Obama or Clinton? Giuliani or McCain? Not so fast there...

I believe the media, as much as money, is doing its best to force a very early primary decision on the American people and I, for one, won't stand for it. Since I won't stand for it, then I have to do something and I figured this blog might be my best response.

In the last couple of days, with new polls out, I hear everyone from Wolf Blitzer to Chris Matthews marginalizing everyone but the two front-runners in each party. Well, I'm sorry, but there's no such thing as a CNN Primary, an MSNBC Primary, or a FOX News Primary. The first state primary in our country is several months away and, as far as I'm concerned, anything can happen over such a span of time.

The problem: media and money are working hand in hand. The money is flowing to those candidates capturing the most media attention. And the media is awestruck over those candidates pulling in the biggest donations. Let's face it. All the media wants is a bigger audience, so they're going to push whoever pulls in the biggest audience. America's real problems are secondary. It all boils down to money. A bigger audience means more money. Of course they're going to cover every little catfight (like the recent dust-up between the camps of Hillary and Barack...and the oncoming one on Sunday when they're both seeking the black vote in Selma, Alabama just a block away from each other) and ignore discussing the positions of "lesser" candidates, until they have to deal with them in one of the few scheduled debates.

I'm probably fighting a losing battle here, but this will be one small corner of the media where all announced candidates will be looked at, reviewed, and given a chance to communicate their message. I don't care so much about charisma, looks, or experience. After all, although he was an excellent speaker, I would guess Abraham Lincoln had the charisma of a log, the looks of...well, I needn't go there, and not a whole lot of experience. But he was a tremendous President. What I do care about (and what I believe most Americans care about) is HONESTY, VISION, REAL AND PRACTICAL IDEAS, and a sense that the candidate can actually DO half the stuff that he/she promises.

This blog will also try to reflect our current and developing political climate. After all, these candidates' positions need to be evaluated in some kind of context. Some posts will have nothing to do with any particular candidate, but merely be a reaction to some current political issue because, after all, once the election has come and gone there will still be a certain group of people running the country. And they need oversight.

Aren't we glad we live in a country where the common citizen can speak, write, or blog freely? I know I am.