I see no one that is ready to be President.

[kentuck]

A case in point is the militarization of the local police forces. What person in politics today would have questioned the give-away of military equipment to local law enforcement?

Doesn't that seem like something that would automatically raise a red flag if you were President of the United States? It seems that nobody now mentioned has the fortitude or the backbone to question the actions of our Pentagon?

And doesn't that also forbode bad decisions in foreign policy? Would any of these leaders have the courage to question the "experts" that say we must attack the radicals in the Middle East?

Would anyone now mentioned as a possible candidate confront Wall Street and the tax structure of this country? I really don't see anyone.

[H2O Man]

1. Recommended.

There is no one of that description now on the national stage.

[kentuck]

2. But is that too much to expect?

from a leader?

[H2O Man]

3. Of a leader?

Absolutely not.

From a major political candidate? Apparently so.

[tularetom]

7. Well, it was evidently too much to expect from our current leader

Who didn't see it coming until it smacked him upside his head.

His 20-20 hindsight will probably disappear when the furor over the killing of Michael Brown dies down.

And I haven't heard a peep about it from any of the potential presidential candidates of either party, so I'm not optimistic that anything will change in the short term.

[dballance]

4. I totally agree with you. /nt

[Skidmore]

5. Most people in positions of power at the tops of both parties participated

in the militarization of the police forces, either actively or passively.

[H2O Man]

10. Right.

What is happening in the streets of American cities, towns, and villages is the result of this happening over a period of decades. It actually began when Nixon expanded executive power by initiating the infamous "Huston Plan."

That plan was to coordinate all domestic "police" powers with the national intelligence agencies and military. In his testimony to the Senate committee investigating Watergate, John Dean said that administration claims the new program had been aborted, were false. Indeed, Dean provided the committee with substantial documentation. The committee would make parts of that documentation public. But they also immediately filed parts as involving "national security." And neither house of Congress would ever suggest stopping the Huston Plan policies. It's worth noting that the "Nixon tapes" document that he knew the plan was absolutely illegal, but to do it, anyway.

Politicians today are either unacceptably ignorant, or simply lack the spine to speak of it, much less actually try to do something about it.

[Skidmore]

12. I've always maintained that Richard Nixon

was the gift that keeps on giving. We still suffer from the legacy of corruption and political malevolence that characterized his administration. We still are encumbered by people who served him--the Buchanans, Cheneys, and their ilk. They are passing but too slowly for the good of the country. The destruction they leave in their wake is massive. These are the lessons that those of us who remember must teach the young.

[hifiguy]

14. Nixonism and the Nixonian mindset

seem to be a permanent part of the political landscape. It always comes back, like a belch from a bad onion.

[Dems to Win]

6. Alan Grayson is your man. Just gotta get him elected prez

ETA: he sponsored a bill in June to stop military gear going to the police, so I gave you his name.

As you can see from my sig, I'm backing a different long shot

[betterdemsonly]

9. Alan is awesome. n/t

[betterdemsonly]

8. I think alot of potentially good candidates are being threatened or

coerced by the party bosses. Warren, Sanders and Grayson come to mind. Sanders and Warren are better than Hillary. Warren needs more experience I think.

[Cleita]

11. Bernie Sanders is. I hope he runs, even if only

to pull the debate to the left as he claims he want. I have every confidence that if by some miracle he wins the primary and becomes the candidate and then the President, he will make a great President. He will not only bring experience and knowledge but integrity and a lack of corruption to the office.

[Scuba]

13. That's too much to expect from anyone we'll be allowed to vote for.

[GitRDun]

15. Joe Biden

The only one I can think of that has the foreign policy temperment.

[tech3149]

16. I suppose it depends on how you define the presidency

For me the presidency is little more than a placeholder, a figurehead. If you get past the amnesia that we are programmed to accept, you realize that foreign and economic policy are pretty consistent from one administration to the next. These are determined by the "deep state". Those people who work behind the scenes, who aren't elected, but are always considered to be the most well informed "serious people".
They are the ones who determine which two poor choices we have for the presidency.
I never expected Obama to be a golden savior because he played his hand in his books and his cabinet choices.
Perhaps when the majority or a good minority of the people get a clue that the corporate media is selling them a bag of shit, we might actually make some serious changes.

[Chathamization]

17. I think more will get done at the stat-level for the time being

That's where we've seen progress on equality, ending prohibition, the minimum wage, and even single-payer. There are a number of supposedly blue states where we could see much more progress, if we worked on it.