POLITICS

I remember watching both nominating conventions on black and white TV in 1956 (I had just turned 11 years old and it is a testament, perhaps, to the paucity of good TV back then). I thought it was fascinating, and we didn't even get to see the "smoke-filled rooms." Noisy, raucous, confusing and in the end, from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, Eisenhower/Nixon for the Republicans, and from Chicago, Stevenson/Kefauver for the Democrats.

Both of the outcomes were pretty predictable. Back then, the Democrats were intent on putting forward their champion who embodied principles held dear by the Party, regardless of his appeal to the electorate. Wow, they have surely gotten over that!! The Republicans would have had to display the kind of death wish we saw with the McCain/Palin ticket. But they rode a strong horse and didn't get off. "I Like Ike."

Here's the kicker--those conventions were the beginning and end of the presidential nomination cycle and they were held in August of 1956, about 75 days before the election. We are now being pounded over the head with politics and have been a year and one-half before the election. At this point, we still have over 14 months to go. Getting kinda long.

Last debate: Jeb Bush just doesn't have it. He is dull and not made for TV. Trump is made for TV, but empty of anything substantive. One would hope that Carly would coach whoever gets the nomination on how to handle the media, but in my mind, the potential nominee (with both Washington and gubernatorial experience) is Kasich. The ticket will be, my prediction, Kasich/Rubio.

Now, on the Democratic side. The public seems pretty unlikely to hire a continuance of the Obama days. Clinton's stock has plummeted, not helped by her admission that she has "thought about" putting Bill on the ticket with her. Ah, yes. Bernie Sanders. Going to turn the US into a socialist state, like Sweden or something. The good folks of North Dakota tried that in the first half of the twentieth century, and despite their homogeneous demographic makeup, their Scandinavian heritage, they just couldn't make the socialist/communist deal work. Not in America.

The Dems need to get busy with a real candidate, and soon.

Meanwhile, President Obama has cautioned the candidates that bad-mouthing the United States (like he did in both elections) is not a good thing to do. Gee, it got him elected...twice.

Meanwhile, the business of governance takes a back seat to this interminable made-for-TV reality show.