Michael Moriarty -- Election Thrills and Spills

ELECTION THRILLS AND SPILLS

By Actor Michael Moriarty
January 11, 2008
NewsWithViews.com

Well, we were all, or most of us, taken by surprise in the Iowa Primary. Huckabee and Obama?!

I had the remaining two parts of a Progressive Trilogy entitled God of the Progressives, all proof-read and ready for delivery to NewswithViews.com, but, alas, the Iowa returns came in and I believe, between the large turnout of the evangelical movement and Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama, the unexpected happened.

The refreshing news for me was Rudy Giuliani in single digits and Hillary Clinton running third behind Obama and John Edwards.

My disappointment, of course, was that my favorite, Fred Thompson, did so poorly.

Oh, well � the American elections � nothing like it in the we world! I am quite pleased that the real and most profound issue of the coming election, Roe v. Wade or legalized abortion, is clearly the "Great Divide" between the two political parties and their candidates. If this distinction remains, we shall have an election reflecting most clearly the two, very different paths down which the people of America may choose to go.

Barack Obama and family celebrate his Iowa victory on January 3

Obama's opponents in the Democratic Party's race, the Clintons particularly, are endlessly ambitious and neither of the Clintons will relinquish leadership of the World Progressive Movement gracefully. Coming up could be a "political" Oklahoma City bombing, so to speak, before Election Day. That is just a hunch, but when the personal stakes are so high for the Clintons, we have seen how anything is possible.

It wasn't legal advice that saved the Clinton administration from the President's lies about Monica Lewinsky or the disastrous Waco decisions. It was the Oklahoma City bombing. That nightmare made opponents of the Clintons look more evil than the Clintons themselves, and that, of course, included Clinton's political opponents.

Can the Clintons shift the major blame twice? They would need another major tragedy to happen first. From what tragedy would the Clintons most benefit ... if, as I said, they can shift the blame?

As for the Republicans?

Well, we've been warned about a Giuliani strong finish, but his not even coming "out of the gate" in Iowa will have negative resonance throughout his entire campaign. His Republican opponents should remind the voters of Giuliani's arrogant disregard of Iowa. He could very well therefore, as President, treat some portions of America with the same insolence.

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This is my immediate response to the results of the first, profoundly important 2008 Presidential Primary in Iowa. Though I regret postponing my trilogy on Progressives, I welcome the emotional thrills and spills always waiting for us in an American presidential election.

Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent movie and TV credits include, Pale Rider, Who'll Stop the Rain, The Glass Menagerie, Courage Under Fire, The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby, Deadly Skies and many more.