It’s that time of the year again the political heavy weights are getting in their respective corners to duke it out for the 2008 presidential bid.Sometimes you look at each side and shake your head, unsure of whether each party has lost its flippin’ mind or if you’re just not getting the inside joke. On the blue side of the proverbial ring, we have two highly recommended leaders: Hillary Rodham Clinton and newcomer Barack Obama. On the red side we have selected whacko John McCain and old New York’s hero mayor Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani.We’ll start with Hillary Clinton, the one that’s getting the most flack for being a woman candidate and yet…she’s the strongest running one on the board! Most of us know Hillary through her husband Bill, who was president from 1992-2000 and had quite the legacy. Hillary is a hard hitter when it comes to children’s rights, medical benefits and military health programs. She is currently pulling hard on the affections of other American women, hoping to garner support from them, first and foremost.The new, and baby faced, Senator Barack Obama has quite the following now. In 2004 Barack’s bid to run for the Illinois Senate was recognized and the public voted him in with confidence; it would seem that same public group is supporting his run for the presidency. Barack works hard to protect the rights of Veterans, the right to vote and the right of families to have affordable healthcare. John McCain promises to keep our military at its strongest, promises to protect wildlife and believes in fiscal responsibility. Too bad John spouts religious rhetoric left and right, whether it’s about overturning Roe vs. Wade or hate-mongering on the gay community. John sees stem cell research as a great thing, but then turns in saying that it’s morally wrong and poses real ethical problems. He’s pretty much against everything more than half of Americans are for such as: gay marriage, women’s rights and the right to expand stem cell research. Boys will be boys, I guess.Rudy Giuliani is a good guy; he really is. But him going for the Republicans is like a bad train wreck you can’t stop watching. When Rudy was mayor of New York he did great things, such as: cutting crime and murder, reforming welfare and creating jobs for unemployed New Yorkers. Working hard for the people is what he’s all about, which isn’t all that bad really. It’s a sad thing to see him surrounded by corrupt people that just want to drag him along for the ride.Whatever you decide this political season, make sure you’ve got your boxing gloves on and are ready to tackle the big issues with these forerunners. 2008 is only a year away, and this year is only going to get rockier.