Unsurprisingly, there is already talk of Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016.  She has been planning to get back to the White House since before she left there.  Her time as senator in New York was a stepping stone to the presidency.  When Barack Obama derailed her plans in 2008, she took the job of Secretary of State so that she wouldn’t burn her bridges.

2016 could end up being a very interesting presidential election year.  Personally, I think the presidency is overrated in regards to who wins.  The rhetoric differs between candidates, but the policies are continuous.  Republicans and Democrats don’t like to hear this, but there is not much difference between Obama and his predecessor Bush.

And if you look at the 2012 election, it was a contest of Obamacare and Romneycare.  Romney didn’t want to admit it, but Obamacare was essentially modeled after Romney’s plan in Massachusetts.

I think 2016 does matter though, if only as a reflection of public opinion.  Ironically, Hillary’s biggest threat right now is Obamacare.  This healthcare debacle has become quite unpopular, especially as people get kicked off their insurance plans and they see the huge premiums for new plans.  It is tied to the Democrats and Hillary is a Democrat.

I almost wonder if Hillary will start to distance herself from Obamacare.  Her job in Obama’s cabinet was related to foreign policy and had little or nothing to do with medical care.  I am just not sure if Hillary will push for her fully socialized healthcare agenda or if she will just try to change the subject.

I can envision Hillary getting into the White House, even though she is disliked by many.  Some people are enthusiastic about Hillary, but about half the country doesn’t like her.  It might be more accurate to say that half the country dislikes or hates Hillary.

But I can still see a path to the White House for her, similar to her husband.  Many people forget that Bill Clinton never won a majority of the popular vote.  Of those who actually voted, he only received 43% of the vote in 1992 and 49% of the vote in 1996.  Remember Ross Perot?

I would not be surprised to see Jesse Ventura run for president in 2016 as an independent candidate.  And don’t discount his chances.  He is very anti-establishment at a time when people are not fond of the government.  Ventura is mostly anti-war and pro civil liberties.  As a libertarian, I think he is lacking in economic understanding, but I do give him credit for having some principles, having honesty, and having a backbone.

I can also envision Rand Paul getting the Republican nomination.  He is far more political than his father and he will play ball with the establishment Republicans.  (I am not saying this as a good thing.)

If there is an election in 2016 between Hillary Clinton, Rand Paul, and Jesse Ventura, I can see Hillary getting in with 40% of the popular vote, or maybe even a little less.  If Ventura and Paul both get around 30%, then Hillary gets in.

This would make sense, as many independents and left-leaning libertarians (if that isn’t a contradictory label) would likely support Ventura.  Many right-leaning libertarians (again, if it isn’t a contradictory label) and most Republicans would support Paul.  Most Democrats and a few independents would support Hillary.

Even if the Republicans nominated someone else, I could still envision something similar to happen.  There are a lot of possible candidates, although Chris Christie looks far less likely now.

I don’t necessarily think this country is doomed if Hillary gets in as president.  She is extremely corrupt and power-hungry, but even tyrants are limited in their abilities by public opinion.

It will be interesting to see if Jesse Ventura runs.  In my opinion, I think it would be a good thing, even if he didn’t win.  I think he would attempt to expose a lot of government secrets and lies.  He would bring up issues that we otherwise wouldn’t hear about and he would challenge his opponents.

2016 may be a really interesting year for politics.  It may be even more interesting if the economy is falling off a cliff at that point.  If anything, the results will likely give us an indication if there has been a shift in public opinion towards more liberty and less government.