Super Tuesday 2

Political commentators are making the case that today, in the Alamo state, Hilary Clinton is making her last stand. Win in Texas and she continues to fight for the Democratic nomination for president. Lose, and Obama is heading straight to the convention.

Albeit drawn out longer than in previous elections, the contests of caucuses and primaries has done what it is supposed to do -- give the electorate an opportunity to weed through the long list of senators, representatives and governors who want to be President, and dash some dreams along the way. The first campaign to fizzle out was that of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who ended his run many months before the caucus calendar began, due to poor fundraising (he has since backed Clinton). The last campaign to fold may be that of Clinton.

From a field of more than a dozen contenders, we are left with four. (Ron Paul would make five, but he has turned his attention to getting re-elected for his Texas congressional seat. If he can't be President, he at least wants to retain his excellent group health benefits.)

I came out on this blog with support for Mike Huckabee before it was the hip thing to do. Thanks to my vote, he won the state of Iowa and enjoyed the limelight for exactly one week. Then, John McCain rose up to win in New Hampshire, and continued to win across the country. Huckabee has won on several other occasions in southern contests, but has not caught fire on a national level. He is the most socially conservative candidate left (perhaps the only social conservative) and certainly the easiest of the candidates to listen to, but that's where his attributes have seemed to end for most.

John McCain has been waiting for eight years to become the Republican nominee for President. The wait will become reality by 9 p.m. this evening. McCain is many things -- a war veteran (many say hero), a lifelong politician, and a man often at odds with his party's talking heads. According to candid interviews I've read, he's also is a hothead that, when crossed, might loose his tongue and call anybody any name in the book. That kind of guy doesn't appeal much to me.

But McCain would have to be a far worse candidate for me to seriously consider voting Democrat. If you're feeling blue, Obama appears to be the man with the momentum. Near as I can tell, his campaign has had one single theme -- I didn't vote for the war in Iraq, and don't you forget it. To his oratory credit, he has remained consistent in speech after speech. You know Obama is the candidate of change (because that's what he's told us over and over again). But change from what to what? He's said a lot of things, but can he deliver? He is an undistinguished, short-term Senator, with no proven ability to enact and pass the kinds of legislation he speaks of.

As for Hilary Clinton (now that she's running for president and using her husband as the bullhorn, apparently she isn't using her maiden name Rodham anymore), her time seems to have come and gone. As her hopes fade, so too will the Clinton dynasty. Bill will go back to his million dollar speeches, Hilary to the Senate, where she will become Obama's most adamant supporter and legislation author. The two will cook up a universal health care plan so big and expensive it will make the war costs look like chump change. Never mind that social security and the national debt remain the two biggest fiscal challenges our country faces. Who has a plan to address those issues?

When I go to the voting booth in November, I anticipate having a choice between loose lipped, military hawk John McCain and loose wallet, military wallflower Barack Obama. Oh, it's a tantalizing decision.

Eany, meany, miny, mo,
Which way will my ballot go?
To the left or to the right,
To end the war or keep the fight?
To pay for guns and tanks, and planes,
Or pay for every one's aches and pains?