The Invisible Hand

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With the Iowa caucuses today, here are my preferences among the major contenders for who I think would be the best US president. From best to worst, with ones on the same line meaning they're essentially tied:

- Thompson/McCain
- Giuliani/Obama
- Romney/Clinton
- Paul
- Huckabee
- Edwards

Some of these rankings are purely based on my opinions of their policies, while others (particularly Obama) are somewhat of a "gut feeling" of their character and how they would do in office.

Predictions: I suspect that at some point before Super Tuesday, whichever of Thompson or McCain is behind (probably Thompson) will drop out and endorse the other, who will then win the Republican nomination. On the Democrat side, Clinton wins a narrow victory in Iowa, but Obama wins New Hampshire and gradually gathers momentum, which lands him the nomination.

As for the general election... who knows?

Morning after update: Obama wins by a surprisingly wide margin, with Edwards and Clinton essentially tied for second. On the other side, it's another larger-than-expected victory for Huckabee, with Romney in second and Thompson/McCain essentially tied for third.

Now that Iowa's done with, all the politicians will hopefully forget all about ethanol. (Hey, I can dream...)

Update 2: I bumped Rudy up a level, due to his big tax cut plan.

Labels: US politics