So, Sen. Rand Paul announced in Louisville earlier today that he was throwing his hat into the ring for the Presidency of the United States. Hooray, or should I say instead, whoopty shit. Not overly impressed with Sen. Paul being willing to take potshots at his own party along with Democrats in making his announcement. He can shout about big government all he wants, but at the same time, Sen. Paul is still just party-line enough to remain a cog in that big government wheel. 

Despite the party line stances and positions, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, and every other GOP headliner are not political outsiders, no matter how thick they want to coat their speeches with that rhetoric. 

Then again, Sen. Paul can shout about whatever he wants, because conventional wisdom says he will remain in the race just long enough to test the waters of both public opinion and fundraising, before retreating to the safety of his Senate seat around the time the filing deadline for his reelection bid comes up. In other words, the speeches may be lofty, but he'll wind up doubling down on the safe bet after a few hands at the big table.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...Happy New Year. Not that I'm sad to see the end of 2014, or overly excited to see the beginning of 2015 (and not because this is the year I turn 40), but now is the time of year for resolutions, promises for change (if not improvement), and the yen to cloak one's self in the air of optimism of those possibilities laid out before them over the coming twelve months.

Also, since we are now less than a year away from another Presidential election cycle, the predictions are ramping up. Who's making the moves or taking the steps to launch a run for the White House. We got the new breed- Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Elizabeth Warren, along with rumors swirling around about usual suspect Hilary Clinton, and Jeb Bush, leaving us just enough leeway for another Clinton/Bush throwdown. Yawn. Seen this movie before, wasn't impressed with how it turned out. 

But then again, I've kicked around the notion of running for the Presidency, off and on since I was in eighth grade back in the later 1980s. 2012 was the first cycle I was finally completely qualified (being old enough) to throw my hat in the ring, but I had other irons in the fire. I had just finished up a mayoral bid in New Albany, was dealing with a sudden move one town over, and there was just not enough time to properly plan out the campaign I wanted to run.

Fast forward to the present. Little more time, a little more research, and things are a bit different. It is not like the process has changed all that much, it's not like there aren't already two dozen or so people who take a shot every four years, and it's not like I've got so much planned for this year that I can't spend the year planning out a campaign. 

So, wait...am I declaring myself a candidate for President of the United States in 2016? Yes, yes I am. I am going to launch a campaign as a write-in candidate, either independently or with the backing of the United States Marijuana Party. I do not have a nine-digit war chest, nor do I expect to raise nine-digits worth of war cash, so to be completely honest, I know I'm playing for fourth or fifth place in the final windup. I do, however, intend to chronicle this experience over the next twenty three months or so for an eBook release, both date and title obviously to be announced later on. 

A good deal of the planning is out of the way, in so far as what states I can seek ballot access in, and the administrative infrastructure, so much of the next few months will be getting the social media set up, trying to get some word out, and getting the little odds and ends taken care of behind the scenes. 

So yeah, my name is Thomas Keister, and I am running for President of the United States. Good afternoon, America, Happy New Year, and good luck.