Why Not Dennis?

What is wrong with a candidate who is short, from Cleveland where he touts the pleasures of polka, kielbasa and bingo on his website and has already offered articles of impeachment against the vice-president? Is this too much information of the not quite classifiable category for the intrepid members of the press to handle?

I have to admit that there is something attractive about a man who is not loved by the media and is often ignored for his views. It gives one pause to think that he hasn't picked up his marbles and gone home or appeared on Oprah with complaints against the media (in total) that treats him like his father treated him and therefore, deserves our attention.

But kidding aside, there is something essential to the furtherance of our world about a man who does not believe in war as a solution to the foreign policy issues that this country faces. Kucinich has been, for example, to Lebanon to see first hand what is going on but the press ignores his trips and doesn't make fun of him or deride his intentions. Being not the kind of lightning rod for the right wing wingnuts that his leader in the House is, his trips don't garner thousands of words about the size of the airplane he flew on. And when he entered articles of impeachment against the vice president recently, yet again the press could barely be bothered to write down the facts. Their stenographic skills were caught napping. Yet, you can go to Dennis' website and read what he charged the vice president with.

But what is most appealing about Dennis Kucinich's run for president is that he is the genuine article. Not a crowd pleasing corporate guy one minute and the best down home speaking critter the next. He is smart and awfully short and those two characteristics make him by far one of the least likely candidates to consider running for president.

In the early analysis I made of his candidacy, I discovered he is one of the least cyber savvy of the crowd now flocking to my email inbox. I have signed up to be alerted of his events and fund raising, but not one email has arrived. Either he has no time to pander to my good computer skills or he is just not ready to pander. He may in fact be too busy running on his commitments to the people who elected him while also trying to get elected by a larger and more diverse crowd.

You have to give this guy an awful lot of credit. He is not noticeably angry at the press for ignoring him or slighting him. He continues and does what he thinks is best for the country which includes taking that man, Dick Cheney, down in ways that are legal and lawful, two words that Dick Cheney abhors and derides.

This man should be catching our attention, especially those of us who really do believe in war no more. He is the only candidate for president who shows up at the peace rallies and makes statements against this administration and their intentions and does not feel intimidated by their bullying ways. He is not trapped by a long string of financial obligations to a multitude of financial backers who read like a who's who of corporate malfeasance.

My favorite Dennis Kucinich idea is that he wants to create a cabinet-level Department of Peace. How sweet that sounds and who but a poor and dispossessed woman looking down the barrel of no retirement account and no safety net would be in favor of that? I mean, think seriously for a moment. Wouldn't it be better if he did what the highly important and prominent Democratic strategists said should be done and leave the war alone? Leave the administration alone and get on with pandering to all the corporations and their shareholders so as to let them know if the Democrats are elected they will not do any of the things they are promising now as they run back and forth across the country making all kinds of promises or threats to anyone who will listen?

Why not Dennis? Oh, I can think of a thousand reasons why not, maybe even 300 million reasons why not Dennis. But I can think of some very good reasons why no one else has come within shouting distance of my ears. What kind of country do I want? Let me think: Perhaps a country run by someone who will hold people accountable for rampant death, corruption and venality.

That is for starters.