Many Republicans claim that the current election season reveals the Reagan Coalition has collapsed. The bitter and extended infighting has failed to galvanize a candidate and there seems to be no end in sight. All those running on the GOP side like to evoke the name of their idol but conservatives throughout this great land can’t quite find the “Great Communicator” in any of their candidates. Each tries to grab a hold of piece of Reagan philosophy but can’t quite retain the essence. Republicans voters are at a loss. Their candidates this season are shifty; moving in out of focus with each state primary. Most candidates evoke the words “change” but they exude status quo.

The Democrats have issues as well. Barack Obama is an amazing orator. He is able to deliver words that compel people to watch in amazement or even to cry. But the one term Senator is an empty vessel. People fill it up with their hopes and ambitions. Many people hope the intelligence exhibited by the young politician will propel him to greatness. Like many campaigns, voters are hoping that the new candidate will correct the flaws of the previous president. In 2000 America was searching for a President that was moral and would return wholesomeness to the White House. George Bush, who obviously loved his wife and was the son of George H.W. Bush, seemed to fit that mold. Never mind about the other qualities. Barack Obama is able to rectify the most significant shortcoming of President Bush, eloquence. When a candidate is eloquent it also magnifies their intelligence in the eyes of the listener. The appearance that Bush lacks intelligence is also world renown, literally. Senator Obama appears to have that base covered as well. However, when Bill Clinton said a vote for Obama was a “roll of the dice” there is some truth in that statement. We really don’t know what we will get with him because he is such an unknown.

Senator Clinton is a known quantity. Therein lies her greatest weakness. Like the current occupier of the Oval Office, she is a divider not a uniter. People associate her with her husband. The electorates’ mind is made up when it comes to Hillary. Her presidency will continue to divide the nation. Most of her opponents have her pegged as a liberal but she is less liberal than her two main rivals in the Democratic Party. She refuses to say her vote to authorize the war in Iraq was a mistake and that point alone alienates her with the more left leaning faction of her party. She is also a solid friend of the military. In fact she has received the most donations from key military industrial companies than any candidate from either party. Top military personnel who have met with her for any length of time have their skepticism swept away by her attentiveness to their requests.

The race on both sides has become a dog fight and the excitement level is unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes since 1968. Ok, so I’m old. With Michigan for the GOP tomorrow and South Carolina and Nevada coming in rapid succession I can only think of the famous poker saying, shuffle up and deal!

*WWRD in the title means “What Would Reagan Do?”