THE PRESIDENTIAL LEADERBOARD: The Promise of Greatness

It has become a cliché: The next election will be the most critical in the nation’s history. Traditionally, that designation is reserved for elections in which the winning candidate rises to greatness: The elections of Jefferson in 1800, Lincoln in 1860 and 1864, and Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.

If not for an assassin’s bullet, the elections of 1960 and 1968 may have risen to a level of greatness and the election of 2000 may have qualified if the winner had taken office.

When one looks at the critical problems facing the American nation – global climate change, a world at war, an economy imperiled – the opportunities for greatness are abundant.

When one looks at the leading candidates for the 2008 election, however, it is difficult to envision a great leader emerging yet that is the challenge facing the electorate.

It is instructive to recall that before Lincoln, the nation elected Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. Before Roosevelt, we elected Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. The consequences of choosing poorly at critical times are as profound as the consequences of choosing wisely.

For those who limit their choice to candidates with a realistic chance of winning the presidency, theirs is the solemn responsibility of plucking greatness from the few who have risen to the top of the presidential field.

THE NEGOTIATOR: HILLARY CLINTON

No one goes to greater lengths to avoid taking a hard stand than the junior senator from New York. She is a tried and true Free Trader who talks a populist line. She promises to end the war but continue the occupation. She manages to seem pro business to her corporate sponsors and pro environment to the Democratic base. Her twists and turns on the Iraq War are painfully well chronicled and her vote on the Kyle-Lieberman amendment branding the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization shortly before the intelligence community debunked the Iranian threat was astonishing for its poor timing.

Hillary stands accused of being a closet Neocon.

If you want mandatory health insurance, indefinite occupation and an oil friendly green policy then Hillary is your candidate. If you believe she is the best candidate to defeat the Republicans, you have not read the poll numbers. If you want to bring back the good old days, have a nice dream.

Hillary remains the Democratic frontrunner but her strategy of surrogate mudslinging runs the risk of blowback. She has already alienated the progressive antiwar left and the damage is irreparable. She is a divider, not a uniter.

The great shame is that the first woman with a realistic chance at the White House is so fundamentally compromised that progressive women cannot support her cause.

THE PROSECUTOR: RUDY GIULIANI

Not since Bogie has there been such a prominent tough guy with a lisp. Rudy will forever be known for his "spontaneous like" comment after September 11, 2001: "Thank God George Bush is our president." He was just as glad that friend Bernie Kerik was going to Washington as head of Homeland Security before he came under indictment.

Democratic Senator Joe Biden is right: America’s mayor knows very little about foreign policy yet he is willing to pretend he does. Rudy still believes that Iraq is the frontline in the Global War on Terror, Saddam Hussein was connected to 9-11, Iran has nuclear weapons and Hugo Chavez is a communist dictator. If Rudy is elected, the Neocons can keep their apartments in Georgetown, Halliburton stock continues to rise and Blackwater is still in business.

A vote for Rudy is a vote for war.

THE PRAGMATIST: BARACK OBAMA

Senator Obama appeared on the national scene with a bold message of unity and idealism. Though his policies appear to mirror Hillary Clinton’s in large measure, he strikes a chord when he decries mandatory health insurance as a policy of the insurance companies. On the war in Iraq, Obama’s virtue is that opposed the invasion from the start.

For all the criticisms of his experience, the Senator from Illinois appears every bit as knowledgeable, as well informed and polished as the Clintons. If a vote for Obama is a gamble, as former president Bill Clinton insinuated, at least there is an upside. Obama looks like a statesman, talks like a visionary and inspires as few politicians can but he drafts policy like the negotiator. Ironically, it may be the shadow of Hillary Clinton that holds him back.

A vote for Obama is a vote of faith for those who perceive in his character the seed of greatness. Will he end the war and the occupation? Will he secure universal health care? Will he stand up for international labor and fair trade? Will he seize the initiative of green technology? Will he take on the corporate interests?

If you believe he will rise to the challenge, he is a worthy alternative to the Clinton mandate. If you do not, he is just another opportunistic politician.

THE CHRISTIAN LEADER: MIKE HUCKABEE

President Huckabee? Never say never. The Governor of Arkansas defines the Christian right and the support he is building is a perfect measure of fundamentalist discontent with the phony and opportunistic policy turnarounds of Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney.

Huckabee is a feel good Christian who is completely unfit to be the commander of a faltering super power at war. Do we really want a president who believes the Lord Almighty is behind his rise in the polls? Do we really want another president who believes he is the chosen one? Do we want a president who is not certain how Jesus would stand on capital punishment, torture or aggressive war?

Governor Huckabee has pushed Governor Romney to the religious right. As an individual who believes that spiritual beliefs are a private matter and that the separation of church and state is a fundamental tenet of democracy, there is no place for me in either Huckabee’s or Romney’s America.

Do we really want a Christian leader in command of an imperialist crusade? I pray that we do not.

THE POPULIST: JOHN EDWARDS

Senator Edwards began his quest for the White House four years ago as the only candidate in memory to address the problem of poverty. The poor did not and do not vote yet here was a man staking his claim to champion the disenfranchised.

Edwards began as the rhetorical populist and is evolving into the real deal. Some may rightly question whether his evolution is sincere yet we would do well to remember that FDR did not embrace the principles of the New Deal until Huey Long and the Great Depression pushed him to it. We should recall as well that Ralph Nader’s rationale for running a third party campaign was to apply pressure to shape mainstream politics. At this juncture, only Edwards has responded. He stands alone on the leader board as the best candidate for the issues that matter most: Iraq, Iran, New Orleans, Fair Trade, global climate change, corporate dominance and universal health care. We can only hope that the process of evolution continues.

Ironically, Edwards’ handicap in the primary season is that he is a white male but if the economy stumbles badly (as it inevitably will), the common people will begin to envision poverty and will turn to the populist message. Edwards will capitalize.

Barring the unspeakable, Edwards would defeat any Republican in the general election.

THE CHAMELEON: MITT ROMNEY

We have seen this act from a Massachusetts politician before: He was pro choice before he was anti abortion. He was for gun control before he was against it. As a governor, he was tolerant of homosexuals and undocumented workers. He claims to have evolved but these are not policy positions but principles of moral founding. As such, his evolution appears less guided by principle and more by poll numbers and focus groups.

Mitt Romney is the Republican equivalent to Hillary Clinton but he faces the competition of Rudy Giuliani. Both have shaped their policies to the majority position of the party on every issue from immigration and abortion to war and taxes.

Oh yes, Romney is a Mormon but we will have to wait for someone other than the former governor to explain exactly what that means. As the surge of support for Huckabee attests, it likely means the Christian fundamentalist base will abandon him.

Like all the Republican contenders, success in the general election would require an unspeakable event.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). THE CHRONICLES HAVE BEEN POSTED ON NUMEROUS CITES OF THE WORLDWIDE WEB, INCLUDING THE ALBION MONITOR, BELLACIAO, BUZZLE.COM, COUNTERPUNCH, DISSIDENT VOICE, THE NATIONAL FREE PRESS AND PACIFIC FREE PRESS. SEE WWW.JAZZMANCHRONICLES.BLOGSPOT.COM.

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