The Little Vegan...

So as all of you know by now, I am a health freak. In fact I am so particular about what goes in my body, that I will not eat anything that includes ingredients with multi-syllabic names. Okay, so that is a load of crap, in fact I don't know that I would survive without my daily helping of MSG (I take it in pill form if I can't get to the Chinese Food Restaurant). With this in mind a candidate's view on diet and health does not really sway my opinion of him (sorry Mr. Huckabee), however, I am also not going to hold it against Dennis Kucinich that he is a vegan. Now for those of you who live in the mid-west and believe that there are only two food groups, meat and dairy, you will be surprised to learn there are people in the world who not only forgo meat, but also don't partake in any other animal by-products. Now before you go calling Kucinich a wimp, you need to learn a little more about his platform. His number one issue: Peace. Okay, let the name calling begin.

Kucinich is an interesting little man (and when I say little I mean it, he is only four feet tall). He is the modern day William Jennings Bryan, a man who seems compelled to run for president whenever an election is held. That aside, Kucinich certainly brings some perspective to this race. He is a man who was, is, and will forever be against the war. In fact Kucinich is the only candidate in the race (Republican or Democratic) who has consistently, and unequivocally voted against the war, funding the war, and even the word "War". Kucinich's number one issue, "Strength through Peace", may sound a bit touchy-feely, but in a day when we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on war, his message no longer seems so naive.

As you continue to learn more about his platform, it becomes apparent that the Kucinich strategy is to ensure that he is not outflanked on the left by anyone else in the field. He is the only candidate who is proposing a Universal, Single-Payer, Not for Profit Health Care System. Kuchinich is also in favor of ending world poverty, developing sustainable energy, and ending America's participation in NAFTA and the WTO. This last issue is the only thing that keeps Kucinich from being the anti-Ron Paul (In fact, aside from this issue, they are almost exact opposites of one another, which is fortunate for me, as now when I write my blog about Ron Paul I can just say "The opposite of Dennis Kucinich").

So to recap:

Positives: Anti-war, pro-health care, anti-poverty

Negatives: No chance of ever being elected, might kind of possibly be a bit of a socialist, no explicit plan on how to pay for his myriad of initiatives.

All-in-all Kucinich is the candidate for those of you out there who are still holding onto the idealistic view of a socialist society that we were indoctrinated with by our overweight college professors. Although, I think that Kucinich has some strong ideas, he has no chance of being elected in the real world, where real people live. This little man does have some fight in him, and I am sure that he will not give up easily. He has been successful in government and successful in love (he has a smokin hot wife who must be a full foot taller than him), so don't rule out this diminutive little warrior.

Okay, so you can rule him out! He really doesn't have a chance, but first we should take some time to listen to what he has to say. Thoughtful community geared policies and genuine compassion for people are ideals that we should all embrace.