It seems clear that Hillary Clinton is the likely Democratic choice for President in 2016, and that Jeb Bush might be able to overcome Tea Party opposition in the Republican Party, if he decides to announce for President.
Both Clinton and Bush are certainly “qualified” to be President, but is the best choice to go back to two families that have already dominated the White House, with five times a Bush on the national ticket and two times a Clinton, and with Hillary being a national figure in the Senate and the State Department since her husband’s Presidency? Even Barbara Bush, the former First Lady, stated that there are more than a few families that are qualified to give us Presidents!
And with Hillary being 69 and Jeb Bush 63 in 2016, and both being nationally known personalities for 20-25 years each, is this the “ideal” choices to oppose each other? And adding to this, is Joe Biden, as wonderful as he is, but 74 in 2016, and being on the national scene as a potential Presidential candidate since 1987, and in the Senate beginning in 1973, an ideal alternative either?
The answer is NO, that the American people really deserve a “new generation” of leadership, as this author has stated numerous times, despite his admiration of Hillary and Joe, and respect, if not admiration, for Jeb!
So, looking elsewhere, and reiterating what this author has said numerous times on this blog, who would be the BEST alternatives for 2016—giving America a truly REAL good choice, of two qualified, new generation leaders, who are totally competent, accomplished, sane, decent, proven ability, and a record, both as Governors of their states, which shows their exceptional training and background to be the 45th President of the United States?
That “ideal” election would be:
Maryland Governor and former Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley for the Democrats
Former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman for the Republicans
These two candidates, competing against each other for the Presidency, would restore faith in the two party system, as they are, without question, the BEST of their newer generation to be President of the United States!
Yes, there are other alternative Democrats, such as Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Mark Warner of Virginia, and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, along with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.
But none of these have the qualities of leadership that O’Malley has demonstrated in sixteen years of executive leadership! And O’Malley would be only 53 if he ran in 2016, turning 54 just before the inauguration in 2017! O’Malley has hinted that he might run, even with Hillary Clinton far ahead, and Joe Biden a distant second in polls, but both a generation older than O’Malley. Remember that O’Malley heads a state rated number one in education, and a center of real growth and prosperity!
Huntsman, as this author has stated innumerable times in the past few years, is superbly qualified, having been a very successful Governor of Utah, a basically conservative state which benefited from his leadership in state government. And then, Huntsman was patriotic enough and superbly qualified enough to be Barack Obama’s Ambassador to China, and not just as a political appointment, which ambassadorships often are, but as a brilliant diplomat and master of the Mandarin Chinese language and culture! He would be only age 56 when he would be campaigning for President, and be 57 about two months after the inauguration, so he also represents a “new” generation of leadership, as O’Malley does!
This man is highly intelligent, a moderate and mainstream conservative, who would be a credit to the historic Republican Party, which has fallen upon hard times, and now has lunatics and whackos and demagogues as its so called “leading” Presidential figures and spokesmen in Congress and the state governorships! All other Republicans considered candidates for the White House in 2012 and 2016 are true embarrassments, and give one a nightmare thought that any of these characters might be President! Only Jeb Bush does not fit into this category, other than Huntsman himself.
The odds that Huntsman can somehow end up as the GOP nominee for President are as long, if not longer, than O’Malley overcoming Hillary and Joe. But it would be good for the nation, and for the party system, and we could sleep at night, confident of strong, principled, competent leadership with a President O’Malley or a President Huntsman taking the oath as President on January 20, 2017!