Presidential election preview for 2016

Browsing through the news this morning, I was struck by the casual mention of whether or not certain prominent politicians will be running for president in 2016. And if so, how is what they are doing now going to affect or influence their chances? My first thought was really? Didn't Obama just get inaugurated last week? Are we really talking about the next election-- the one after the mid-term elections?

But we are. And when I thought about it, the election season seems to start a year out for the presidential election. And the election itself is in early November, not January like the inauguration. So, if campaigning is going to start in, say, late 2015, well then, that's just over two years away, and it never hurt anybody to plan ahead, right?

No, it's really about the media. With Obama in his second term, it's time to start building up to the next drama. I think that's where it comes from.

This morning, a front page Washington Post article featured Hillary Clinton, simply for saying that she is "not inclined" to run. I take that to mean that she isn't planning on it, is probably instead planning on taking a break and is self-aware enough to know that she may or may not want to run when she thinks about it a year from now. So, essentially, we have a non-story becoming front page news. She's not in or out, she's just not thinking about it right now.

And then there's the bipartisan immigration reform presentation. Everyone is looking at Mark Rubio because he is Latino, his parents were Cuban immigrants, and you guessed it - he's in the running to be the Republican nominee for president in 2016. The press is making his actions out to be a political move to help his own chances and the chances of the Republican party as a whole. Whether this is a calculated move on either front, or simply one the press is spinning to create controversy when bipartisan agreement should really be at the forefront, I'm not sure.

What I do know is we all deserve a break from the presidential speculation.

Image courtesy of pennstatelive via flickr