Quick Picks: Democratic Candidates

Well, we've had our first debate for the Democratic candidates, and I actually sat through a solid portion of it (do I get a cookie for that?).  In an effort to fill up the stage rather than just having Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton debate each other, CNN found three random white guys to participate in the debate.  A small percentage of Americans have heard of these other three men before tonight, and they will undoubtedly withdraw from the race soon, leaving the Liberals to choose between Larry David and Doctor Blight.  I mean Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  My bad there.  But if you fell asleep during the debate and had visions of Curb Your Enthusiasm combined with Captain Planet, that would have been perfectly normal.  As I did with the Republicans earlier, I will rank the candidates, from worst to best, in how good of a choice they would be to represent their party in the general election.  Since there are fewer candidates, I will allow myself a few more sentences for each candidate this time.

6th, Lincoln Chafee: The only thing I can see that qualifies this man to be president, apart from his first name, is that he actually kind of stood up against Hillary at one point during the debate.  He's got to be pretty close to pulling out.  I think the only reason he was in in the first place was because someone asked, "Is anyone here named Washington or Lincoln who wants to be a candidate for President?"

5th, Martin O'Malley: O'Malley actually made some strong statements and had stood up to Hillary at times.  He's also a distant third in the polls, a virtual unknown, and has no chance of getting his party's nomination, let alone beating the Republican nominee.  He also appears to be pretty far to the left and unwilling to compromise.

4th, Jim Webb: Webb sounded intelligent and thoughtful during the debate, and he's not afraid to stray from the mainstream Democratic views on several issues.  On some issues, I agree with Webb, and he appears strong and willing to speak out against what he believes is wrong.  He sounds like the only moderate Democratic candidate, which is why I have him ranked ahead of Chafee and O'Malley, since that may get him some Independent votes in the general election if he had any shot whatsoever of getting there, which he does not.

3rd, Hillary Clinton: Those who are offended that Donald Trump is the leading candidate for Republicans should be offended tenfold that Hillary Clinton is the leading candidate for Democrats.  Hillary is an embarrassment, a criminal, and a nasty person.  I'm not sure which of her many scandals is worse, but she belongs in prison, not in the White House.  Virtually any woman picked at random in America would do a better job than her as Commander-in-Chief, and I would feel more secure too.  The absurd funding from super PACs is sickening, the idea that the type of "change" she would bring would be any better than what Obama has brought does not make sense, and she simply modifies all her views to whatever is best for her politically.  An uneventful moment in the debate perfectly proved that point for me, as she was asked if she was ready to take a stance on whether or not marijuana should be legally nationally, and her response was that she was not yet ready to take a stance and that we need to do more research.  Of course, five minutes of research will paint a pretty clear picture of why marijuana should be legal, if not the results of weed having been legal for well over a year in several states already.  The real reason that Hillary won't take a stand here is the same reason that she opposed gay marriage for so long, and it's not because her views "evolved" like everyone's views evolve on something (heck, even mine have changed over the years on gay marriage).  Once public opinion clearly shows that the issue is trending further toward legalization and that it is no longer a divisive issue for the Left, Hillary's opinion will go the same way.  Oh, and the other candidates all missed a really easy point of attack here when she agreed with Bernie Sanders that people shouldn't be imprisoned for marijuana violations: An obvious solution to that problem is legalization.  I really strongly dislike Hillary, as you may have realized by now, but I also don't think she would do well in the general election, because she is a polarizing figure and a terrible, scandal-ridden candidate.

2nd, Bernie Sanders: I want to like Bernie.  I really do.  Bernie is the one candidate for the Democrats that truly would bring change.  His views on marijuana and super PACs are spot-on, and even a handful of his other economic views make sense.  But the problem is that he is, very literally, a Socialist.  The changes he would bring are Socialist changes.  Many of his views have been consistent though, even when they were unpopular.  Sanders supported gay marriage before I was born, and he's been speaking the same on economic issues for decades.  But there is one important exception here, and that's gun control.  Sanders, once endorsed by the NRA as a candidate for the Senate, pointed out in the debate several times that he now has a D- grade from them.  As he's gained popularity on the far left, Sanders has predictably become less gun-friendly, because pro-gun does not sit well with his far-left base.  But while other candidates are further to the left than Sanders on gun control, nominating him would be a giant lurch to the left, even for the Democratic party.  It would, however, energize the base.  Sanders is likable, and will garner some Independent votes, but he is a Socialist.

1st, Joe Biden: Biden would basically just continue to Obama administration, and is not a particularly strong candidate, or even a candidate at all at this point.  But if he declares his candidacy, it would not be difficult for him to get the nomination and compete in the general election, because, for some reason, people like him.  I don't like him, but I suspect that the reason people do is because he's not Hillary and he's not a Socialist.  The real winner of the debate wasn't even on the stage tonight.  Was it Joe Biden, or was it the Republicans?