During the run-up to the 2008 election, I couldn't write enough about the candidates, the politics, the "race matters in the race" aspect of, um, the race. I felt strongly we all needed to take care with our votes, to understand the political landscape of this country and most of all, to not let the mainstream media lead voters around on a leash.
Four years later, I still believe our duty as voters is paramount, but I have written hardly a word about the election. Specifically, I haven't written about the Republican candidates.
I refuse to participate in their shenanigans. Republican candidates for president are running because they're bored, they're ruled by ego, and they love the attention of the mainstream media. They aren't running to win. Some even seem hellbent on mocking the entire political process.
Like Herman Cain. Many pundits (and nitwits) pegged Cain as a "viable" black, Republican candidate. He was never even close to that, even though the media swore he could totally be the first black, Republican president, which he totally could not.
Cain never held anything close to elected office. He used to be the CEO of Godfather's Pizza and has written at least one book. Nevertheless, the media loved covering Herman Cain, even though he had little substance, even though he wasn't prepared to talk about the issues, even though he made policy suggestions solely based on a children's cartoon and admitted it.
It wasn't until women started popping up with sexual harassment allegations against him that Cain seemed to realize this whole running-for-president-thing wasn't fun anymore. Thus, at a new campaign headquarters, where volunteers had worked tirelessly throughout the night to get things just perfect for its grand opening, Cain dropped out of the race.
Only months earlier he'd overtaken Donald Trump as the Republican darling. Now, none other than Newt Gingrich has replaced Cain.
Gingrich is well versed in politics, because, despite his insistence to the contrary, he was a politician. In fact, Gingrich's claim to fame is being the first and only Speaker of the House disciplined for ethics violations that, by the way, cost him his position and forced him out of Washington in disgrace.
Newt Gingrich will never be president. Like, never, ever, ever, never, no. Add to the list of "not-a-single-chance-in-hell-of-ever-being-POTUS," Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and anyone else the media has even a mild interest in.
Next time you hear one of these men say something outrageous that stops your heart and makes you fear the direction the country would head under their leadership (like scrapping the Department of Education, or urging starving children to Dumpster dive for food), remind yourselves to keep calm and carry on.
Sitting presidents win re-election in the United States more than 70 percent of the time. Because of this, any of the serious Republican candidates have made it clear they aren't touching 2012: Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie to name a few. These guys could be viable candidates, but they aren't going to risk their one shot at being president on an election cycle they have little more than a 25 percent chance of winning. Thus, they sit quietly on the sidelines, while their fellow party members make a fool of themselves and insult the intelligence of everyone in this country.
Over the weekend, after yet another state reported its primary results, someone asked this question: "Newt wins South Carolina; Romney wins New Hampshire; Santorum wins Iowa; what does this mean?"
It means four more years of Barack Obama as our president.