Key Issue for the Next Presidential Election

The upcoming Presidential election for 2008 marks the first time that campaigning and debating has started so early. Nearly two years before the actual election, many candidates had already declared that they were planning on announcing their candidacy. Candidates have come and gone and past hopefuls are now forgotten thanks to inadvertent comments regarding maccacas. With a dozen or so viable candidates from the major political parties, it's hardly any wonder that political fanatics are excited over all the debates and discussions that have resulted from having so many people running for President for so long. There are lots of issues out there that will directly affect the lives of Americans but apparently none is more important lately than how they take their coffee.

Yes, there is a new survey out that was distributed to the candidates in which they were asked to describe how they take their coffee. Some drink it black, others drink it with cream, some use artificial sweeteners and some, due to religious beliefs, don't drink it at all. Whatever their preference, I'm amazed to think what coffee has to do with anything remotely related to politics. I am wondering whether there are truly voters out there who are looking to relate to a possible future President based on their preference for coffee? Supposing I'm a rabid tea drinker, does that mean that I'm not going to vote for anyone other than the Green Tea... er... Green Party candidate? I think that voters are attempting to find something they like in the current crop of candidates because quite frankly, none of them has really stirred so much interest in anyone. Now that we are a little less than a year from the next election, candidates seem to be pulling out all the stops in terms of getting face time and recognition from the voting public.

I remember a time (and mind you I'm not that old) when candidates would discuss the issues and not their issues with other candidates. I understand enough about politics to know that until a single nominee for a party is announced, there will be attempts within the parties by members to get their name out in front so that they get the nod to run for President. So until that glorious day we will be privy to endless hours of discussions on whether someone's had too much experience, too little experience, no interest, no knowledge, no religion, or no coffee. If we are getting to the point now that we can't go into a Starbucks and order a cappucino without it becoming a potential campaign trail destination then we're well and truly in trouble. I remember when people used to kid that Bill Clinton loved to go to McDonalds to eat, not just to schmooze with the customers.

There are so many important issues out there and in all the debates I have seen over the past few months, there is no real headway being made in any of them. All the political pundits and experts out there seem more interested in finding faults or foul-ups by candidates or to tear down their image so that the true nature of the person is revealed. Rather than describing their plans for the future of the country, they are more interested in discussing how they are better than their opponents. Not only that, they are more interested in trying to convince us of why their answer to a question (which they rarely directly answer) is better than the answer provided by their opponents.

Still I must say I'm surprised at the relative brevity of some of the answers provided by the candidates regarding their coffee preferences. I would think that some of them would have launched into a long, drawn out discourse on how coffee is valuable to the future of our nation and how it is up to each and every person out there to know that coffee is important for our future. They could have launched into debates once again. I mean when I first heard about the poll I was half expecting someone to come out and castigate Mitt Romney for not partaking in coffee due to the teachings of his Mormon religion. I figured some candidate would use that to explain how Romney couldn't possibly make a good President since he couldn't drink copious amounts of coffee required by the Office of the President to function!

And given the political correctness running rampant these days, I'm amazed that some of the candidates referred to their preference for black coffee in just those terms considering that there is an African-American candidate in the running. I'm surprised because there is usually some idiot out there who will see this as an implied slight against Barack Obama and use it as a basis to harken back to the days of slavery and how African-Americans are still paying for the mistakes made against them in the past. See? Coffee truly can be a political maelstorm of 'hot issues' if one truly chooses to dig deeper and analyze something to its absolute limit. I'm hoping that perhaps someday in the future, after the primaries are done, that the eventual candidates for all parties can finally start discussing issues that pertain to the future of our nation. I honestly don't care if someone prefers their coffee with or without cream. I'm looking for a President, not a barista at Starbucks.