So far as I can recall, I had never heard of Susan Rice before Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton handed Benghazi off to her and told her to go out on five Sunday news shows and take one for the team. Her assignment was to pretend that a well-planned terrorist attack that left four Americans dead was a spontaneous response to an inconsequential video. Needless to say, she didn’t exactly carry the ball across the goal line. What she did was the equivalent of fumbling on the two yard line and watching the opposition run it back for a 98-yard touchdown.

Knowing that she would never be confirmed, she paid the ultimate price by removing herself from contention when Obama selected her to replace Mrs. Clinton as Secretary of State. As a consolation prize, Obama made her his National Security Advisor. Like most of his other decisions, this one, too, turned out to be an unmitigated disaster.

When it came to defending the swap of five Gitmo terrorists for Bowe Bergdahl, Susan Rice had the gall to say that Bergdahl “served with honor and distinction.” Ludicrous for sure, but, then, she’d use the same words to describe Barack Obama’s presidency.

But perhaps she reached the nadir of her public life when she went on CNN to defend Obama’s deal with Iran and had the following exchange with Wolf Blitzer after he said that Iran would be able to buy weapons for al-Assad and Hezbollah with the previously frozen $150 billion.

Rice: “They can’t do that, Wolf, because they’ll still be under an arms embargo that would prevent them from sending weapons.”

Blitzer: “What if they’re just sending money for the purchase of weapons?”

Rice: “They may be able to send money, yes. By the way, Wolf, just to be clear, they are sending money now while they are under sanctions.”

Blitzer: “Yeah, but they will have a lot more money if the sanctions are lifted.”

Rice: “Yes, they will have more money.”

Keep in mind that Rice not only graduated from Stanford, but Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. For his part, Obama graduated from Colombia and Harvard Law School. Anyone still think affirmative action is a good thing?

Speaking of Obama, in an interview with NPR, he said that he was sure that racism is often the reason that some people criticize him. I don’t doubt that he’d like to believe that’s the motivating force. For all I know, that’s what he keeps hearing from Susan Rice, Valerie Jarrett and his wife. But even so, wouldn’t a Harvard graduate occasionally wonder why these very same racists seem to have great respect and even affection for Dr. Ben Carson, Clarence Thomas and Thomas Sowell? Personally, I’ve never known a racist who drew a distinction between liberals and conservatives and I’m willing to bet that Obama hasn’t, either.

In the wake of 9/11, we heard that justice would be swift and decisive. We were told that once we caught up with those who planned it, we wouldn’t be kidding around. Yet here it is nearly 2016 and we have Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and four of his co-conspirators cooling their heels down in Gitmo, and rumor has it that a trial won’t be held until 2020, if then.

Apparently, Col. James Pohl, who is in charge of military tribunals at Gitmo, has been allowing the terrorists to litigate over the right to pray during the trial, to wear battle fatigues, even to have a softer pillow provided during bus rides.

I’m no expert on military court proceedings, but I doubt if providing prayer mats and cushy pillows are mentioned anywhere in the rule book.

As one of the 9/11 survivors aptly puts it: “This is jihad in the courtroom.”

According to a recent poll, 50% of voters would be embarrassed to have Donald Trump in the Oval Office, while 35% feel that way about Hillary Clinton. Frankly, I would be 100% embarrassed to have to choose between a boorish blowhard and a pathological liar. But I’d rather be embarrassed with Trump than horror-stricken with Mrs. Clinton.

Speaking of embarrassing, it’s hard to choose which is worse, Michael Moore holding a sign that reads “We Are All Muslim” or tens of millions of American adults spending hours sitting, standing or sleeping in the streets, in order to be among the first to see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

As we go into 2016, I feel it’s time for another presidential poll. The last time I conducted one, I still had a blog, and the GOP still had Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki, in contention for the brass ring.

Today we are down to (alphabetically): Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump.

I know that people like to say that anything can happen in presidential politics, and like to point to early poll-leaders of the past who crashed and burned even before they got to New Hampshire. But I’ll climb out on a limb and predict that at least half of these people will be gone by mid-February. They’re the ones who are only sticking around in order to sell their books or garner higher fees for their speeches. As for Jeb Bush, I suspect he’s gotten in touch with his inner masochist and has discovered he actually enjoys being ridiculed by Trump.

So I am asking you to send me an email at [email protected] and let me know who you are supporting at this time, not whom you predict will be the nominee. And, yes, I understand that you might change your mind along the way. After all, I’ve already changed my own mind a few times already.

I only ask that you limit your response to a single name and that you not bother explaining your vote or letting me know who your second choice might be. Believe me, we’ll get to all that later.