Politics @ The State of the Union

One must agree that the impending Presidential election and the politics surrounding it clearly overshadowed President Bush himself and his message at the State of the Union address.

Broadcast networks had stationed their reporters in the front row of the gallery not to watch the President, his body language or the nuances of his speech but to observe the tension and heated action between the top democratic contenders Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

As expected political pundits dissected and analyzed every move these Senators made during the course of the address. Who smiled when; who applauded during which policy announcement and who stood up to applaud and who still sat were some of the details that were discussed.

So much of importance was attached to the exact spot on the floor where the Senator sat as there was no reserved seating for this event. So much was made about the fact the Sen. Obama sat next to Sen. Edward Kennedy as the latter just then endorsed the former earlier in the day. The Kennedy's were touted as Obama's new found friends etc. Also, there was a hue and cry in the media about the fact that Sen. Kennedy shook Sen. Clinton's hand Sen. Obama turned away and looked to snub Clinton.

My point is why weren't any similar assessments made about Sen. Clinton. During the address, Sen. Clinton sat next to Sen. Joe Biden (Biden was a democratic presidential candidate himself and had dropped out of the race after his poor showing in the Iowa caucus). I've always seen either Sen. Biden or Governor Bill Richardson as a potential running mate of Sen. Clinton if she were to win the nomination for the mere reason that they share so much in common. Given Clinton's seat, if I were to think like your typical political analyst I will say that the belief of mine has only strengthened and now I feel more that Sen. Biden will be her running mate.

Well, it's just a hunch and a random prediction, but if you ever see a "Clinton-Biden" ticket, remember I predicted it and you read it here.

Rudy Guiliani and his stinking strategy

In my mind much before the start of the primary season I saw Mayor Rudy Guiliani as one of the top contenders to bag the coveted Republican nomination along with Senator John McCain. With all due respect to Governor Mitt Romeny and his record in the private sector etc. I somehow never saw him as a President.

As did many early nationwide polls suggested one would have expected the mayor to have won the nomination quite easily. He was the guy with an excellent reputation, mass appeal and had the tag, 'Mayor of the World.'

Not many know that he worked in the Department of Justice in the Reagan adminstration. But, everyone knows that he is the celebrated two-time mayor of New York City. During his tenure he delivered big time and turned around the city - the economy grew and the crime-rate dropped to record lows. Most importantly, he was the mayor on that fateful day of 9/11/2001 and led the recovery efforts following the WTC attacks. The image of the mayor walking amidst the dust fumes with a FDNY hard-hat and a mask covering his face was plastered on TV screens across the world. That image is so vivid and fresh in my memory as I saw it on CNN from my home in India. 'Guiliani' was a household name overnight and an instant celebrity worldwide.

So, this guy had the record, experience and worldly stature so many were envious of! Like his campaign slogan said he was truly ready and tested. Inspite of it all I'm shocked and apalled to see this weird and stupid campaign strategy he's employed . To me, from the outset his strategy made no sense. I'm not quite sure if anyone has ever done this kind of thing in the past and I'm going to assume 'no' as the media hasn't made any reference or drawn comparison with any other campaign strategies used in the past.

I've tried to think so many times what was the man thinking and how on earth did he decide to blatantly ignore the primaries of IA, NH, MI and SC. Was he overconfident? Did he think he doesnt need those states to win? Or, was he allergic to the winter conditions and extreme temperatures of the north that he decided to spend over 50 days in the Florida sun? In an election, where the pundits make a big deal about the momentum you acquire from one win and the impact it will have your subsequent contests how could he not know he needed victories from the start and he can't just jump into FL, win the states and move onto Super Tuesday and carry some 20 other states.

Most folks in counties of Iowa and parts of New Hampshire and South Carolina probably don't even know this Guiliani guy is running for President. Time and again he says he is the only candidate who can run a 50-state campaign but here he already has failed in about four states.

Anyways, all said and done after his poor showing in yesterday's Florida primary I see no chance on him being the nominee this time around. But, remember I still feel he is Presidential material and so hope that he will run again either four or eight years later with a more well-planned; intelligent and concerted strategy that is executed efficiently.