I’m pushing 70 so I’ve been around for more than a few election cycles. In large part because of the Vietnam War I have been politically involved for most of my adult life. On the Wednesday following the 1968 elections I woke up to find that everyone I had voted for had lost, including family friend Wayne Morris, and then went down to the induction center to report for the draft. Although I had to suffer through 8 weeks of basic training I was lucky because of my education I was recruited by the Defense Intelligence Agency and spent two and a half years on the frontiers of freedom in downtown Munich, Germany.
But this is the most bizarre election cycle I have experienced. On the R side we have the rise of Donald Trump and his ego driven campaign where he appeals to the lowest common denominator of the American population. Much to the amazement of many, including me, it looks like he might actually have a chance to win the Republican nomination.
On the D side we have Bernie Sanders who is now beating Hillary Clinton in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
The American people have lost faith in the established politics as usual and are looking for real change as their standard of living continues to decline. Even the Citizens United superpacs seem to be hapless to stop it. People have seen taxpayer money used to bail out large banks while the greed and incompetence of the banksters goes unpunished. While it’s a populist movement there is a nasty element of bigotry on the R side. Both Trump and Sanders are addressing the fears of the American people in their own unique ways. Will it be a Trump/Sanders contest in November of 2016? Far to early to tell but at this point it wouldn’t really surprise me.