Zodiacal Musings

Leo

I'm no more of an astrologer than Al Gore is a climatologist but I'm going to borrow some horoscopic symbols to take an offbeat look at the election.

Now that Hillary has been sidelined we can forget about a Scorpio president. You don't have to believe in astrology to believe in Scorpio's. Just ask around. There's enough evidence available at November birthday parties to make one take notice. President Bush, who has more sense than to listen to astrological advice or predictions, nevertheless married a Scorpio, made another (Condi) his secretary of state, and tried to get another (John Bolton) in the U.N. Scorpio's can be dynamically powerful which makes them greatly admired by some and feared by others as untrustworthy demagogues. Scorpio's can lead, e.g. Teddy Roosevelt and George Patton. And they can scare us and worry us to no end, e.g. Charles Manson and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

John McCain, unfortunately, is a Virgo. So am I. The problem is that almost none of us are natural-born leaders, no matter that we may possess a multitude of other talents. Lyndon Johnson comes to mind. Those who are well known are rarely admired to any degree. George Wallace, Huey Long and Yasser Arafat. Maybe Virgo should be called the sign of the Maverick. Though I'd hate to see it happen John McCain would do better as Hillary's vice-president given their rapport. The reason I'd hate to see it is that I think they would be a formidable team. It wouldn't work, though, if she was his vice-prez. If nothing else Bill, who's every bit a Leo, would see that it didn't work and the results wouldn't bode well for old John.

In the world of sun signs the leader of the pack is generally Leo. Barack Obama is a Leo. I'd feel good about that if I liked him. The problem is that I see how bad lefty Leo's can be. Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Our own Bill Clinton, even Monica Lewinsky, George Soros and lesser annoyances like Sean Penn and Martin Sheen. When a lion gets some power they usually let the world know about it, well beyond the boundaries of whatever office they hold.

What hurts is that we had our chance to put a big cat on the throne and we lost it. Fred Thompson is a wise old lion, one who doesn't roar without a good reason. And he's definitely not a circus lion who's willing to jump through hoops to get elected, such as the one we seem destined to put in the White House. I can hardly blame Fred for not wanting the job badly enough that he would perform tricks for the camera. He does quite well in his own corner of the jungle and seems happy enough - possibly even relieved - to be campaigning for McCain but I wish it was the other way around.

It seems that a lot of us don't want an Obama presidency and yet we hate the thought of voting for the 'maverick'. The latest Gallup poll shows them running pretty close. Forget about astrology. I'm wondering if enough of us are convinced that it's worth our efforts to put McCain in the White House.