Campaign signs, political advertisements and several debates have started to pop up. This means it is time to pick the next president of the United States!

Every four years, United States citizens get the chance to pick our new leaders. Since the incumbent, President Barack Obama, is in office, Republicans have become desperate to get President Obama out of the White House. Before a nominee is picked, the Republican candidates must go through several months of primary elections.

Primary elections are like the elimination rounds of a tournament. These elections pick the candidate to go against the president in November and force the others out of the race. These elections start in January and usually wrap up around June. The first states to have primary elections are Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

People have compared the current Republican candidates to circus clowns for several reasons. Texas Governor Rick Perry was laughed at when he couldn’t remember the third department he would cut. He wants to cut the Department of Commerce, Education and Energy. He dropped out Jan. 20. Former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney changes his positions every few years. For example, in 2002, he said he would preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. Today, he is against abortion. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who dropped out Jan. 4, said Africa was a country.

There is only one candidate who has the reputation and intelligence to beat President Obama. That candidate is Texas Rep. Ron Paul. He has been called the crazy uncle of the GOP by his rivals and the mainstream media because of his libertarian ideologies. He wants to get our troops out of the Middle East and end the current economic crisis.

Paul has been criticized for his views by the mainstream media. His foreign policy has been called a return to isolationism but he actually promotes a strong national defense. “Demanding domestic security in times of war invites carelessness in preserving civil liberties and the right of privacy. Nothing would please the terrorists more than if we willingly give up some of our cherished liberties while defending ourselves from their threat.” Paul said in the Sept. 12 2001 session of Congress.

He has been called a racist because he allegedly wrote racist newsletters in the 1990s. “I’m not a racist. As a matter of fact, Rosa Parks is one of my heroes; Martin Luther King is a hero a�� because they practiced the libertarian principle of civil disobedience, nonviolence.” Paul said at the Jan. 7 2012 debate.

If Paul is not the Republican nominee, people can expect more of the same, if not worse. Many other candidates would want to invade Iran because they have nuclear weapons. If President Obama is reelected, Congress will continue to threat government shutdowns because they can’t agree on anything. With numerous primaries and debates left before the Republican convention Aug. 27, we will have to wait and see who secures the coveted nomination.