By Michael Goldman
Lowell Sun
December 29, 2014
Trust me. You can take these to the bank. In 2015, I predict neither Mitt Romney nor Elizabeth Warren will announce a run for president, but Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton will.
In 2015, I predict the Republicans will continue to be on the wrong side of history when it comes to immigration reform, global warming and Cuba, just like they were on the wrong side in the past on Social Security, the minimum wage and equal pay for equal work.
In 2015, I predict The Interview will become one of the top grossing films of the year.
In 2015, I predict U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont will discover that while Democrats are genuinely fearful of a socialist candidate as their nominee for president, Republicans are genuinely euphoric.
In 2015, I predict people will start to ask themselves how safe their money is in a U.S. bank if North Korea can hack the computers of corporate giant Sony from 8,000 miles away.
In 2015, I predict the young girls swooning over alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will remind the 50-plus generation of the 1969 female Charles Manson groupies who carved X's in their foreheads in solidarity with their cult leader.
In 2015, I predict some U.S. judge somewhere will rule that obesity is officially a disability and the heads of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity will explode on air in front of millions of viewers on Fox TV.
In 2015, I predict Boko Haram will pass ISIS and Hamas as the foreign group a majority of Americans fear most.
In 2015, I predict live horse racing at Suffolk Downs will become a memory just like dog racing became just a memory for those who used to hang out at the old Wonderland Racetrack.
In 2015, I predict all those pre-med students who thought they'd gotten into Johns Hopkins Medical School, only to discover they'd been sent their letters of acceptance by mistake, will instead find themselves accepted to equally good medical schools across the country, because if those applicants even thought for a second they had the grades and brains necessary to even be considered by Johns Hopkins, they all have had to have been awfully smart to begin with.
In 2015, I predict Benjamin Netanyahu will be ousted as prime minister of Israel and with his defeat the hopes of constructing a legitimate and viable two-state solution will be revived once again.
In 2015, I predict Aaron Hernandez will discover, once and for all, that spending a lifetime at Walpole isn't the same as spending a career in Foxboro.
In 2015, I happily predict murder rates across the state will continue to drop while across the state (including the Merrimack Valley), I sadly predict heroin deaths will continue to rise.
In 2015, I predict Marty Meehan will continue to insist he has no intention of leaving UMass Lowell (he doesn't); that Marty Meehan will continue to be the front runner as the new head of UMass system (he is); and that Marty Meehan will, in the end, accept the job as president of the entire UMass system (the heart wants what the heart wants).
In 2015, I predict both former Massachusetts 10th District U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt as well as current Massachusetts 2nd District U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern will become major players as America and Cuba start to do their dance of reconciliation after 54 years of official isolation.
In 2015, I predict San Francisco, not my beloved Boston, will be designated the American city for consideration by the International Olympic Committee as host of the 2024 Olympic Games. I also predict Boston wins the same designation for the Games of 2030.
Finally, in 2015, I predict all those who oversee or read my column before you do, (Jim Campanini, Mike Kilduff and Chris Scott) will once again (unjustly) be passed over for an Oscar for Best Actor; a Pulitzer Prize in Literature; a Nobel Peace Prize; the Super Bowl MVP award; and People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive designation for 2015.
Hey, guys, happy 2015, and I don't care what those folks say. You're all big winners to me.
Michael Goldman is a paid political consultant for Democratic candidates and president of Goldman Associates in Boston.