Its that time again - every four years: the United States Presidential Election is almost upon us.

As of October 2011, we haven’t had the party primaries yet, so there any obvious contenders, nor have running mates been announced.

There have been a couple of politicians state that they won’t be running for election this time around: Sarah Palin, for example. Personally, I’ve always found that she would be better off in entertainment than in politics - she seems to really love the lime light. Chris Christie, current Governor of New Jersey, also said he’s not running for president - he says he’s backing Mitt Romney.

Of course those vying for their party’s selection in the primaries are making some noise:

• Herman Cain
• Rick Perry
• Mitt Romney
• Dr. Ron Paul

Don’t forget the Democrats! The headliner for their party is none other than the incumbent president: Barack Obama!

While Obama did an amazing job on the campain trail during the 2008 presidential election, this time around might be a lot harder for him. He’s put a lot of effort into keeping his promises, but the fact is that the United States is still in a depression or a recession, and the citizens want to work. Its impossible to determine who is to blame for the current situation, but I expect the voters will show their discontent at the polls.

This is my first article on the subject of the 2012 Presidential Elections, but it certainly will not be my last! In fact, I’ve built a new site specifically focused on the matter:

2012 Presidential Elections

That site will have a lot more to offer than my writing, so come on by and join in on the discussion!

With little fanfare, the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare”, was repealed this past week on Wednesday by a Republican led House of Representatives.

I found it strange that the news was so dampened - especially compared to the noise that accompanied its passage last year.

What now? Back to business as usual? Its not like healthcare before “Obamacare” was anything to write home about. Actually thinking about this matter after writing that reminds me of a sound byte I heard on the radio, something along the lines of “to move forward, we have to start over”.

What do you think?

Social networks of days gone by, such as Friendster and MySpace, focused more on entertainment than politics and business.

Social Networks “2.0”

More recent social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook are casting a wider net, and snaring business communities and political campaigns alike.

For example, while DC mayor and incumbent candidate Adrian M. Fenty recently lost the primary bid for reelection and conceded defeat, his supporters weren’t so ready to let go. They formed a Facebook group called “Run Fenty Run”, encouraging voters to write him in when it comes to election day.

While the effect the Internet is having on elections has yet to be determined, its effect on politicians in the news media is changing the landscape of politics forever.

Take for example, the “grass roots” (I use quotes around grass roots there because the terms may seem contrary to high-tech, but in my opinion, isn’t) support given to small-time politician Ron Paul during the last few presidential elections.

Dr. Paul’s supporters built “tea party” websites asking small-time donors to all donate on specific days with great success, breaking several records for single-day campaign donations.

OpenSecrets.org has a page on Ron Paul’s campaign from 2008 that reports that 99% of his campaign funds (about thirty five million dollars) came from individuals. Impressive, huh?

I have no doubt that politicians will look intently to the Internet when trying to raise campaign funds for the next presidential election.

What is the G.O.P. Afraid Of?

As a former Boston native, I’ve always gotten a kick out of the name of the “taxed enough already” party, aka the Tea Party.

While I question how genuine the tea party favorite, Sarah Palin, is, I am fan of some other libertarian politicians, like Ron Paul.

So what is it about the Tea Party that the GOP doesn’t like?

Looks like we have a potential future presidential candidate with Rahm Emanuel, and a Jewish one at that! There has never been a Jewish president of the United States. Could Rahm Emanuel be the first?

Why would I say something like this? Rahm Emanuel is very familiar with the White House. He’s currently the White House Chief of Staff, and has served that role for the Clinton administration as well.

His career path could go something like this:

1. White House Chief of Staff
2. Chicago Mayor
3. Illinois Senator
4. Presidential Candidate

At 50 years of age, Mr. Emanuel has enough time to walk this path.

UPDATE

As of October 3, 2010, Rahm Emanuel has announced that he is indeed running for Mayor of Chicago.

Radio had a major effect on politics, starting way back at the invention of the radio at the dawn of last century all the way through to the present. The radio enabled presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt to address the entire nation (at least those that were tuning in) with weekly radio addresses, though it was Calvin Coolidge to deliver the first address to Congress over the airwaves.

Roosevelt created quite the tradition; weekly radio addresses are continued today, though they have undergone technological advances, integrating podcasts and YouTube! Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all produced some form of weekly radio addresses.

No, the title of this post is a farce, but if you’ve been reading the news, you’ll no doubt have notices reports of one politician comparing another’s actions to prostitution on Twitter.

Technology and 24/7/365 always-on, lightening fast news reports are changing politics in ways we never imagined.

By comparing Senator Lisa Murkowski’s potential run as a third party candidate to prostitution, Joe Miller made what most people would consider a huge mistake. But hang on, think about it - in the aftermath, more people are now even aware of who Joe Miller is. And what will they connect him with? A Twitter gaffe, oh-no! And something having to do with prostitution… wait, he’s a politician, that’s right.

Wow. The news that Philadelphia is trying to tax city $300 for a license bloggers is insane, and I wonder if the upcoming legislation covering SLAPP lawsuits could protect those getting taxed.

Its so ridiculous and frustrating that politicians can engage in behavior that is hurtful and damaging to people and communities without any accountability or recourse. I guess the public is to blame for voting them into office in the first place!

Remember, people:

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska passed away today due to a plane crash. He was 86 years old, and possibly one of the most corrupt politicians the nation has seen. Funny thing is, he seemed proud of it!

He was brought up on charges of corruption in the past, but was still voted into office by Alaskan voters.