And They're Off! The 2016 Campaign is Underway . . .

I apologize to foreign readers. Our political system gets a little crazier every election cycle. It is hard to believe but the campaigns for the November 2016 elections are already underway, and, in fact, have been for some time. We have had four candidates formally announce that they are running--Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton, and Marco Rubio--and we will see several more in the near future. I didn't really want to write about this stuff yet, but . . . it's either that or mope around the house because my favorite TV show, "Justified," is coming to an end. Getting forcibly retired is rough . .  .

I have a couple of favorites in the Republican field but will keep quiet for now as to who they are. Let me just say that it is a very interesting field, indeed. There are some very good candidates and potential candidates out there. I can safely say that any one of these already announced or soon-to-announce GOPers stands head-and-shoulders above Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democrat nominee (we'll get back to that in a moment.) Any one of them has a stronger record of accomplishment, ethical standards, and political smarts, than the rather tired and tiring, and corrupt prevaricator Hillary Clinton.

Let's deal with the kick-off of the Clinton campaign. For me, so far, the operative word is "WEIRD." She seems to hold a bulging campaign war chest--some reports indicate as much $2.5 BILLION--but you couldn't tell from the Ted Mack Amateur Hour roll-out of her latest effort for the top job.  All very weird. Hillary launched with a video announcement that makes her look distant, aloof, arrogant, controlling, and condescending. Note to campaign managers: when you have a candidate that is, in fact, distant, aloof, arrogant, controlling, and condescending, you might not want to emphasize those characteristics.  She made this announcement not to a cheering crowd but to a camera, and then followed that with a bizarre road trip leaving from the Clinton mansion in very upscale Chapaqua, New York to Iowa.

This road trip to meet "people" was proudly announced as undertaken in a "van" named Scooby. Huh? Scooby? What marketing genius came up with that? Is it supposed to appeal to the watchers of Saturday morning cartoon shows of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s? An attempt at evoking down-to-earth hippies doing a Kerouac impression? At conjuring images of a flower-bedecked VW van, belching marijuana smoke from its windows? Nutty. The "van," of course, turned out to be a slick mega-buck Chevy conversion, a rolling living room, a very modern limo, that ripped across the Midwest at high-speed while escorted by the Secret Service. Hillary hardly bothered to stop and talk to anybody, eating at a Chipotle incognito--our only images of her are those provided by grainy security camera footage, conjuring an impression of an armed hold-up by an elderly Patty Hearst in a pant suit.

Why didn't she just fly to Iowa if she wasn't going to talk to anybody? Then today, I see her sitting in what appears to be a car repair shop, with an old alternator and some other assorted car parts scattered around behind her for artistic "blue collar" effect, prattling on about how she wants to be a "champion" for the middle class and fight to get big money out of our political campaigns. Note to campaign managers: when sitting on perhaps $2.5 billion and with a very rich candidate who routinely charges $250,000 to give a vapid speech, you might not want to put the emphasis on money as an evil in campaigns. Just a thought.

My number two son called me just as I was starting to write this. He makes this prediction: Hillary wins neither the White House nor the Dem nomination. I am a bit more cautious, but the kid might have a point. What can Hillary say to overcome her long track record of scandal and nil accomplishment? I don't see an enthusiasm wave for Hillary; the fact that she launched her campaign so early, when there is no obvious Dem opponent on the horizon for the nomination, just might indicate that Hillary's wealthy campaign team worries about Evita's their leader's numbers. Let's face it, any Republican who doesn't pull his punches can eat her alive in debate. "Remember when you proudly told us in 2008 that Obama was not ready for the 2 am phone call but you were? Well, that call came from Benghazi and you were where? Why was the Embassy put on hold?"

On the other hand, I have been impressed by the roll-outs of the Cruz, Paul, and Rubio campaigns. Not even the echo chamber legacy media could hide the genuine enthusiasm these articulate and knowledgable Senators attract.

Anyhow, enough. We will discuss all this to death in the coming months.