Hillary will make history as the first woman President of the United States.  No small thing and long overdue.  I have no doubt she will be a capable and skilled president.  But she is very much of the breed which now infests Washington.  Far, far better than anyone the Republicans have to offer, but entrenched in the same corporatist power structure that has feathered its own nest with little regard for the welfare of the people for as long as I can remember.

Barack will make similar history as our first black President.  Whatever else, it would mean a tectonic shift in the meaning of race in our culture.  I think he is not quite the insider that Hillary is, but as much in the go along to get along mold.  And I'm afraid his race will constrain his ability to bring any meaningful change on any issue that could be even remotely construed as driven by racial considerations.  There are a whole raft of such issues, from immigration to poverty to very status of brown people as second class citizens that need serious attention.  Yet he more than any of the others would have to tread very softly, ironically, because of his identity.

John Edwards is, to my mind, the only authentic populist in the race.  He has thrown down the gauntlet to the existing power structure in Washington.  He speaks clearly and passionately about the toxic influence of corporate money on our democracy, of corporate lobbyists on our government.  He speaks I think from his heart about the plight of the truly poor and the shrinking middle class, the shameful lack of health care for too many of our citizens, the unfair advantages of wealth and privilege at the expense of the rest of us.  I think he would be right at home here on ET.  I think he means what he says about taking on the special interests and the entrenched power structure.  I think he will shake up that structure and at least try to return power to the people.  Whether he can succeed is another question entirely, but at least he will try.  Which is more than I really expect from the others.

Many doubt his authenticity and his sincerity when he talks of these things.  I believe him.  I think he has not forgotten where he came from.  He speaks to my heart.  His story is compelling.  Where he comes from and who he is as a person is much closer to me personally than any of the others.  Hillary and Barack are Ivy League.  John is one of us.

Now where are we going and what's with the handbasket?