The Presidential Race

It's been over two months since I've tried to untangle what the hell is going on in the presidential races.

The Republican race is like watching a bunch of zoo animals on a roller coaster and the Democratic race, and yes it now appears to be a race, seems to be morphing into the Wise Old Wizard vs. the Wicked Witch with Uncle Joe sipping beer in the corner.

First the Republicans. When last we met back in August I had divided the 17 candidates into two groups. The top contenders made up "The Terrible Ten" and the rest "The Trash Heap Seven." I then listed candidates based upon a combination of "sane enough put up with" and "probability of winning."

Well there have been some changes since then.

First Rick Perry quit the race so now it's "The Trash Heap Six" at least temporarily. I've put the latest poll numbers in parentheses.

The Terrible Ten

#1 - Donald Trump (#1 - 24%)- Still at the head of the pack. Unfortunately his statements have gotten more and more outrageous as time has gone on. While I'm willing to give a businessperson a chance instead of another politician Trump is beginning to wear on me.

 #2 - Jeb Bush (#5 - 9%)- There are a lot of things I don't like about Bush and he's probably incompetent but at least he's not crazy. I still think he's got the inside track because he's the man the corporate men like.

#3 - Carly Fiorina (#2 - 15%) - Ms Fiorina has done VERY well in the debates and it has catapulted her into the big time. Her tenure at HP could still become a milestone around her neck but this is getting interesting.

#4 - Ben Carson (#3 - 14%) - Mister Delusional himself. If he were to somehow end up in the White House I'd move to Scandinavia. His latest nonsense is saying that a Muslim should never be president. Now, I probably wouldn't vote for a Muslim either but if Carson can exclude one group then any group can be excluded. This is a bad precedent to set.

 #5 - Marco Rubio (#4 - 11%) - He's done well in the debates as well and I'm pretty sure he's not crazy.

 #6 - John Kasich (#10 - 2%) - Like Rubio he benefits from the benefit of the doubt. He might not be crazy.

 #7 - Chris Christie (#9 - 3%) - I think Christie is a complete ass-hole so you can imagine what I think of the ones below.

#8 - Ted Cruz (#6 - 6%) - He's crazy and he's still ahead of a bunch of the field.

#9 - Rand Paul (#8 - 4%) - Like his dad, not only doesn't he have any answers but he doesn't even understand the questions.

 #10 - Mike Huckabee (#7 - 6%) - Huckabee is a complete lunatic and he demonstrated it again making nice with the Kentucky clerk defying the Supreme Court. Can someone please run him over with a truck?

The Trash Heap Six

#11 - Scott Walker (< 1%) - I told you it was just a matter of time before this dum-dum started dribbling at the mouth. The rumor is that he's ready to drop hell.

#12 - George Patacki (< 1%) - Patacki could be a reasonable president but I think he has no chance.

#13- Lindsay Graham (< 1%) - Same as Patacki, no chance.

 #14 - Jim Gilmore (< 1%)  - The governor of Virginia has no chance but I'll take him over Jindel and Santorum.

 #15 - Bobby Jindel (< 1%) - This guy is the world's biggest loser but I would still take him over Carson, Huckabee and Santorum because they're completely crazy.

 #16 - Rick Santorum (#11 - 1%) - He's not as crazy as Huckabee but he's still crazy.

The Scrap Heap

Rick Perry - Has thrown in the towel.

The scariest development here is Carson. He's in the Huckabee/Santorum lunatic category yet 14% of Republican voters apparently think he should be president.

On the Democratic side Bernie Sanders, The Wise Old Wizard, just won't go away. Rumor has it that he's competitive if not ahead in Iowa and New Hampshire. Can Sanders win a National Election? Can Clinton win a National Election? Does anyone want them to win a National Election?

2016 is shaping up as a really screwed up election.