Tale of the Second Tier

(Note: This will be the last hard blog before Christmas. I'll resume cutting political commentary on the 26th. However, I will continue the blog, but on a little lighter subject or two.)

The latest entry into the Presidential race is Ambassador Alan Keyes. Why? Not that I think we should exclude candidates from the process, but his first appearance was the last debate before Iowa. Fred Thompson was a little late getting in. I guess Keyes got in around the same time and made Fred look dynamic in comparison. So why should we care?

I took a look at the polling data today. I'm going to talk about the candidates on the bottom today and why they need to either get out and throw support to their best choice or get psychological help because they're not right. But, as a public service, I put up links to their websites:

Ron Paul - Good ideas, willing to challenge the establishment, and obviously rooted in a post WWI mentality. Never had a chance with the GOP base. He needs to work on his delivery. However, he is doing pretty well in polling. Still has no chanve

Dennis Kucinich - The only excuse for this Ohioan is that he's from the Cleveland area. He's nuts. Really. I can't even discuss him intelligently. I'm sorry. For his constituents.

Tom Tancredo - To be fair, he did get in with the intention of highlighting immigration and little expectation of victory. Would like to know who he would pick.

Chris Dodd and Joe Biden - They've been in politics for decades, I think. I lump them together because they're cut of the same boring cloth. With obvious name recognition, they're going nowhere. I'm sure they are their party line, though.

Duncan Hunter - I had a moment where I confused him with Tancredo. And I follow this shit. Duncan, give up the dream. You have as much chance in '08 as I do. And I could run in '08.

Mike Gravel - Who is he? Seriously, I know nothing about him, other than that he's lower on the totem poll than Kucinich. Mike, live in the now.

Alan Keyes - I agree with almost everything he says, but I'd never vote for him. He comes off less likable than Hillary. And that's saying something. And it's even more of a waste when you're not even getting numbers in Iowa or showing up on ANY polls. Hell, I had to search for your website. Every other candidate had a link on the page but you. Sad.

My point? At this point, the selection should begin narrowing so we can focus on the people who have a chance at the presidency. I can't even watch the debates, as these lesser candidates suck time from the people I need to hear from to be convinced. And with the accelerated primary schedule, I'm going to spend from the day after Christmas to Iowa wrangling with this shit just to make up my own mind, and add my two cents here.