By
Leroy Jones, Jr.
Political Commentator & Columnist
The current
Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg has recently announced
that he has left the Republican Party and has declared himself
an independent. There are now over 20 people either officially
announced or possibly considering running for President of
the United States. So when are you going to announce?
Obviously,
the historical significance of running in 2008 is not lost
on these would-be Leaders of the Free World. They all realize
this is the first race for the White House in over 75 years
without a sitting President or Vice-President. This changes
the odds of winning for everyone who is interested in being
the most powerful person in the world.
Regardless,
it should get even more interesting as we move closer to 2008.
The speculation will begin to grow about folks who are not
running now, but may decide to jump into the race at the last
moment to take that once in lifetime chance at running.
When
most of us began first grade, many aspired to be President
of the United States. And now in our lifetime, it seems
that everyone has a realistic chance. So just think,
if you are over 35 years old, a natural born citizen,
and lived as a resident within the U.S. for at least
14 years, you are eligible to get into the race.
Your
most pressing problem at the beginning will be raising
that estimated “$500 million dollars needed to
be elected”. Even before raising all this money,
the voters and interest groups across this country must
be convinced that they should support you and your vision
of where you will lead our country. It must be done
by reaching out to voters and groups through TV, Radio,
Newspapers, and now most importantly, the Internet.
Then
you have to bare all of your personal and private issues
for everyone to see. No stone will be left unturned
and no skeletons will be left in the closet. Get ready
to become transparent to everyone.
Many
times we all make fun of politicians, and doubt their
intentions. On many occasions, folks are correct to
do so. As voters we have a right to question everything,
including whether any of these people have the “common
sense” to do anything right. However we must take
a moment to respect the efforts of these individuals
seeking to lead our nation and have willingly put themselves
in the fire.
So
the next time you complain about the Presidential candidates,
just remember that in the first grade you wanted to
be President of the United States or somebody of importance.
These folks have chosen to act upon their dreams and
aspirations.
Have
you had the courage to do the same?
Leroy
Jones, Jr., creator of PoliticalJones.com is a Political
Commentator and Government Affairs Consultant based
in Washington, D.C. He is the host of "The PoliticalJones
Report with Leroy Jones, Jr." on WIGO-1570
AM (Atlanta). Mr. Jones is also a regularly scheduled
guest on “The
Right Side with Shelley Wynter" daily radio
show on WAOK-1380 AM (Atlanta/CBS), XM Satellite Radio,
Blacknews.com and various other media outlets.
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