It's that time of year again, folks.  The primary season is 1/2 way over and the Democrats have yet to firmly stand behing one of the two remaining candidates:  Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.  

Given that, suppose you voted for a candidate in your state's primary or caucas and he or she were eventually to lead in the delegate and overall vote count by the time the Democratic convention rolled into Denver from Aug 25-28, 2008.

What next?  You'd expect that candidate to receive the support of the superdelegates, right?  

I believe I've come up with a brilliant idea when it comes time to cast your vote in the upcoming primaries.  

I know this diary will be a bit too late for those voters who've already cast their ballot and I commend them all for getting out to vote regardless of who their favorite candidate might be.

That being said, I've come up with a response to some of the so-called dirty politics that has permeated the Democratic primary season.

Long ago, this country was founded on the principle that all men were created equal.  But, that wasn't really the case.  In fact, the only people allowed to vote were those who were white, male and property owners; this accounted for roughly 10-16% of the total population back at the foundation of our country.  The shame of all of this was that it wasn't until almost 200 years later that women and people of color were given that same right - the right to vote.  

Indeed, the inequalities that existed yesterday continue to this day.  Take for example, running for political office. Again I want to reiterate that this country was founded on the principle that all men were created equal.  Keeping that in mind, consider this - there have been estimates discussed recently in the news that in the 2008 Presidential Election, the cost of running will exceed $1 billion dollars.  That's over $500 million per candidate (if we consider this a 2 party race - which I do).

in the upcoming 2008 Presidential election.  

I would think that most of us here share many of the same concerns for our country. That much seems to be a given.   But, what are those issues that are of most concern to you and why?  And, what do you feel are the issues that you think the US has the best chance to remedy?  

Below is a list of issues that I feel need to be addressed:

US hegemony across the globe.
US involvement in the Middle East.
The Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Global warming and the effort to combat it.
Primary education - K-12.
Higher education and it's affordability.
Medicare and it's maintenance.
Social Security and the babyboomers.
The rising costs of health care.
Capitalism and it's effects on local populations.

I'm a bit dismayed when candidate's relatives are thrown into the mix.  

In Massachusetts it's been revealed that Deval Patrick's brother in law was convicted of raping his own wife, Deval's sister, in the early 90's and subsequently spent time in jail for it, as well.  The husband and wife have since reconciled and have two children.  Their personal story was written up in the Boston Herald and published today.

It's been said before by the gentleman from New York, Rep. Charles Rangel - if we bring back the compulsory military service then it levels the playing ground and many more Americans in the United States will have a vested interest in the Iraq War.

Mr. Rangel introduced the Universal National Service Act of 2006 last February. It called for all people in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18 and 42, to perform a period of military service or period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security.

A news release posted on Rangel's website noted,

"Right now, the only people being asked to sacrifice in any way are those men and women who, with limited options, chose military service and now find themselves in harm's way in Iraq. A draft would ensure that every economic group would have to do their share and not allow some to stay behind while other people's children do the fighting."

There's been a lot of talk in recent times regarding the tightening of the boot straps on the middle and lower classes in the United States.  In the past 30 years changes to the tax code have benefited the upper class much to the dismay and at the cost of the middle and lower classes.  

The journal titled "The Economist", dated 17 June 2006, has recently reported on this trend and through it's research has come to the conclusion that children born to lower class parents have less of a chance of upward mobility than their peers in Europe.  Indeed, children born to the middle class are facing the same lot what with tax cuts cutting into revenues that would typically be paid into by the upper class, thus pinching the middle class of dollars they wholeheartedly deserve for the work they perform.  

So, what has become of the American dream where anyone who puts in an honest day's work and has the entrepeneurial drive  can fulfill said dream?