I really try to avoid disparaging anybody. I just don’t think that adds to the political debate. There are plenty of people out there who are pointing fingers and making caricatures of the candidates. Yet, when you look at the Republican field it seems as if there is something missing. Like… a real candidate. Is it possible to have a conservative who is a real person and represents the average American?
Mitt Romney is stiff, wooden and doesn’t seem to have any core convictions besides making money. To say that he has flip-flopped on the issues does a disservice to people who flip-flop on the issues. Rick Perry is a phenomenon in and of himself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. I’m not sure how he’s been governor of Texas for over a decade. I’ve met Gov. Perry. He’s the only Republican presidential candidate that I’ve personally chatted with. He’s a nice guy. Unfortunately, he doesn’t come across in superficial conversation as being all that mentally astute. Unfortunately for him and his campaign, he could not have performed worse in the debates. I really think the nomination was his to lose after he stepped in the presidential race with a groundswell of support. He had the Tea Party in his back pocket. All he had to do was perform adequately in the debates. Instead, he tried to place himself to the right of everybody, more conservative than any of the other conservatives. Herman Cain may be the most personable. He comes across as comfortable in front of the microphone. Yet, it’s hard to imagine a conservative winning the nomination of the Republican Party with a different woman coming out of the closet every week and claiming either a sexual relationship or sexual harassment from/with Herman Cain. Then throw in that he’s quoting Pokémon and draws a complete blank on the biggest foreign policy story in the last six months (Libya). Remember Michele Bachmann? It was almost a year ago when Michele Bachmann was raking in millions of dollars and developing this seemingly unstoppable campaign. For the last several months, her poll numbers can’t break 10%. For the life of me I can’t see what conservatives see in Newt Gingrich. It is clear that Newt Gingrich is an interesting man. He’s extremely engaging. He’s extremely knowledgeable. But, it should be clear to everyone by now that Newt Gingrich is out for Newt Gingrich. He is constantly promoting himself, his books and his multiple companies (which all funnel money to him). Rick Santorum is simply out in right field. Remember when he thought the military had found Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction? He was adamant that they had been found. I think when you go out of your way to make a fool out of yourself on national TV, you don’t get to be president. Ron Paul is consistent but is not a conservative. He’s a libertarian. The two are not synonymous. I simply don’t know enough about Jon Huntsman to comment.
We must remember that it is still early in the presidential race. The Iowa caucuses are still five weeks away. There’s plenty of time for candidates to rise and fall and rise again. Yet, when it’s all said and done, I don’t think a strategy of giving more to the rich will win the general election.
