This is part one of a two-part series on the presidential campaign trails. We first look at how things are shaping up on the Republican side. In the next column (part two), we will take a look on the Democrat side.

Even the birds are curious; so, we took a pass with them over the Republican debates sites. You won’t believe how things look through the birds’ eyes. Let me show you.

Are you aware it is an election season? If not, I have two words: good for you. Well, it’s three but who is counting? Seriously, who doesn’t know? Even if you live in a cave – scratch that – if you live in a cave without internet connection – scratch that too. Doesn’t T-Mobile have signal everywhere? Oops, that’s not T-Mobile, is it? – Well, unless you live outside our planet AND you express no interest in what’s going on here on Earth, you would know that the presidential elections have reached fever high level. Bashing, insults, mudsling, lies, truth inflation, truth distortion, cursing are all in the menu and it’s just the beginning. We, the public, are in for a treat or a nightmare depending on your point of view. The Republican frontrunner has been sucking up all the “presidential campaign season” oxygen, leaving all others to scavenge for what’s left of “political” air.  As if he was teasing us, the frontrunner did go underground for a New York minute; just when it seemed there was a chance to force him to share the spotlight (with the other candidates), the frontrunner decided to go global.

A few weeks ago, hundreds of thousands of Britons (United Kingdom citizens) signed a petition asking their legislators to ban Donald Trump from entering UK, in retaliation for his “ban all Muslims from US” statement. – Of course, it is a mere symbol as the UK legislators would not go along with those wishes – Now, ISIS has found a partner in Donald Trump; he is very famous among the ISIS’ promoters; his “ban all Muslims from US” statement video has made the round on the internet and used as a recruiting tool for Islamic extremists. When questioned about it, Donald Trump “quipped” it as irrelevant and inconsequential. He is right; he has yet to pay any price for his many outrageous statements.  In the meantime, here in the United States, the fast approaching Iowa caucus has sent all candidates scrambling for third, fourth or lower position since the first two spots are occupied by Ted Cruz and Donald Trump according to the latest polls. What should you expect when the dust is settled?

As I mentioned in a previous article, Iowa is where the irrelevant – I really mean low performing – candidates will receive an “irrelevancy confirmation card”; translation, those candidates will be sent packing either to silent isolation or to become another candidate’s spokeperson or promoter. I’ve singled out Rick Santorum in particular to have been so shortsighted when he dropped out of the 2012 presidential race under pressure from the party’s leaders; at the time he withdrew his candidacy, I verbally declared it was the end of his political career. I was right then; I am right now. Rick should drop out of the race now in order to avoid further humiliation; the outcome is expected to be worse for him this time than in 2012.

What would become of the rest? Let’s see. Per my assessment, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush will survive Iowa; the first four will do well enough to keep their campaigns humming; Jeb and Chris will ride off their poor performance in Iowa, tighten their political belts, redouble their effort an convince themselves they will do better in New Hampshire and beyond. Chris Christie already has something going on for him in New Hampshire; in addition to having received the endorsement of a major local news publication in the area, Chris is leading in the polls in New Hampshire according to the latest survey. Correction: Chris was leading in the polls, not anymore. The lead now belongs to none other than Donald Trump followed closely by Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson. Jeb on the other hand may have to wait until South Carolina to re-insert himself, re-assure his supporters that “Jeb Can Fix It” slogan was not just a fad.

The others – John Kasich, Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Jim Gilmore – are simply not able to convince the Republican constituents they are “Christian Conservatives” enough to warrant enough votes to carry them to the next state. I almost forgot; besides having been endorsed by almost all publications in the state of Ohio where he is Governor, Kasich just snatched four major endorsements, Georgia Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, State Senator Fran Millar, former State Party Chair Rusty Paul, and John Watson; two of which Cowsert and Watson will serve as State Co-Chairs in John’s campaign while Millar and Paul will join Kasich for America’s Georgia Statewide Leadership Team. This type of “endorsements with benefit” seems more like an arrangement.

Mike Huckabee on the other hand must have not prayed hard enough or God must have closed his ears to his prayers; either way, Mike Huckabee should take that as a sign Heaven thinks he is not fit to be president. Carly Fiorina should perform the abracadabra disappearing act before the Iowa caucus in order to avoid further embarrassment. Rand Paul, well can you recall when he was seen as a viable candidate for the Oval Office? I can’t either; it’s been so long. Even his voice seems to have been drowned by the constant waves of Donald Trump’s outrageous statements. If Rand Paul wants to stick around a bit longer and be relevant, he needs to consult with his father. Nah! That would not work. He needs to insult Donald Trump. Yes, that should work but…

I just about show you everything you need to know about the presidential elections – in the Republican corner – and the candidates. If you are looking for a miracle – translation: you want Donald Trump to go away – you need to be on your knees right about now until the next Republican debate slated for this Thursday, January 14, 2015 at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, hosted by Fox Business Network. Be aware however that since the discussions will be mostly around the economy, Trump will be able to speak very loudly; in other words, you may want to go on a three-day fasting if you really want Trump to go away.

In the next column, I will show you what’s going on in the Democrat corner, from a birds’ eye view of course.

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