From the start it appeared as though the Democratic primary would be boring. Everybody knew Hillary Clinton was going to win. Political pundits predicted drama in the Republican primary. Clearly there are more actors on the Republican ticket. More than can fit on one debate stage as a matter of fact.
However, the surprise so far has been the lack of clarity on the Democratic side. The emergence of Bernie Sanders as a legitimate challenger to Hillary Clinton (He leads in New Hampshire and is closing in Iowa) and the potential of a Joe Biden candidacy is creating more suspense than was previously expected.
Visions of America vary greatly on the issue of economics in the primary contests. It appears as though the focus of the Democratic candidates is on economic fairness (minimum wage, free college tuition, health care for all, etc..) The focus of most Republican candidates appears to be, not on economic fairness, but on economic growth. Tax cuts, regulation reform and simplification of our tax code has been dominating their economic debate.
Interestingly the debt and deficit has not been a primary economic issue for any candidate running for office. The front runners are focused on economic plans (tax cuts, free college) that would probably add to our national debt. No candidate is talking about reducing the benefits we are currently paying out. Apparently the politics of offering fewer benefits to voters is not an appealing strategy.
Of course no political analysis would be complete without mentioning Donald Trump. And now we have done that.