I anticipated a decent amount of political experience but was surprised to find even more political experience than expected. Even when we need a change of course experience is a valuable commodity.
I wanted Lawrence Lessig to be a viable candidate but I can't let hope override the facts.
Ted's values centered approach and his open "judge me based on my past actions" attitude make him a candidate deserving of consideration.
I went into this with no opinion of George Pataki but I conclude that as a candidate he is simply a placeholder in case the voters reject all the candidates who are really trying to win the nomination.
In the end I've concluded that Bernie Sanders is like Dennis Kucinich or Ron Paul - a legitimate candidate who swings for the fences and excites a portion of the electorate but whose vision voters should take with a grain of salt even if they support him.
When surrounded by more flamboyant candidates it's easy to forget the depth and breadth of experience that Rick Santorum brings to the table as a candidate.
I could forgive a candidate for having underdeveloped policy positions and plans, I can also forgive a candidate for being prone to verbal gaffes but I find it difficult to conclude that a candidate suffering from both of those drawbacks is actually ready to hold the office of president. The fact that Donald Trump has both of those flaws while maintaining such a significant level of support in the race makes him a very politically destructive candidate.
The 2016 race is much more volatile than I anticipated so I've decided to post my evaluation of all the candidates like I did in the 2008 race.
Jay Evensen arguing that Edward Snowden being in Russia lessens his credibility or that the NSA has a legitimate spying to do to protect us completely misses the point behind the Snowden leaks - which is that the NSA is systematically overstepping their bounds and going to great lengths to hide it from the very people charged with overseeing the agency.
We need to fight for a better version of marriage than the one society currently espouses and we might have to do that using some new terminology for what we are currently talking about.