With Ted Cruz announcing his candidacy for president, the 2016 race officially kicks off.

He is the first of what promises to be a crowded Republican field. I can only hope for a vigorous Democratic campaign as well, though the main narrative now is that Hillary Clinton is the front runner and only top candidate who may run.

I can't believe Democrats won't come out and challenge her, as it stands that giving up a chance to run in 2016 means a Democrat plans to sit out potentially 10 years of campaigning for nation's top political job. Whoever wins in 2016 will seek reelection in 2020 and, as both Obama, Bush and Bill Clinton proved, no matter how unpopular you end up, it's hard to unseat an incumbent.

The preliminary act in the campaign season was for Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, to announce he would not run. How quickly will the next candidates come? Who will challenge Clinton? I hope someone does, as the key to a healthy democracy is consideration of a wealth of ideas and the more candidates the better.

And how will journalists cover the candidates?


So far, the most interesting piece I've read about the upcoming race is how journalists will cover the candidates who deny climate change. Jay Rosen's piece is highlighted with the idea of journalism as finding evidence and shaping beliefs and actions.

With science almost fully accepting that climate change comes from human activity, to deny that is to deny evidence. What method should journalists take with reporting that part of this race?

Read more of Rosen's analysis here.

Please refresh or update page for the latest results from the Oakland County Clerk's Office.

Here are the results of the primary election in Oakland County, Aug. 3, 2014:
 

I've enjoyed the return of the World Cup, especially with the stronger interest in the U.S.

It's good for ESPN to have a heightened American interest, boosted by strong publicity and the need for the big story to be covered by all. A team that could slip into the second round helps.

With nearly 25 million watching the second match of the 3-match first round, again pundits and callers/commenters are debating whether football will finally emerge in the US market. Yes, that's the common debate: Soccer is here; not it's not.

I don't care if other people are interested, but the interest does impact potential viewership opportunities. Without this current rise, NBC put on a fine season of EPL coverage on it's NBC Sports and main network this past season. I was able to watch almost every match, four to five weekend and another five to six On Demand.

So for football fans, we don't need a new audience to come, though networks, I'm sure, want the increased number and NBC may be gambling now hoping for a larger audience next season.

I just hope that Liverpool's Luis Suarez stays in the English Premiere League, where he dominated last season, leading the league in scoring despite a five-game ban for a 2012-2013 biting incident.

And on Tuesday, perhaps the best day of action so far, his bite on the shoulder of an Italian opponent when helping lead his Uruguay to the second round (and leaving Italy to join England and Spain as surprise first-round losers) overshadowed Greece's stunning win over the Ivory Coast, a team featuring many EPL players.

I've hoped Suarez would end up with Arsenal, and many wanted him out of the league after last season's bite. Now, some here are shaming the game for this latest bite. You can't defend the action, but like many American sports stars who are hated for their antics, their own teams and fans often tolerate it if they make them winners. But like all business, more talk and more debate is good. At least they're talking about you.

For me, it's just fun to watch every game (mostly on DVR) when so much rides on a single kick.

They are getting noticed but they are not (hopefully) making their state proud.

Two Tennesseans are in the news today, both for semi-crazy and fairly stupid crimes.

First, a man is accused of faking his kidnapping, as he tried to get his mother to pony up a $200 ransom. The headline there is she didn't want to pay, believing he was faking. Instead, she called police. It leads to a decent mug shot and a story shared around the nation.

Next, and with another mug shot to attract attention, another wire story from Tennessee is about a young woman arrested on a traffic violation, a minor offense until police found a gun hidden inside her vagina.

Yes, not serious news, but such titillating headlines of the various misadventures people find themselves a part of spread easily via social media. Really, they are just minor cases, except they possibly involve drugs and guns, two issues facing all American society.

The coincidence of both being from one of our Southern states just makes it a little more peculiar, but the reality is this stuff happens all over.

For decades, leaders in Detroit and its surrounding suburbs, particularly Oakland County, enjoyed the back and forth of being adversaries. Often, they were wrapped racial politics. But as one area went from undeveloped to being developed, the other crumbled with shrinking population and failing infrastructures.

I'm late to commenting on this, but the recent profile in the New Yorker of L. Brooks Patterson overshadows his overall success as county executive. As many have noted, he has maintained a watchful eye that has created a healthy economic system in Oakland County.

Patterson's job has been to protect his turf.  It is the job of the governor and state to promote a healthy region. Too bad the local political battles couldn't be managed with more reasonable approaches from the state. But I find no fault with Brooks looking out for us, just as he is doing with our water bills and a Detroit water system that has been neglected.

Yes, it is Richard Nixon's birthday today, someone on Twitter pointed out.

Though he denies, it has been deemed that Chris Christies, New Jersey's wildly popular and entertaining governor, a man who decries politics and is celebrated for his ability to get things done and step across the aisle, is the top presidential candidate for the GOP.

He may be, but he is struggling this week as Bridgegate, as Twitter is calling it, explodes, the scandal that he has long denied but appears to have seen his administration punishing a town's residents with a poorly timed traffic study that snarled traffic.

As a commuter, messing with the drive is one grave sin. Not as sexy as an affair, for the media, but for people stuck in traffic, politics wasting our time and productivity is unforgivable.

How Christie handles it is the key. It's not like his weight and eating a donut on late-night TV. Early thoughts are that blaming others and firing them quickly will not do the trick.

The governor's lengthy press conference avoided the usual advice of keep it simple and apologize and then get out of the room. He took the questions, which is good. He rambled on and expressed many emotions, but who knows how people will take that attitude.

Here's what people were saying on Twitter, looking at the Bridgegate hashtag, which is always loads of fun and very insightful:

- Siouxsie Sue ‏@JanisIanCurtis
I had to stop listening to Christie, my quota of male blathering was hit for the day. #bridgegate

- Jennifer Maurer ‏@Maurer_Jen
Can't get the image of Christie in boxers and suspenders in his bedroom, turning red as he read the news on his iPad. Argh!  #bridgegate

- Matt Arco ‏@MatthewArco
Christie #bridgegate press conference approaching 1.5 hours. Press corps laptop batteries beginning to die. This one may be next…

- R.S.S. ‏@_R_S_S_
Why would Kelly lie to Christie about actions that couldn't possibly benefit her personally in the slightest? #bridgegate

- Kellan Martz ‏@KellanMartz
Chris Christie is trying his best but not coming off as fully believable. He had to know about #bridgegate to some degree. embarrassing 4 NJ

- Brian Garcia ‏@CieraRio
Breaking News: Jersey Shore cast hopes people don't judge whole state by actions of Chris Christie. #bridgegate

- Erik Rhine ‏@Erhine1
Chris Christie is taking more heat from the media over #bridgegate than Obama got for the IRS, NSA, Obamacare, national debt, and so on.

- DamienMShirley ‏@DamienMShirley
Chris #Christie isn't a good Gov if he doesn't know what the people in his own office--including close advisors--are doing. #Bridgegate

- Frank Scandale ‏@FScandale
""#bridgegate @PoliticalStile asking the right question: why did your staff think they could do this?

- The Daily Edge ‏@TheDailyEdge
Christie: "I believe the people of New Jersey will forgive me. Especially when they see my sad face" #bridgegate pic.twitter.com/pBhXmj64la

- Kathy Gray ‏@michpoligal
Chris "I am not a bully" Christie presser going on for more than one hour. #bridgegate.

- Sheryl Kaye ‏@sherylkaye
This presser has turned in to self indulgence true to who @GovChristie is. Already over an hour and 15 minutes and counting. #bridgegate

- Scott Wooledge ‏@Clarknt67
Not sure #NJ's @GovChristie is now accomplishing anything more than ensuring there is TONS of video for the 24-hour news cycle. #bridgegate

- April ‏@ReignOfApril
Why wouldn't Christie request the same documents/emails, etc the Bergen newspaper has? That really makes no sense. HUGE problem. #BridgeGate

- Chelle ‏@chellegaylor24
He fired his Deputy Chief of Staff without even talking to her. No surprise there, most bullies are cowards. #bridgegate

- Andrew Jerell Jones ‏@sluggahjells
It's gotten so bad for Christie, Fox News has pulled the plug and left the press conference #bridgegate pic.twitter.com/apWkOTM8i9

- Alex Trillo ‏@atfiles
1 hour and 22 minutes.  An apology has turned into an episode of Biography.  #bridgegate #mediahasnolife

- Robert Mitchell ‏@RLM_3
Chris Christie is picking a fight with a true fighter. Mayor Sokolich will start issuing receipts and I can't wait! #bridgegate

- Midterm Machine ‏@MidtermMachine
Christie can't stop lying or blaming other people! It's pathetic and disgusting. Be a man fess up! #bridgegate #ChrisChristie

- Scott MacNeil ‏@WinnipegFatArse
Chris Christies's body language in this "long march" presser leads me to believe his bravado & confidence is ebbing. #BridgeGate

- kherman ‏@kherman
Christie sending diplomat extraordinaire Dennis Rodman to Fort Lee to smooth things over. #bridgegate

- Sam ‏@ohsam
I wish someone got fired every time there was inexplicable/unnecessary traffic #bridgegate

- Deborah NYC ‏@DebsWorldNY
Funny, never seen Christie be this humble and respectful when at a school meeting w/ general public or teachers. Actual VOTERS.

- Greg Kielec ‏@gkielec
Let me know if Gov. #Christie suddenly sprints across the room and knocks over an elderly lady. #FordChristie #bridgegate

- John M. Becker ‏@freedom2marry
BAHAHA RT @GlennThrush: Having exhausted credentialed press, Christie is now fielding questions from drifters and custodial staff #Bridgegate

- Elsie Snuffin ‏@ElsieSnuffin
It's Richard Nixon's birthday. How's that for timing? I mean, if you're going to jump... #bridgegate pic.twitter.com/AVOBAArhNX h/t @BeschlossDC

Wow, what a snow storm, and next comes the cold, a dangerous situation for anyone who ventures outside.

Here are some videos from the staff at TheOaklandPress.com: