The Isms are Still Alive

This primary saw so many records broken. We had a woman run the longest and most successful primary campaign ever. We had a man who would be the oldest president if he wins. We had an African American take the nomination. We had a Latino run, and be viewed as a somewhat serious threat, and seen as a serious contender for vice president. Then there was an Italian who had a front runner campaign for many months, and we can’t forget that a Mormon ran too.

The primary season was a wonderful example of the diversity of America and a reminder that who you are doesn’t have to define what you will be. But it also was a reminder that isms (chauvinism, racism, religionism, ageism…) are still a problem in America. From the media, to political campaigns, to individuals, this hatred has reared it’s ugly head. But the times when identity became a part of politics, equal opportunity discrimination resulted.

Probably most notable in terms of media sanctioned sexism was Chris Mathews, who has also made many comments indicating his support for Barack Obama, at one time saying Obama made a “thrill” go up his “leg.” He made offensive comments about Hillary saying “The reason she’s a U.S. Senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front runner, is that her husband messed around. [...] She didn’t win it on the merits.” Then of course there is the frequent use of the word bitch to describe Hillary. We heard McCain chuckling and saying that “How do we beat the bitch?” was an excellent question. And then of course everyone refers to Hillary, as Hillary, highlighting her gender in a way that last names don’t.

Even though there was only one candidate with a groundbreaking religion running in the 2008 primaries, Mitt Romney, three religions still came under fire. There was a county chairman working for John McCain that blasted Romney’s religion according to the Boston Globe, “[He] questioned whether Mormons were Christians, discussed an article alleging that the Mormon Church helps fund Hamas, and likened the Mormons’ treatment of women to the Taliban’s.”

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Our Next President…The Final Four!

Nominations for each party are still, for the most part, a mystery. But, I believe the final four candidates to be our next president can now easily be narrowed down. Our next president will either be, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, or John McCain.

The current contenders for the nomination, all of them, are:

Democrats: Top Tier: Clinton, Obama 2nd Tier: Edwards Lower Tier: Gravel?

Republicans: Top Tier: Romney, McCain 2nd Tier: Huckabee, Giuliani Lower Tier: Paul

I’ve based all positions by recent polls, amount of support, donations, the number of delegates each candidate already has, and most importantly the probability of a candidates success based my own biased opinion!

So that leaves the top 4 upper tier candidates within the most likely positions to receive their party’s nomination. Clinton, Obama, Romney, McCain.

In the general election:

I see John McCain as Hillary Clinton’s worst nightmare. And Mitt Romney as Barack Obama’s. Regardless a Democrat will be elected president, but in those two matchups, I see the Democratic candidate facing their toughest opponent. It’s too early to even begin to hypothesize the Democratic and Republican nominees, and unlike other pundits, I believe we have to let the voters decide first.