The 2016 presidential campaign is officially underway.
On Monday the first major candidate, Ted Cruz, officially started his campaign.
Cruz is in his first term in the U.S. Senate representing Texas, one that’s been filled with controversy and headline-grabbing political maneuvers.
Highlights include helping to shut down the government, accidentally confirming Obama’s Surgeon General and becoming the most hated Republican in the chamber. John McCain even called him a “wacko bird”, and I’m inclined to agree.
Whether it’s comparing Obamacare to Nazi Germany, accusing the Secretary of Defense of being bribed by North Korea or telling a three-year-old girl the world is on fire, Cruz is kind of out there.
There’s no denying Cruz is smart. He’s a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School. He was editor of the Harvard Law Review, clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist and argued several cases before the Supreme Court.
But Cruz has several problems on his path to the presidency. Aside from his bridge-burning tactics in Congress, he has several land mines in his personal and political lives.
Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father. Though Cruz was born with American citizenship, no person born outside the U.S. has ever won the presidency, and it remains an open legal question whether he is eligible.
This is ironic considering the supporters Cruz would most likely gain are the same people who called out President Obama — when he was actually born in America.
Cruz’s father is … colorful. Every president has an eccentric relative they want to sweep under the rug, but Cruz’s father has an especially long record of saying crazy things.
Most of all, Cruz’s scorched-earth rhetoric may play well in a Republican primary but would crash and burn in a general election. For all the ultra-conservative elements in the Republican Party, the party wants to win the presidency.
Cruz is smart enough to realize this. His campaign is all about grabbing headlines, attention and praise. That comes as no surprise, as Cruz has spent his time in the Senate chasing these things rather than governing.
The reality-be-damned actions of Cruz in Congress may be applauded on Fox News but are not indicative of a leader. I admire Cruz’s strong belief in his principles, but obstructionism and hot air do not make a president.
In the end, it’s highly unlikely that the party will nominate Cruz, which is good for them and the country. After all, he is a wacko bird.