Hillary Clinton asked and answered this question on Saturday (June 7) but as usual she was dishonest.  The answer is she wants to be president of the United States!

 

Her speeches on Saturday and the previous Tuesday were all about her and how she has been mistreated by the press and unfairly attacked by everyone.  She almost won the primary season but lost because of her campaign mismanagement.  Instead of offering a congratulatory concession to Barak Obama she spoke and behaved as if she was the winner.

 

The press (media) was more than gracious in their reporting on Saturday.  Even when she was almost one hour late arriving at the National Building Museum in Washington there was no comments about this manipulative tactic.  I believe she planned to be late so that she could be in the public eye for one more hour.  No one that I heard discussing her concession speech gave any criticism of her in any way.  Her claims in that speech that sexual discrimination was the reason she lost the election were totally ignored.

  

Although she lost the delegate count she actually won more popular votes than Barak Obama.  She is an outstanding campaigner.  Her following remains loyal.  She could bring many voters to Barak Obama.  If he does not have a significant lead in the polls during July and August then Hillary Clinton would be his best choice for Vice President.  That would not be what she wants but it would be close.

Uh Oh!  The third party candidates are at it again.  This time it’s Bob Barr, former conservative congressman from Georgia.  Now he is running for president under the Libertarian Party banner.

 

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080526/D90T730G0.html. 

 

Mr. Barr is a conservative who believes spending and civil rights intrusions by the Republican Party justify his entry into the presidential race. If Mr. Barr’s candidacy results in siphoning contributions from Senator John McCain, the Democrats will have an even better opportunity to win the White House.

 

No third party candidate has ever won.  What they have done is reduced the chances for either a Republican or Democrat to win an election. Ralph Nader ran for president under the Green Party banner in 1996 and 2000.   Many blame Al Gore’s loss in 2000 to Nader’s siphoning of votes cast in Florida.

 

Dixiecrats organized in response to President Harry S. Truman’s proposed 1948 civil rights package, understood by many whites as the greatest threatened federal intrusion into the South since Reconstruction. The package consisted of four primary pieces of legislation: abolition of the poll tax, a federal anti-lynching law, desegregation legislation, and a permanent Federal Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to prevent racial discrimination in jobs funded by federal dollars. Despite the splintering of the Democratic party, Mr. Truman did win the election. Many Southerners – 1,169,021 popular votes and 39 electoral votes were drawn from the Democratic party to cast their ballots for South Carolina Governor J. Strom Thurmond and Mississippi Governor J. Fielding Wright (president and vice-president).

 

John McCain would be 72 years old at his inauguration ceremony if he is elected to the presidency.  Even if he is an energetic person age does impact everyone’s mental and physical well being.  Since I am 69, I can speak to some knowledge on the subject.  I am energetic but I do not have the energy I had when I was younger and neither does Senator McCain.  

The New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/us/politics/24mccain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th&adxnnlx=1211649075-xtYbz1WmGefOEP7yvozihw about Mr. McCain’s health makes me suspicious. Two items come to my attention.  First the medical information was released just before Memorial Day weekend holiday when many people are focused on family events. Second were the limits placed on reporters viewing the medical documents.

 

“The reporters were permitted three hours to review and take notes on the 1,173 pages of Mr. McCain’s medical documents, spanning 2000 to 2008, but they were not permitted to remove the documents from the room or photocopy them.

 

Campaign officials said they imposed the restrictions to prevent the widespread dissemination of the actual records and to protect Mr. McCain’s privacy.

 

In the conference calls, Mr. McCain’s doctors reported that Mr. McCain takes a variety of medications: simvastatin to control his cholesterol levels; hydrochlorothiazide for kidney stone prevention; aspirin for blood clot prevention; Zyrtec, an antihistamine, as necessary for nasal allergies; Ambien CR, as necessary for sleep when traveling; and a multiple vitamin tablet.

 

According to a pool report based on the review of the records, Mr. McCain’s cholesterol level was recorded as high in 2003, with a total cholesterol of 226 and an LDL, or harmful cholesterol, of 139, and an HDL, or good cholesterol, of 35. Mr. McCain was put on Vytorin, which worked in reducing his cholesterol in subsequent checks, but he was taken off this year after reports that the drug may not work.

Mr. McCain was instead put on simvastatin, which the records said did not reduce his cholesterol by as much but was deemed “acceptable.”

 

Every person who has been president has been under significant pressure.  As you look at the pictures of the presidents at the beginning and end of their tenures you can see the toll this job takes.  John McCain will have to select a vice president like Harry Truman or Lyndon Johnson.  Those were men who easily stepped into the presidency and took command.