Ranking the Presidential Candidates as Campaigners

This will shock some of you. But, this is going to be a non-partisan entry (what???!!). But, just for the record, I think President George W. Bush is the worst American president since our 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant, who presided over the White House from 1869-1877.

I am also going to shock those three of four people who visit this blog on a semi-regular basis, by entering something completely original! There are thus going to be no useful links at the bottom of this because this is 100 % my opinion.

Here in order from top to bottom are all the folks running for president, and time permitting I may list a few candidates for the next Rockingham County, NC, school board race.

The Best to the Worst

1. (tie) Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) and former Mass. governor Mitt Romney (R). These guys were both in the same Labor Day parade in New Hampshire. Is that any surprise? These two guys are as omnipresent as they come.

I would give the nod to Obama, since he has a day job in the U.S. Senate, but Romney came here to the Tarheel State for a fundraiser in Raleigh at the home of the multi-millionaire owner of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team (though assuredly I am neither a Republican or a Mormon!).....so, maybe he cares about us.........

Romney could be the GOP-equivalent of Mr. Clinton....he is that good at chicken bbq politics. But, Obama is equally relentless and one should never underestimate the power of Oprah.Perhaps, if these two are the nominees then a Supreme Court justice might once again decide who the president is.

3. Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, actually makes his ultra-right wing politics views seem downright cozy. And, he isn't afraid of NPR or Bill Maher. As a former Southern Baptist minister, he nows how to preach to the choir without being as scary as Newt Gingrich, and that's scary! But, I think the financial limits of his campaign budget will prevent him from being the second president from Hope, Ark.

4. Hillary........Hillary........Hillary.......Yes, the candidate that Republicans love to hate is not about to self-sabotage anytime soon. She has been grilled by the left too, with "The Nation," "Mother Jones" and Michael Moore all taking shots at her. But, this only seems to make Hillary stronger. She unveiled her new health care plan today, and tomorrow she will probably tell us she plans to win people over in Ogden, Utah. It may not work, but it sounds darn good and ultimately if we've learned anything from Bush 43, it is that people want to believe what they hear.

5. John Edwards_ No one here in  the Tarheel State seems to be paying much attention to him, which is disturbing because he is from here! But, Iowa seems to be another story as Edwards has brilliantly traveled the state 18 times over, so much so that he probably knows everyone in Cedar Rapids as well as the names of their pets! I would prefer if Edwards tried to return to the Senate, especially since there appear to be few North Carolina Democrats trying to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R). Her voting record isactually much more conservative than people, even in places like Chapel Hill, seem to realize.

6.Rudy Guilani..........The former Republican Big Apple mayor is quite the personality, and he has milked 9-11 so much that he should feel comfortable on an Iowa farm. But, he just doesn't seem to be engaging people in places like Nashua, NH, the way Romney is. He is undoubtedly one of the few Republicans who can be at ease besides Leno or Letterman, but the same thing was once said of John McCain.

7. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Ct)....Yes, 90 of all Americans have no idea he's running for president and that might include 50 of the folks who live in New Haven. But, he has been on Charlie Rose, Conan O'Brien, Tavis Smiley and all the Sunday morning talk shows. For a guy with no chance, he sure seems to put himself out there. And, he has a new book too.........well, ok, they all have new books, don't they?

8. Sen. John McCain (R-Az)....."The New York Times" reported that McCain was at a VFW in Rock Hill, SC, over the weekend. It's a good thing the local college, Winthrop University, does not have a football team or perhaps only nine would've shown up. The once-renegade maverick who once got the attention of independents and even Democrats (myself included) has isolated himself from all corners of the geopolitical spectrum and his campaign is an absolute horrid mess. But, they still like him in New Hampshire_ the problem is that state neighbors Romney's Massachusetts.

9. Gov. Bill Richardon (D-NM)__Wow, here is my personal choice for prez. Gov. Richardson has done it all. What a resume! And, his campaign ad for the gubernatorial race in New Mexico where he pretended to be a sheriff out of an old western was brilliant. But, he is losing out in every debate to the big three contenders. I have been consistently disappointed with him in this regard. If he had a full eight minutes to talk, it would be a different story. But, he doesn't. And, just as the likes of Abraham Lincoln would probably not make itin today's soundbite Youtube world, the same can be said for our best politicians.

10. Cong. Ron Paul (R-Tx)_ Amazingly enough, I completely forgot to include this guy when I initially posted this entry on Monday night. I think Ron Paul is absolutely right about the fiasco in Iraq, and Republicans should remove the cotton from their ears whenever he says: "It was a mistake to go, and it's a mistake to stay." But, unfortunately regardless of what he does or how he campaigns, a Republican against Bush's war is about as likely to get the nomination as a Democrat who favors the melting of the polar ice caps.

11. Fred Dalton Thompson......The former Republican Tennessee governor will soon realize that entering the presidential race THIS LATE is kind of like asking permission from Thompson's "Days of Thunder" co-star Tom Cruise if he can meet Katie Holmes at Starbucks.

12.Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).....Next.....

13.Sen. Sam Brownback (D-Ks)....Oh, this guy's even worse.

14.Cong. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).......He gets more attention than many more-qualified candidates, but then again everyone was talking about Britney Spears' appearance at the MTV Music Awards Show too.

15.Cong. Duncan Hunter (R-Cal.)_ I'm not even sure he's still in the race, and I actually pay attention to presidential campaigns from gavel to gavel. That can't be good for Hunter.

16.Well, I knew I'd forget someone's name....He's that old man who used to be the Democratic senator from Alaska in the 1960s....Maybe, someone in Anchorage knows who I'm talking about. Mike Gravel? Hmmmm....I guess that's his name.

17.Cong. Tom Tercredo (R-Col.)........To quote Joseph Conrad: "The horror! The horror!"

Ooooops....I noticed that I mispelled Rudy Guiliani's name, but I caught it before you did!