Trailers keep movie-goers in suspense for months. Filled with action-packed scenes or a handful of witty lines, they are the bread and butter of the industry’s advertising. However, any technology buff with a computer can make “Waterworld” look like “Citizen Kane” for a trailer. I wanted to see Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” from the moment I saw its first clips on television. After paying $7.50 for a ticket, I was “rewarded” with three hours of historical inaccuracies, man love and a glimpse of Colin Farrell with his pants off.

Voters should take potential Presidential nominees’ press releases with the same grain of salt which I now take movie trailers. First glimpses shouldn’t get your hopes up. In 1976, voters heard Jimmy Carter announce that his position as a Washington outsider was what the country needed. The American public rode this statement all the way to the voting booth and was rewarded with four years of energy crisis, hostage situations and grain embargoes. Voters on both sides of the political aisle should be weary, but with the hodgepodge of candidates the Democratic Party is kicking around it becomes especially important to wait. You don’t know which of their multiple personalities is going to show up.

As a trial lawyer, John Edwards made millions driving up the price of health care in America by winning lucrative malpractice lawsuits. Now, Edwards wants American tax dollars to fund the health care system he has helped to destroy. During his failed Presidential bid in 2004, Edwards kept relatively quiet on many issues and relied on his southern accent and campaign skills to fuel his late surge in the polls. Now, Edwards’ campaign is painting him as the progressive millionaire out to end poverty. It seems that the new Edwards will vie for votes with more progressive candidates like Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich and leave the moderate vote to the newly found centrist, Senator Hillary Clinton.

Senator Clinton looks out for Senator Clinton. Her progression towards the center began in early 2005 when she joined social conservative Rick Santorum to speak out against violence in the media and continues today with her stance on Iraq. However, Senator Clinton is quick to put party politics ahead of ideals and friendship. When the left wing of the Democratic Party attacked Senator Joseph Lieberman in the Connecticut Primary last year, Senator Clinton was nowhere to be seen. However, Clinton was quick to use Lieberman in her 2000 campaign for an open Senate seat representing New York to help garner the moderate and Jewish vote. The Senator Clinton we see has been crafted for a 2008 Presidential campaign. With Clinton, we’ve stumbled across an extended movie trailer with the movie still being edited. You may like what you see now, but that doesn’t mean it will be representative of the final product.

No probable candidate deserves more scrutiny than Illinois Senator Barack Obama. If delivering a pre-written speech is the only credential needed for running for the highest office in the land, then I had a few classmates in my speech communications class who could rival Abraham Lincoln. The truth is Obama has done nothing but talk about himself since taking office. No one knows what he believes in except hope and tax increases. While serving in our State Senate, Obama received a rating of zero from National Taxpayers United, a rating of “low” from the Chamber of Commerce and his anti-war rhetoric was likely a result of all the campaign funding received from liberal benefactor George Soros. Before jumping on the Obama bandwagon, wait for him to break out of his Obama-mania eggshell and take a national stand on some issues. On any issues. Until then, I’d love to have him as my neighbor, but not as my President.

Republicans are not without multiple personalities. Former Massachusetts Governor and possible Republican Preisdential contender Mitt Romney has changed faces faster than Nicholas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off. Until the Presidential trailers go to advanced screening later in the campaign cycle, don’t be quick to commit to buying a “ticket.”