Kucinich for President!
Over the past few days I’ve had a surge of interest in politics, particularly the 2008 U.S. Presidential race. In general I am skeptical of, even cynical towards, politicians – trusting them to sustain the status quo, to toe the party lines and spew platitudes, and to generally be as detached from their constituencies as possible. But then from the research that I did, one candidate stood out from the pack – a seemingly little known guy named Dennis Kucinich, representative from Ohio’s 10th district. Apparently he ran in the 2004 Democratic Primary, but I – and most people – knew nothing about him. The reason he stands out now is that he is the only candidate in the entire race who voted against the Iraq War Resolution back in 2002. After reviewing the issues on his website – which are far wider in scope, more thoroughly articulated, and more comprehensive than those on any other candidate’s website, I came to think that maybe this is my guy for 2008.
But then something else occurred to me. It seems to me to be a foregone conclusion that this country is not ready for an African-American President, a fact to me which means that should Obama get the nod, he may subsequently be killed. For that reason, I won’t vote for him; I’d rather him stay alive to continue to do good in Congress, and perhaps run at a later time when the country is ready. That being the case, the next question that popped into my head was: Is this country ready for a President who is human first, politician second? That is to say, a President who shows true compassion and universal devotion to human rights and human life. Is a country that would likely kill a President for his ethnicity ready, either, for a President of integrity?
It seems clear to me from what I’ve read that Kucinich is the better human being out of all of the politicians running, but is he the best candidate? He is rather short and diminutive and doesn’t quite have “the look” of an American President, which while it shouldn’t be important, probably is in a country of such staunch materialism and focus on aesthetics. He does have a gorgeous wife, though, which may help him along those lines. I hate that such things might even be relevant.
But also, in being such a humanist, he come across as “too liberal” – liberal somehow having become an epithet in American politics of late. His idea of cutting funding to the war effort in favor of funding the withdrawal of troops and creation of an international peacekeeping force may be seen as weak when compared to more aggressive candidates. That he cares about the rights of minorities – even going so far as to address the need for discussions of reparations – in a country of racists both closet and overt, may not go over well. That he is left of all candidates may lose him the votes of moderates who aren’t sure which party they’ll support.
Never, for as long as I’ve followed politics, have I been so enthusiastic about a Presidential candidate, or any politician for that matter. But the issue of his viability as the Democratic nominee does need to be considered. Were he to get the nod, as he most certainly deserves, would his basic human decency be too decent for most Americans, thus causing him to give the White House back to the Republicans? That definitely cannot be allowed to happen. I wonder…
Dennis Kucinich Campaign Website
http://www.kucinich.us