Saturday, February 03, 2007

Two Times Only, Part II

To continue with equal time, it's time to talk about the Republican field in the 2008 Presidential race.

I get the impression that this group is coming very slowly out of the gate. I'm not sure that they've even brought forth the most serious candidates as yet. I think, and somewhat hope, that the best is yet to come. But here's the review of the most current group:

Sam Brownback - this Senator from Kansas has already formally announced his candidacy. He's little-known outside of Kansas, it seems, and I really don't have a complete feel for his platform. I think he's going to be an also-ran, simply because he doesn't have the appeal it takes to get the "buzz" going.

John Cox - Nope.

Duncan Hunter - I think a hard-liner is going to face a very difficult road to the White House. He supports a lot of very unpopular ideas at the moment, and I get the impression his affiliation is ultra-conservative, and I just don't think that's going to make him a viable candidate.

Mike Huckabee I can see it now: "I Heart Huckabee". But no, I think this guy deserves a look. He's big in the area of education reform, which I believe is becoming more and more of a vital issue in this country every year, particularly when illiteracy and substandard performance are becoming part of the national focus. He was the third longest serving Arkansas governor (not too sure about that qualification :) ). The only thing that concerns me might be his religious ties; he was the youngest president ever of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, of course, I'm just not sure how the religious aspects might stand with potential cross-over voters.

Micheal Charles SmithNope. Not sure what he's up to, but I won't worry about too much detail here. I don't see him as a viable candidate.

John McCain I personally find John McCain to be likeable and respectable. I think he's a good man, a nice man. He is a believer and smaller government, and he's actually tried a few things over the years. They call him "The Sheriff" around Capitol Hill because he's always pushing the Government around trying to get it out of people's lives.
I'm not sure how well he would fare against the Democrats, though. He's very thorough, he's very experienced, but I'm not sure about his charisma. He's not blessed with a personality that jumps out at you, he's very matter of fact, and I'm not sure his war heroism has any appeal to the current population of voters, which is a shame. I think he could do a good job, but a lot of the voters still treat elections as a popularity contest.

Here are a few names I don't think we're going to need to remember:
Representative Ron Paul of Texas
Former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts
Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado
Former Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin

Of course, when it comes to these races, nothing is a lock, nothing is guaranteed, but I don't see those gents as presidential material.

There's a man who hasn't entered the race yet, but I think I'd like to close this out with his name. I think he's a formidable force, and a name to be reckoned with.

Rudy Giuliani This man would get my vote if he decided to run. I trust him. I think he's honorable and respectable, I believe I've seen the man demonstate grace under pressure, through the most extreme of circumstances. I believe that we're going to need someone who knows how to defend the nation, and this man is a clear thinker who will chose the right path. The world has changed, the enemy is not away, and I feel as though this man would make good choices in face of adversity. The last thing we need in the White House is a wimp, but I don't think we need a complete war-monger either.

Just one Stupid's take on things for the night!

8 comments:

  1. I like both John McCain & Rudy Giuliani, but if I had to choose, it would be Rudy Giuliani.
    You are not so stupid....you really need to change your name to MrSmartypants!
    ; )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:54 PM

    The only half-way intelligent thing that I could say right now is....

    I really liked "I Heart Huckabees" a lot!

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rudy's a good guy, but I'm not sure he has a chance. He's too moderate, and most republicans are going to cast their vote for someone more conservative. (Though maybe Rudy would get more democrat votes).

    McCain's too moderate for me.

    Don't underestimate Mitt Romney. I think he's presidential material. His main fault (with the Bible Belt folk) is that he's LDS--they either think he'll act as a pastor or that the mormons are a non-Christian cult, not a religion......but that's just ignorance. Mitt's got character, integrity, and experience. I also don't think he's going to put up with crap.

    My vote is for Romney or Brownback (although I need to learn a little more about the latter).

    (sorry, I rambled.....)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Being from Kansas I definately know a lot more about Brownback and really hope he gets out there and lets people meet who he is. I've personally met him, spoke with him (about our daughter/Childhood Cancer)and can say he's real. He cried as we shared our story/Jordyn's story, and he missed a meeting by standing outside that meeting as we talked, and stopped other senators and made them listen to our story.

    Rudy Guilliani will never win. Simply put far too many Conservative Christians like myself will not stand by him. He's far too left of the road and although he did a great job with 9-11, he's still ok with murdering innocent babies and gay marriage, etc, and of course the very publicized affair and divorce. I know many politicians go through this, it was just so very publicized that many do remember and will continue to remember it. If you watch, listen, or read any Rep.collumnists they share this and really it's why Guilliani will not get the popular vote in the Rep. party.

    McCain is definately a viable canidate, but there's definately negatives about him, some that you pointed out.

    I do disagree that I think another viable canidate is Mitt Romney. I think he could actually be one of those quiet surprises that comes. He won one of the most liberal states, with conservative views! Very impressive with that in itself!

    I think at the very least it's going to be very interesting to see who these canidates are. I also think that obviously many of them will drop out early and some in the middle. It's the guys who drop out in the middle to end that I think will be the ones to watch for in 2012, I'm sure on both sides of the ticket.

    Now lets just pray that citizens aren't so much in denial that they think that if they vote only for the other party things they've been unhappy with will change. I was stunned and almost amused reading some who thought literally the moment the dems. took over congress and senate our troops would be pulled. There's a lot of ignorance (and possibly simply denial??) in the public, especially when it comes to the government and simply politics.

    I can say this...soooo glad I'm in Germany where we don't get all the horrible mud slinging commercials and ads!!! I will NOT be missing those awful things this election season!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll be sending you a link for my new blog soon, friend. I hope all is well!

    Lady M
    (See blog for explanation)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry Jimmy I can't agree with you on Rudi ;) He is many good things but I don't trust him. I'm praying a pheonix will rise from the ashes.


    Thanks for your uplifting comments ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:59 PM

    It is going to be tough for any Republican in '08. The Dems are the focal point of the country now and people have Bush/Republican/Iraq fatigue.

    The Republicans only chance is that the new Congress makes some major gaffes, IMO.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm definitely voting for Rudy hands down!

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. I won't lie about that!