Political Crystal Ball: Party Picks for 2016

COMMENTARY | While President Barack Obama only just sewed up his second term in November, for the politically obsessed, it's never too soon to talk about 2016. Much can happen between now and then, but for now, here are my top, perhaps unsurprising presidential picks for each party.

Democratic Party

This selection was, until the news of her blood clot earlier in the week, almost automatic. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wanted the presidency in 2008, but she will be ready for the presidency, health willing, in 2016.

The Hillary Clinton of the past had an abrasiveness, a lack of diplomacy that holding the most diplomatic position in the government has honed smooth. Though I'd always been a Clinton family supporter, and had great admiration for the former First Lady and then senator, she was not the right person to help haul us out of the muck of the Bush years.

And without these four years of her marking her political space apart from her husband, former President Bill Clinton, we might always have wondered who would really be at the helm of a Hillary Clinton presidency. That question is gone.

With her doctors affirming she's likely to have a full recovery, 2016 could be Clinton's year.

Republican Party

For someone who's not too fond of the guy, I sure seem to say a lot of stuff that makes me sound fond of the guy. Nonetheless, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie would be the GOP's best bet in 2016.

Sure, many cite the inevitability of a run by Senator Marco Rubio (R, Fla.), but his debacle over the age of the Earth revealed an unseasoned politician unable to handle the slow pitch, let alone the fastball. Jeb Bush's son, George P. Bush, filed paperwork to run for office in Texas, but let me say, on behalf of the country, the very last thing that we need is another George Bush in office.

Chris Christie does his job. And he is not afraid to point out when others - even members of his own party - refuse to do theirs. When Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) adjourned without approving funds for Hurricane Sandy Relief, Christie rightfully called the move "disgusting."

Though I don't agree with most of his political ideals, Christie truly represents the people who elected him, and he takes his obligation and responsibility to them seriously. Those qualities give him the 2016 edge.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/political-crystal-ball-party-picks-2016-222500476.html

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