COMMENTARY | Compromise has narrowly prevailed in the fiscal cliff drama, though the measure is the equivalent of a two-month overtime. Liberals won the tense congressional negotiations, with taxes ultimately being raised for wealthy Americans, reports Reuters. Because of that victory, the Republican Party will have to shy away from low-tax, low-spend tea party or ultraconservative Republicans in 2016 or risk voters' ire. So my first prediction is that 2016 will see a moderate Republican running. The 2016 GOP nominee will be two-term Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.
In 2008 Democrat Barack Obama bested veteran Senator and famous Vietnam P.O.W. John McCain for the presidency and fended off former Massachusetts governor and Salt Lake City Winter Olympics guru Mitt Romney, millionaire investor extraordinaire, in 2012. Two impressive men, one with a stellar military background and the other with a stellar CEO background, failed to defeat the thin younger fellow with an exotic upbringing. So the GOP will try to mimic the Obama magic by going with Indian-American Bobby Jindal, who has a physical resemblance to Obama himself, next time. Jindal's background is golden: He is a popular two-term state governor, a former U.S. Representative, and both a Clinton- and George W. Bush-era federal appointee, granting him experience in all three realms of national-level governance.
What's more: Jindal may already be angling for the job, having criticized the GOP in the aftermath of Romney's loss, claiming the Republican Party needs to smarten up, reports the Huffington Post.
The Dems, meanwhile, will adopt a similar strategy and will try to slow the Republican gains among white male voters by nominating a white male candidate of their own, essentially trying to mimic the recent GOP nominees. Which white male governor is in a good position to run for president on the Democratic ticket in 2016? I predict Colorado governor John Hickenlooper will take the Democratic nomination.
Hickenlooper, despite having an awkward surname, has an appealing background for those struggling financially. A working man who didn't come from money, this laid-off-geologist-turned-brewer suffered through a weak economy and came out ahead, eventually becoming mayor of Denver. Elected governor in 2010, the popular former mayor has been chosen as vice-chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, reports Politico. A former small business owner who pulled himself up by his bootstraps and eventually became a popular politician in a widely-sought swing state? Sounds like Democratic gold to me!
