A few thoughts on the 2008 presidential election

Over the past few weeks Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has shot up in the polls despite being outspent by his rivals, a distinct lack of organization, and most notably a string of exposés of questionable things he did as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. Today I read a particularly damning and exhaustive article about Huckabee's term as governor on salon.com. The article was originally published November 13, 2007, but was just posted on Digg.com today. Here's the link to the article:

The dark side of Mike Huckabee by Max Brantley

While this and the other recent articles exposing Huckabee's record as governor of Arkansas are interesting, frankly, I think everyone needs to shut the hell up about what a terrible person and candidate Mike Huckabee is until the primaries are over. If Republican primary voters haven't figured out already how awful he is, and by his recent rise in the polls they have not, then they deserve to be stuck with a horrible candidate. After the heartbreak and disbelief of the election being stolen from Al Gore in 2000, and the depression after John Kerrey lost a close race in 2004, I would like nothing more than the Democratic nominee, whoever he or she may be, after emerging from a difficult primary process, to have a cakewalk to the white house facing Mike Huckabee. While it seems likely that the Democratic nominee will become president no matter who the Republican nominee is, he would no doubt have an easier time pushing his agenda if he were to get 300, 350, 400, or even 450 electoral votes. Plus, if Huckabee was the Republican nominee, as knowledge of his misadventures as governor of Arkansas grew, and horror spread at the prospect of President Huckabee, this would probably help Democrats in Senate and House races, hopefully helping them to get a filibuster proof majority of 60+ in the Senate and an even larger majority in the House. Surely the major reason for the negative approval ratings of the Senate and House has been their inability to get things done with the Republicans not letting anything move forward, not the Democratic agenda. What an appropriate rebuke for the Bush administration than for him to be turning over power to a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate and House that the Republican minority can't stop.

As for the Democratic candidate, I think John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hilary Clinton would all do a fine job as president. Even though Clinton is the most conservative of the three, it seems pretty clear that she'd have the most difficult time in the general election. If Huckabee does indeed get the Republican nomination, The Last Thing In The World I'd want is a close race heading to election day. So that leaves Obama and Edwards, and I'm currently leaning towards Edwards. For the longest time I was hoping that Gore would run again, and if he did Obama would make a good vice president. Then after 8 years of experience as vice president, he'd have the experience in governing, as opposed to just legislating, to be a great, as opposed to just good, president. While I prefer Obama's personality to Edwards', I agree more with Edwards on the major issues, and I also think he'd have a more aggressive leadership style. This was made perfectly clear when Obama attacked Paul Krugman after he criticized the obvious deficiencies in Obama's health care plan. Obama seems sincere when he says he wants to put an end to the partisanship that have marked the Bush years. This is what people say they want, but then they also say that they don't like mudslinging in campaigns, even though the evidence clearly shows that negative ads work. After 8 years of the Bush administration, I think the first thing we need is not less partisanship, but a quick reversal of all the horrible policies that Bush has enacted. Then when Bush's policies have all been nullified and replaced with progressive alternatives, then we can try a less partisan adminstration. While it isn't as attractive as the no longer possible Gore / Obama, I think Edwards / Obama is the best option available.

So, in short:

1. Huckabee sucks, but please stop telling everyone until the primaries are over.

2. Edwards / Obama '08!