As ever, it is a mixed bag of outright racists, homophobes, warmongers, religious demagogues and, last but not least, private equity carpetbaggers. Only libertarian leaning Dr Ron Paul, who is enjoying solid and surging support amongst young and independent voters, could be described as a remotely honest and genuine candidate for what is otherwise a pretty good advertisement for national suicide.
As of writing, Mitt Romney, former CEO of Bain (or is that, Bane?) Capital, is the front runner, following a strong win in New Hampshire and a narrow (actually, statistical dead heat) victory in Iowa.
Mr Romney is the perfect blend of snake oil salesman that pleases the “organization man” generation of white collar “entrepreneurs” who did so well in the cold war ear of paranoia and beret wearing communists hiding in every closet. His particular brand of slick, packaged political messaging, amusingly referred to in the national press as “electability”, while appearing popular amongst an electorate at the end of their tether with decades of treasonous and downright incompetent shenanigans inside the beltway, belies the complete lack of any credible platform for positive change, beyond the big government “open borders, carbon taxes, war” national corporate socialism that has been continued without interruption by the US national security state under Bush and Obama.
But behind all the hair spray, spin and messaging, Romney is nothing more than a stuffed shirt denizen of the pin striped, cigar toting, mint julep brigade of Wall St money men. Claiming that his experience at Bain Capital, helping companies and businesses promote growth is ludicrous at best, and downright sinister at worst. For those ignorant of the functioning of Private Equity, a quick glance at the performance of the top 10 US LBO (Leveraged Buyout Offer) deals, 6 are in distress and 4 have already defaulted. In fact, the figures tend to suggest that between 2011 and 2014, somewhere in the region of between $3 and $5 trillion in debt will need to be refinanced, without the benefit of securitization, due to the ongoing banking crisis.
This will be politically impossible for Obama to pull off, in view of his increasing radioactivity on Capitol Hill and with the wider electorate, so will putting the first 100% bona fide Manchurian Global Candidate in the White House ensure that the financial establishment he so clearly represents get the green light for the next phase of the criminal looting and asset stripping of American tax payers, already smarting from the MF Global scandal and criminal negligence of Congress in letting Obama crony and former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine off the hook unscathed?