Presidential Prognostication

It's early days in the 2008 presidential campaign (you think?), but the Haggis is hereby offering a few predictions that will surprise no one:

There will be no President Vilsack.
There will be no President Obama.
There will be no President Rice, Brownback, Kerry, Gingrich or Biden.

There will be no President Clinton (not the one I would love to have again, anyway). Her negatives are as high as her positives in most polls. She, although capable in every way, is perhaps too much of a lightning rod to pull in those independent undecideds every candidate needs to win. She will no doubt get the nomination, but she will not win.

There will be no President Gore. Yeah I said it. No matter what Joe Trippi says, no matter what some people of good faith say. The days are gone in American presidential politics when you can viably and credibly "try again." The race for POTUS is now a one-shot deal, at least for those who earn their party's nomination and lose the general election.

There will be no President Giuliani. It's just not going to happen, folks. Too many pre-9/11 situations that, although forgotten in the hagiographic aftermath of that tragedy, will come roaring back in the primaries. If his newly-created exploratory committee doesn't arrive at those findings, they will prove themselves to be pretty lackluster explorers.

All of which is to say that I am not ready to make a call on President McCain, President Clark, President Richardson or President Whomever. I'm not going to make the final call till all the currently-little-known Governors of Southern states have officially jumped in or stayed out.

Mel Martinez: New Captain of the Sinking Conservative Ship

If there was any doubt in the minds of conservatives that President Bush has not only gone off the reservation but has burned his bus ticket back home, look no further for confirmation than the appointment of Mel Martinez to head the RNC. Wow. I'm a Democrat, which means I live in the world of nonstop moronic political decisions made by my party, and even I've got to say that this is a breathtakingly idiotic choice for the 2008 effort. Keep it up, GOP! These are just the kind of good-old-boy network, non-meritocratic decisions we need to win the White House. Well played, George. Well played.

Nicely outlined reasons for the dismay over at Captain's Quarters:
Captain's Quarters

The President Lied. Why Would the WaPo Not Cover It?

Glenn Greenwald very ably discusses the Washington Post's curious alteration of its coverage of the President's news conference where he admitted lying to the press about Donald Rumsfeld. Incredibly well-written:
GlennGreenwald