Tom Miller flies high to land the presidency?

Tom Miller

Tom Miller is a career flight attendant, single dad, believer that America is a Judeo-Christian country and definitely not a career politician. He just wants a short career as president.

Bon mots from Tom -

1. I have no prior political experience and our leaders have proven that none is required.
2. I believe I have what it takes to be an effective President because I will make the tough, unpopular (but necessary) decisions others have not been willing to make.
3. I will not sign any unread or unfunded legislation.

Basically he's got a gripe with politicians. Here's his campaign website.

Fred Karger - Gay, Republican and running for president

Fred Karger is new to me. On this video he is in his contemplating running for president stage. He is now a declared candidate describing himself as "Gay, Republican and Running For President" which will attract many and detract others. He describes himself as an independent Republican, which may mean he's not mainstream or just speaks his mind.

Here's Fred contemplating his candidature -

and here's his campaign website.

Obama and his ratings

"Is that Peeping Tom over there?"

President Obama has let it be known he's running again for the presidency. 2012 will be an olympic year all round. One thing Americans get on a daily basis is a good dose of popularity ratings. Obama has had some of the highest highs and lowest lows. Pundits make a good living out of asking dumb questions to a befuddled nation. No wonder being president is an exacting business. It's not Libya, the debt crisis or the health care business that matters. No, it's the polls, dummy!

And one aspect of the polling business is telling the voters how religious or otherwise the candidates are. I've happened upon this site. Called "GodVoter.org" (as if God was on the ballot paper!) and it goes into detail about a candidate's religious affilations or lack of them. I get a distinct whiff of holier-than-thou mentality creeping in.

Barack Obama gets nobbled for his "unChristian heritage" and his "eccentric beliefs about God". Sarah Palin is upheld as a paragon of "pro-life" virtue. Yet she is not above letting bears of all kinds die in the name of oil exploration. Rather pompously this site says "John McCain identifies himself a Christian but what we have and have not heard from John McCain about his Christian beliefs raises some questions." Cheeky beggars. What business is it of theirs?

I do hope Americans vote for a president on the issues that matter and not on trying to emulate some kind of protestant conscience-prodding excercise. This organisation sounds like it is staffed by window peepers, keen on twitching the curtains. Are they so squeaky clean themselves? Or trying to be like the Pharisees?

Sarah Palin curries favour with the Indians

"Ooh look! There's India"

Sarah Palin has left Alaska to visit India, a place she definitely can't  see from her kitchen window. She's been chatting up the high and mighty at dinners, galas and conclaves. The Indians seem mightily impressed, but then they are not given to rubbishing people they don't know. Mrs Palin is giving them her cookie charm offensive with such lines as "There is so much in common between India and the US" and "Our ties and bonds are deep. They are driven by free people and free markets and not just by political summits". I doubt if many Americans sit up each morning in bed and think that Uncle Sam has deep ties with India. As for free people and free markets, the vast majority of Indian people scrape by without being driven anywhere.

She loftily tells her audience, "Relations between India and the US are key to our world relations, regardless of who is president". They are expected to interpret this as putting them on the top table. But in reality it's all rather gauche. In fact, it's totally erroneous. The United States isn't going to consult India on everything. It is not key to realpolitik at all. No, far more realeconomik. But she may have thought this too crude a political step to take.

"America has long been famous for (its) rags-to-riches story. Today, India too has the same story. India is no longer a struggling economy." It's true in parts. But mostly untrue. But it sounds great, doesn't it? America has been a mixed bag of a story as has India. Certainly there were a few in rags but most Americans, whether of the colonial sort or the republican sort, have managed quite well. Indians on the other hand have two economies. One for the well-to-do, with many millionaires and the other, much larger, for the rest. Dolly Parton likes to say "we were dirt poor" and she probably exemplifies Palin's comments, but Parton is in the tiny minority. Even the Pilgrim Fathers had more going for them than rags to walk about in.

Sarah Palin means a lot to a lot of people, but does she really mean what she says, says what she means or just says it anyway because she thinks it is so? If she ever did win the presidency I can't think she would make a great president. More a homespun one with ready quip for every eventuality.

Ron Paul mulling over 2012 presidential bid

Despite speculation that Ron Paul was eying up the Senate seat of Kay Bailey Hutchinson in Texas, he has told the National Journal that a presidential bid in 2012 is still the more viable option. Last time round Ron Paul was the most successful candidate on the internet but the least successful candidate as far as fair shares of TV time and Republican Party favours were concerned.

2012 will be different. No more Fox News manipulation. No more sidelining by the GOP establishment. I bet that if it were a Ron Paul versus Barack Obama contest, the older man would win. Why? Because Ron Paul has seen through the profligacy of big government as well as the short-sightedness of status quo politicians.