Kansas, I have just been looking at the results from Iowa. It would be interesting to know how you see the elections evolving. Stuart

Stuart: Wow, you might get a book written on this one.  Of course, the big news tonight is Mike Huckabee, for the most part because Mitt Romney spent (according to commentators tonight) 20 million of his own money, and still got thrashed in Iowa.  Almost as big is Clinton came in 3rd or tied for second depending on who you listen to.  I have been glued to the TV tonight, except for the hour we watched the Apprentice to appease my wife.  Every news organization is trying to figure this one out.  I think the bottom line is many Americans are sick and tired of  the "slick" sell.  Mike Huckabee is about as down to earth as you can get, and Obama comes off as genuine as well.  Of  course, Iowa is just one state. But I think it goes deeper than that, Americans are unhappy with our national leaders, and our own political parties. I am a Republican and sick to death of George Bush.  Mitt Romney with his millions can't possibly understand the life of an ordinary citizen.  The Clintons have never been anything but politicians, what do they know about real life?  A year ago no one thought Huckabee had a shot of any kind, and who had ever heard of Obama.  Tonight, there is a feeling this election may be a huge surprise to everyone in the political elite.  What will happen down the road is unclear of course.  Clinton has to watch how hard she attacks Obama, because that might just help him.  The talk tonight is that McCain will show better in New Hampshire.  If Huckabee gets at least second in New Hampshire, then I think he will be the man to beat, because he will probably carry most of the southern primaries, and do well in the others.  I hope either Edwards or Obama beat Clinton, because I would rather keep Bush than have HC as our next President.  I agreed the most with what Edwards had to say tonight about corporate greed being the problem most a threat to our nation today, but I wondered if he really had a plan to combat it.  For my part, I would be plenty happy with Huckabee, but I also think that John McCain is an excellent leader based on one fact above all others.  When he was a POW and being tortured in Vietnam, his captors discovered he was the son of an Admiral.  As a gesture of good will, they wanted to release him, and he refused because he didn't want to leave his men.  That to me shows he is a man of tremendous character, and a wonderful leader.  That is what our nation needs, a good man who is a good leader, not a slick politician who tells us all what we want to hear.  I am hoping for a McCain/Huckabee ticket, who is President and who is VP doesn't matter to me, I just think the two of them are the men with the most character and honesty on the Republican side.  If John Edwards could convince me he is honest and will do what he says, and not just a sleazy trial lawyer, I could support him over Romney. 

KF, I hope that this is the election when the democracies start taking back the power from the politicians, the parties and their vested interests. If the US can create a swing away from over-funded election campaigns and elect the person who is not the one with the deepest pockets it will do us all a favour. It is time for the US electorate to show that the US is a World leader rather than the US President assuming that by being elected by whatever means he is by default THE World leader! Stuart

KF,

   In very round terms what do you think the different Parties or nominees are offering the people of America.

I am fascinated by the result too, and pleased Clinton did not do well, there is something about the woman that just makes me shudder. Huckabee seems to have the same policy as an Iranian mullah tho, no rights for women (roe wade binned) and severe restrictions on travel, a ban on abortion will lead to all fertile age women losing the freedom to travel if pregnant and seeking a termination plus  a severe clampdown on the migrants that do all Americas dirty work, the only thing he does not have is imposition of the burka. Its going to be a fascinating contest.

What a wonderful world we live in. Here we are sharing the hopes, concerns and thoughts of Brian Hind a farmer from Kansas.

Brian I ought to get Isabel to email this correspondence off to the Kansas Examiner and you could become famous!

You might even become so famous that millions of $s would be sent to you asking you to run for Governor, then the President and then?   The World.

You've got my vote. ................ for now ..........

All the best as ever.

I have to confess I find the US election process bewildering. I guess it is just because I am not familiar with it - our system must seem just as ridiculous to KF! But the elections always raise the same question in my mind - why is religion so much more prominent when it comes to politics in the USA?

I think Tony Blair was once quoted as saying that "if you mention God you are branded a 'nutter'". But in the US, it seems as if voters expect their politicians to share their religious views. Indeed, the impression I get from the news is that there are a number of states which are pretty much decided on social and religious grounds alone. Bearing in mind the UK and US do have a lot of shared values and lead the world economically - I can never figure out why we are so secular and Americans so religious in comparison?

Which 'economically' would that be Isabel? From where I stand the question is which has got into the biggest economically unsustainable muddle?! An interesting comment on the religious differences though, it always seems a little strange.

Comrades,

Interesting debate about who will be elected president, equally interesting is how!

Will they be able to count the votes this time?

Hope it’s not like last time. It isn’t exactly a world leading example of how democracies should work. Hard to tell off the Russians, Kenyans or Pakistanis from such a “glass house”.

The farm bill proposed by the successful candidate will probably affect our incomes more than our own review of the CAP. Does anyone want to change that significantly?

At the end of the day one should only get the government that the people elect, just have to trust the people.

Bon Courage,

JC.

Thanks Peter but no thanks, just as soon my comments stay in the UK.  One reason I don't tell any of my neighbors about the forum is I never have to worry about anything I say this way. 

What the parties offer.  The easy answer is not much.  I am old enough now I can remember quite a few elections, we have hashed over the same things for years and not much is different. Health care, foreign oil, inflation, trade (free and fair).  This election is being dominated by immigration and the war in Iraq.  But you have to be a genious to listen to an answer given by most of them and figure out what they mean.  In rough terms, Democrats believe the government can solve all problems with regulations and tax money.  Republicans tend to favor less regulation and government.  They also tend to favor a strong military, whereas the Democrats usually cut defense spending in favor of other programs.  In the last 2 years Bush has done some thing that have made him lose favor with true conservatives, such as sponsor a really liberal immigration reform bill, that a majority of Americans did not want. 

I don't like Hillary because she is slimy.  She tries to worm her way around issues to get votes.  She voted for the war, now her quote is, "if I had known then what I know now, I would have never voted for that war", as if that is supposed to change something.  Hell, if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have sold any of my soybeans and would now be another $30000 ahead.  What I would like to hear her say if she now thinks the war is wrong is, "I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but I made a mistake".  The way she is going about it is trying to make it look like she was duped into voting for the war, and she was not.  My favorite promise was at one time she said if elected she was going to give each of us $1000 to start retirement accounts.  Well, if she is going to give every single citizen $1000 of taxpayer money, doesn't that mean she is going to have to take $1000 away from all of us to do it?  Alot of people don't think about that, and so they fall for that kind of cheap propaganda. 

HHS, I don't think you have the correct picture of Huckabee, but will save that for another post.  Will try to answer the religion question as well, have a nasty case of stomach flu this morning requiring my momentary relocation for a few minutes. 

Flash:  Your question is easy to answer.  As far as I can tell, Mike Huckabee is the only one in the lead who has any clue about agriculture, all the others will have to rely totally on what someone tells them to think.  The Congress has the ultimate power over the farm bill, the President can suggest what he wants and veto a bill totally unacceptable to him, but in the end it will be Congress who gets the real say.  It was by the way the election before last with all the issues, 2000. 

kansasfarmer:

have a nasty case of stomach flu this morning requiring my momentary relocation for a few minutes

I have a similar reaction whever politics rears it's ugly head   Hope you get well soon and look forward to some more insights on the various candidates because with the exceptions of Hilary Clinton and Rudy I don't think any of them are familiar in the rest of the world.

I do find the US elections fascinating, though and FWIW I don't think it will do the image of the US around the world any harm if they elect their first black president. 

The process used to pick a President is only used for that election, the other officials are elected in a pretty straightforward method.  House of Reps voted on every 2 years for 2 year terms, Senators have 6 year terms.  The whole process of picking who runs for each party is long, drawn out, and possibly a little odd, but it is the way it is. 

To tackle the religious question.  I will say up front I am going to be pretty open with my personal views and do not mean to offend or convert anyone, just give my my gut(no pun intended given the state of my gut) feeling about religion and politics in the USA. 

Every once in a while they do a poll asking people if they believe in God, generally about 80-90% say yes.  Don't know how that would be answered in the UK, but I suspect perhaps not that high.  Perhaps religion is so important here because so many of our forefathers came to this country to begin with for religious reasons, that seems to me to be the most logical reason.  People with strong religious beliefs, strong enough to make them leave their homes, would probably raise families with strong beliefs.  In my own case, I believe in God without question, but I do not regularly attend church, although my wife and parents do(in fact, just about everyone in my family out to my cousins attend church more than I do).  While I do not attend church, I would never vote for someone for President who openly said they did not believe in God, and a great many of my countrymen are the same way.  The reason behind this is fairly simple.  I want a leader who shares my values system, because I want a country that reflects my values system.  Perhaps that is arrogant, short sighted, what have you, but it is my feeling, and I think it is shared by most voters whether or not they say it.  That is in a broad sense.  The candidate does not have to think exactly the way I do, I am not hung up on the little things in his beliefs, but in the great scheme of things, I think it is hard to have good values unless they are based somewhat on a belief in God, and I don't trust someone who does not believe in God at all to lead this country.  It seems obvious to me that if a great many others didn't share this view, religion wouldn't be a factor in our elections.

Now, having said that, I think that European news organizations overplay the impact religion has on our elections because Europe is so secular, and it seem primitive that we are not(in their opinion).  So probably many of you believe religion plays a bigger part than it really does.  At the end of the day, at least this day, if you don't publicly state you believe in God in the USA you are not going to get elected President.  But that is about all you have to do, after the voting public is comfortable you are not a "heretic", we care most about the issues at hand.  I bet the replies to this one will be interesting.

I hope the bug flies home soon, we have all had our version this week.

I do understand Huckabees policies and here is why I think he is a mullah.

He is a creationist like the mullahs

He wants to restrict women's rights like the mullahs

He wants a Kalashnikov in every home like the mullahs

He believes religion should be in politics like the mullahs

He wants to persecute the infidel (iimmigrant) like the mullahs

He is ignorant of the wider world like the mullahs this is from his website

I want to treat Saudi Arabia the same way I treat Sweden