Random, short political thoughts

It is pretty alarming to me that I can go back and read all of my election ramblings from four years ago...that means I have been blogging for a LONG time now. But here we are again, talking about Iowa.

In addition to the absolutely divine Laurwilk, Iowa gives us the opening of election season!!! To be fair, the Iowa caucus is a ridiculous exercise where a very, very small number of people cast what seems to be an inordinately disproportionately influential vote. This is especially true on the Republican side, where the state's small evangelical population exerts major influence on the process that is not at all representative of the broader electorate.

Mike Huckabee won in 2008...just remember that...

So, being the civics geek that I am, I watched many of the returns last night with great interest, and with amazement at the closeness of it. 8 votes...EIGHT VOTES!!! It is almost inconceivable that an election of virtually any size can be decided by only 8 votes. And, of course, I have some other thoughts...

Michelle Bachmann...we hardly knew ya. Who on earth could have possibly seen this coming...?

Rick Perry...you should take a cue from Ms. Bachmann.

Jon Hunstman...I wish I could tell you why no one cares about you...

Newt Gingrich...you should be less Newt-y.

So...moving on. I love Ron Paul. I really do. Very few politicians care less about saying unpopular things, and that is an incredibly admirable trait. There is absolutely nothing about him that is not 100% authentic, and he is perfectly willing to talk about unconventional ideas: his entire foreign policy platform is way off the beaten path, but may make more sense than any of our last half-dozen Presidents, at least.. He was a vocal critic of the Fed well before it was fashionable, and wrote the ideology for the Tea Party long before anyone cared, and has never wavered from it. That said, he is just a little bit too out there to be President;-)

Mitt Romney is going to win the nomination. I have almost no doubt about that...he has more money, a better machine and is a more polished and disciplined candidate than the others. His basic problem is that he just doesn't really inspire an intense following. Lots of respect, sure, but just not a ton of real love. Part of which could just be an inability to identify...he is rich, smart, accomplished, good looking and just about everything else you could want to be...

And finally, yesterday's flavor of the day, Rick Santorum. If you are looking for a good laugh, Google him, and glance over the first couple of entries. In fairness, this is not his fault. But then, if you are wondering what would make Barack Obama the happiest incumbent ever, look at the reasons the people of Pennsylvania threw Santorum out a couple of years ago. This is entirely his fault.