The Next President of the United States of America Part 2

In the last post, I decided who I thought would be the Democrats nominee. To get the Republican nominee, I have to remove the dead weight on the Republican side. To do so, I will remove Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, and Ron Paul. We also have to remove one who is moving up to viable status, Mike Huckabee. You may argue with my choices for elimination, but let's be serious; none of these guys have a chance to win their respective parties nomination, not even Mike Huckabee.

As for the major candidates on the Republican side, a haggard John McCain has only been marginally significant at the debates until late. McCain has taken a stronger stance on a few key issues. This has made his agenda line up with the conservative party's mentality. Unfortunately, I fear it may be too little too late for him change his mind. To come out and say, (paraphrased) 'yeah I was wrong on immigration and NOW I am listening,' is not good enough for me. I feel that when he addressed his change of heart, McCain forgot to add that he is listening because you are not voting for him. As of late, McCain has been looking livelier on stage. He is now pushing the conservative agenda. Yet when we look back at his recent record and we see that McCain has gone completely in the wrong direction for the heart of the conservative party. McCain has also changed the game plan in his bid for nomination. He has decided to deflect the flip flop allegation by moving the heat to Mitt Romney. McCain has gone to great lengths to show Romney as a foe conservative by Mitts actions as Governor of Massachusetts. Mitt had to work with liberal legislators in Massachusetts, but in the senate you have to push the agenda of your party, not the agenda of the opposition. McCain seems to have forgotten this as evidenced by campaign finance reform, Illegal immigration, and gay marriage (you have to go back to early 2005 to find this one). I am not saying one should not make concessions in the senate, but rather push bills that are aligned with the party mindset.

Fred Thompson landed with a thud. The poor boy hit the ground, but forgot to start running. He was wholly unimpressive with his first debate being fairly vague yet comical. Fred threw out a few comedic one liners without taking any major stands. Thompson was using the January dodge maneuvers of the early primary candidates. At his point in the game, he should be taking the bull by the horns and talking about the specifics that voters are looking. Thompson has been better with specifics, but not with his charisma. I have been reading article that tell about crowds that didn't even know when Thompson was finished with his speeches. I saw Thompson here in Nashua, and was not moved by anything he said. If Fred had not have spoken he would have received a better reaction. To be honest, every time I have heard him speak, or read a transcript, he loses points in my book. If Fred was not on Law and Order, I do not believe he would be any higher in the polls than Tom Tancredo. In another strange twist of events, Thompson seems to think he should be picking apart Giuliani. If I was speculating as to Thompson's game plan, I would say he is going after Giuliani to make headway in his stalled campaign. By attacking Giuliani, he is making himself relevant to the voters and media outlets. His speeches and debates do not seem to resonate with conservatives; therefore attacking Giuliani will get the headlines he can not generate on merit alone. I am not sure if this is the right move, but he is getting more air time, and sound bites.

The man who shows the most promise in the Republican race is Mitt Romney. Romney has been solid from day one with his family values, conservative mindset, and his ability to work with both sides of the aisle. His record shows parts of liberal legislation as he worked together with the heavily Democratic legislature of Massachusetts. Romney used the line item veto to cut out excessive spending and to bring forth a fiscally conservative bill to the populace of his constituents'. The legislature did over-ride many of his vetos, but keep in mind that Massachusetts has a legislature that is 85% liberal. You must also note that when a Governor veto's a bill, you can not count it against the Governor when a veto is overridden. To put this in perspective, if your car is stolen, and involved in an accident, it is not your fault. Sometimes you need to make concessions to get what you want. Hyper partisanship causes a log jam for legislation and Romney knows this. In other words, Romney has the conservative values that conservatives crave, he can work with both sides of the aisle to the elation of the independents, and he also will allow a concession which appeases the liberals. We need Romney now because he can work legislation though, and he would work the hardest to get the job done. Not to say the others would not work their hardest, but the others candidates hardest is Mitts easy pace. The man never breaks a sweat because he thrives on pressure and success. Romney has the record to show he would be effective as president. Unfortunately, I have not predicted Mitt as the nominee, though he would be the best candidate and President. If nothing changes, Mitt only has a 49% chance of becoming the nominee for the Republicans. Even though Mitt can, and would, mop the floor with Hillary Clinton, Rudy has a very good chance of winning the nomination. Though I know Romney should win hands down, in the contest of Romney VS. Rudy, I can't say Romney would win.

… And the Republican nominee is Rudy Giuliani …