Sunday, March 02, 2008
This Tuesday, Texas has the opportunity to put an end to both the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.
Unfortunately, the GOP nomination for Sen. John McCain is all but a formality. With a likely victory in Texas over my good friend, and the better man, Gov. Mike Huckabee. McCain will then need approximately 50 more delegates to lock up the Republican nomination.
The Democratic race is much tighter. Sen. Hillary Clinton desperately needs victories in Texas and Ohio to stay in the race with Sen. Barack Obama. Even with a win in the Buckeye state, a loss in Texas should seal Clinton's fate. Good.
She strikes me as a power-hungry person who would sell her soul to become president. I wouldn't doubt it if she had her sights on the presidency 30 or more years ago. Anyone that drunk on presidential power is cause for concern.
Beneath her forced smiles, fake tears, smirks and impossible "feel good" promises, Clinton comes across as a mean-spirited, narcissistic, vindictive person who is cut from the same cloth as Leona Helmsley, the notorious billionaire Queen of Mean — infamous for saying that only the little people pay taxes. The vibe I get from Clinton: Cross my path at your own peril.
Where there is smoke there is generally fire, and Clinton has given out plenty of smoke signals over the years to cause some pretty toxic smoke to get in our eyes.
Anyone remember the report about her turning a $1,000 investment in cattle futures into $100,000 in just 10 months?
How about Travel Gate, in which she fired the entire White House travel office and replaced them with her Hollywood friends, the Thomasons?
Remember File Gate, where 900 FBI files on prominent Republicans were found in the White House?
Anyone recall that, as a result of the Whitewater scandal, Clinton became the only first lady in the history of our nation to be subpoenaed?
In order to run for the U.S. Senate, you do recall that she had to "carpetbag" her way into New York from Arkansas, don't you?
Smoke signals
Numerous other Clinton smoke signals deserve your scrutiny, such as her trying to take over the nation's health care system when she was first lady (and she's trying it again), Lani Guanier, Web Hubbell, Zoe Baird and the story about the $200,000 of White House property such as furniture and art being removed and then returned by the Clintons when the press found out about it.
Clinton routinely claims she will be ready on day one to assume the presidency, implying that Obama is inexperienced. She is correct about that. Obama is inexperienced and hasn't accomplished anything worthy of the presidency, but neither has Clinton. What has she done that qualifies her anymore to be the president than he does?
Being first lady is not a qualification unless you believe merely living in the White House is a qualification. She has only been elected twice in her entire life — both times as a senator from New York.
Obama has been elected once to the U.S. Senate but ran and won numerous times as an Illinois state legislator. Sen. Clinton is the junior senator from New York and has not introduced any important legislation. None of this "experience" qualifies her to be ready on day one to be the leader of the free world.
Becoming president is not so much about experience as it is about establishing trust and believability among the electorate. I do not believe that a person needs to have a lengthy public service record or a vast political acumen and experience to become the president, but I do believe the American public deserves more than a Clintonesque smokescreen.
Do your duty on Tuesday and blow Clinton's presidential candle out before we get more smoke in our eyes and a nagging gag develops.
Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host.
