamala Harris in California and Patrick Murphy in Florida, and hopefully, the Democrats will take back control of the United States Senate, and some new Democratic governors might be elected, assuming a coattail effect of the candidacy of the Democratic nominee in the Electoral College, still highly likely!

Eleven Foreign Policy Presidential Elections In American History, And Now 2016!

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America has had foreign policy affect eleven Presidential elections, overshadowing domestic policy issues. This has usually been centered about military intervention and wars. The list of foreign policy dominated Presidential elections follows:

1812—With the War of 1812 having begun, it became the major issue under President James Madison

1844—With the issue of Texas annexation a major issue, and with James K. Polk running on expansionism and “Manifest Destiny”, the issue of relations with Mexico became a major issue under John Tyler and Polk.

1848—With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the Mexican War under James K. Polk granting so much new territory to the United States, the issue of what to do with these territories became the major issue of the campaign.

1900—With the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish American War under William McKinley granting new territories to the United States, the issue of what do to with those territories reigned during the campaign, and the Filipino Insurrection was a hot issue as well.

1916–The issue of keeping America out of World War I dominated, with Woodrow Wilson campaigning on the fact that he had kept us out of the war.

1940—The issue of isolationism and World War II in Europe and Asia, and Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigning on keeping us out of war, but offering some assistance to Great Britain, dominated the campaign.

1944—The fact that we were still in World War II, and what to do about the postwar world and the Soviet Union, were key issues of the campaign.

1952—The debate over what to do about the limited nature of the Korean War under Harry Truman was a major factor in this campaign which elected Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1968—The debate over the Vietnam War under Lyndon B. Johnson, and the resulting split in the Democratic Party, and Richard Nixon declaring he had a secret plan to end the war, dominated the discussion in the campaign.

2004—The Iraq War and Afghanistan War under George W. Bush dominated the discussion in this campaign, as September 11 transformed the issue of national security.

2008—The continued intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan became a major issue, along with the Great Recession emerging during the campaign, and benefited Barack Obama, who promised to end the war in Iraq and downgrade the war in Afghanistan.

Now 2016 seems likely to be centered much more than many people want over foreign policy, particularly the threat of Iran in the Middle East, along with the danger of ISIL (ISIS) Terrorism, and the growing menace of the Russian Federation under Vladamir Putin, overall adding to the image of growing threats to national security.

And in these circumstances, one needs a steady hand at the helm, and only Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden have the experience and the judgment needed, along with Jon Huntsman, who, although listed by many as a long shot nominee for the Republicans, has indicated he is not a candidate. In any case, the Republicans are not smart enough to realize that the true treasure in their midst is Jon Huntsman!

Elizabeth Warren Should Run For President!

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Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has been talked about for months as a potential Presidential candidate, but she has always said she is not interested, and has signed a statement backing Hillary Clinton.

But she has been campaigning for the election and reelection of Democrats across the nation, and has attracted large and enthusiastic audiences everywhere she goes, including early caucus and primary states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, along with many other states.

She inspires people with her message of attack on the barons of Wall Street, and the need to make the banks lower interest rates on repayment of college loans, which have burdened millions of students, who will never be able to marry, own a home, own an automobile, have children, and a normal life, because their college education has enslaved them in long term debt, due to very high interest rates.

Warren also promoted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the major accomplishments of the Obama Presidency.

She has come across as a truly genuine, real, human being, rare for a politician. Her sincerity and real concern for promoting fairness and equity in America has pushed the demand that she run for President.

The odds of her being the Presidential nominee seem low, but her campaign would make other Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and other potential candidates work harder, and make for a better campaign, and she could certainly end up as Vice President or a key member of the cabinet under a Democratic President, assuming she loses the chance to be the Democratic Presidential nominee.

Running for President will certainly not hurt her future, and it just might make our future as a nation much better!