African-Americans, Moderates, and Conservatives... Oh My!

Last night a friend of mine sent me an e-mail.  He expressed concern about the current field of Republicans running for the office of President, as well as their ability to beat President Obama in 2012. 

Taking the second portion of the above first:  

ANY self-respecting-Constitution-following Golden Retriever could beat the Barack Obama. 

But my personal favorite Presidential Canine candidate is...

Rusty Retriever from Dallas, TX! 

What a candidate! 

What a retriever (Shoot!  He'll even 'bring the economy (and any tossed toys) BACK')! 

What a President!!! 

What a dog!!!

But wait, he's NOT running a Lone Wolf Campaign!  He's bringing his friends with him!!!

Rusty's Cabinet

Okay, getting to the more involved question, "What about the current Republican Candidates?"

Here's my response to him 'almost' in its entirety...

Dear Friend (you know who you are),

Newt Gingrich is a 'No Starter'.  He's this year's version of 2008's Fred Thompson.  I liked Fred a lot.  If only he had the fire in the belly to RUN...  Gingrich has also been on the wrong side of some issues over the past 10 years.  When NY had the District 23 special election up here a year or so ago, Gingrich backed the Moderate 'Party' Republican over the TEA Party guy.  I even received a 'Robo-Call' at my home from Newt asking me to support Scozzafava. 

Check out how this turned out. 

Gee, thanks Newty, your personal involvement made all the difference for us here in NY! 

 

No, we don't need friends like this in the White House.  He's a 'smarter' Lindsey Graham - that ain't good. 

Huntsman is the 'Moderate Crowd Favorite!'.  This, of course, makes him pretty much TOXIC to the Republican Party.  Voting for this guy is like voting for 'Jimmy Carter-lite'.  Not as bad as Obama, not as bad as Carter, but what's the word, oh, yeah, 'Bad' all the same.  He and Gary Johnson ought to go out and start a Folk band to revive the 1960's for the lost generation of Liberals still too stoned to actually know what's going on outside of their Coffee Houses and regional 'Hemp Festivals'.  "The Huntsman Johnson  Presidential Project Wannabe Revival", yeah, that sounds about right. 

Mitt Romney LOOKs like he could be President.  He's got the hair, the cleft chin, the good posture AND he's not fat.  Problem is that it'll be hard for him to explain why he's NOT the same as Obama when it comes to health care.  He looks good, he speaks well, but he's got baggage in abundance. 

He's the Jacob Marley of this election with chains and health care-related money-boxes holding him down.  Yeah, I like that image.  We need someone who can FLY when they get into the White House because it will be REQUIRED of them.  Our Nation can't wait another two years for the 'new guy' to get his 'groove on'. 

He / she will need to hit the ground running and hauling baggage 'don't let you fly'. 

Ron Paul is a patriot.  He's also 'kind of, sort of' a 'nut'.  He's pretty much spot-on with internal issues facing the US but he's DOA as soon as he sets one piggy toe over the border into another country.  I look forward to him running again in the 2024 election (when he's 110+ years old). 

Herman Cain is a genuinely nice guy.  He's smart.  He's got a business background AND he's worked for a living.  What I don't know is if he can take the beating he'll take at the hands of the US Media.  He's in the Number 3 spot polling in Iowa so I would expect the character assassination and 'uncomfortable questions' to begin getting asked prior to mid-July.  The folks holding the microphones and video cameras will NOT let him survive in this race.  Unless, of course, Mr. Cain is tougher than he appears to be (so far, at least).  He's a bit of an unknown when it comes to handling 'sheets hitting zee fanz'.     

While candidate Obama was NEVER asked hard questions when running against Hillary, this poor guy might as well be shuttered inside his home watching the cross burn on his front yard.  'These people' (the Media) do not want a successful black man facing off against a failed half-black President. He represents a threat to the President that no other 'white guy/gal' can represent.  They will deal with him most harshly.  I pray for him at night.  He's going to need all the divine intervention he can get.   

Speaking of harsh, Michelle Bachmann is an enigma to the Media.  Ruling class Republicans can't control her, Democrats who want woman to rise up to the challenges of a 'man's world' are afraid of her, Moderates hate anyone who stand for anything, and the Media, try as they might, to shut her up -- she won't go quietly into that good night. 

I saw a clip this week that had three different ABC, NBC, CNN reporters asking her the EXACT SAME QUESTION regarding a Poli-Facts article which said that she plays 'fast and loose' with the facts. 

Okay, here's an idea, why doesn't someone ask President Obama:

a.)  What day it is when he's signing the Guest Book in London?  (CLUE:  It's NOT 2008) 

b.)  How old his children are?  (They are HIS kids, right?  He SHOULD know!)  or,

c.)  If stuck in an elevator with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Mitch McConnell for a week, which one of these three would he cook, and eat - first?

No the last question is not relevant to anything, but I think it'd be the one I'd LIKE to hear the answer to... 

(My guess?  Mitch McConnell is delicious when served with a light cream sauce and a refreshing glass of chilled Riesling.)

Tim Pawlenty is a sound Conservative-kind-of-guy.  Problem is that no one listens to him when he speaks.  Mostly because he isn't 'talking that much'.  I'd want him in my Math Club, but I wouldn't want him steering the economy out of the current Recession (no, it never really ended) or leading our troops overseas. 

Here's the Wild Card with Pawlenty though:  No one expected GW Bush to be a 'Wartime President', let alone, to be able to make it the hallmark of his Presidency (fiscal responsibility was NOT his hallmark).  Tim Pawlenty needs to find his voice - soon.  Otherwise, I'm calling him in to speak to our local 'Mathletes' group about some pesky Algorithms we're working on. 

Dude, get busy.  Please?

Regarding Rick Santorum, he's another Pawlenty - the meter needle does NOT move when his name is mentioned.  If he can't tell me why I ought to vote for him, why should I expend any more bits and bytes discussing him here?

For a complete list of folks running for the MOST IMPORTANT JOB IN THE WORLD, visit this site:  http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/ 

It's interesting to see WHO ELSE is running for the Office of President. 

It's also more than a little frightening.  Trust me.

Happy Independence Day Folks!  The 'real' Independence Day comes in 2012 when the architects of our extended 'Malaise' will be dispatched into the ranks of the 13.9 MILLION other unemployed Americans.

Can't come soon enough,

Mike

p.s.:  Don't feel too badly for them - they'll have speaking engagements, health, security, and retirement benefits for the rest of their lives.  They get the gold, as always, please feel free to enjoy the shaft...

BOTTOM LINE(s):  Each of these candidates is a superior choice when compared to President Obama (harken back to 'Rusty' above). 

The challenge for Conservatives AND Republicans is finding someone who can make being Conservative 'Cool' again.  Who that's going to be?  The strong will survive (and the Media will attempt to crush them like those armadillos lining I-95 in Florida).  The candidates will need more than a hard shell - they'll need beliefs, confidence, and an almost religious zeal to fix the ills of our nation.

As referenced above, each is better than the guy we have today - but who's the best candidate for tomorrow? 

Someone who has the:

• Presentation skills and poise of Reagan
• Steadfastness of GW Bush
• Guts of Lincoln
• Commitment of Washington

I don't know who it'll be, but if one of the above can fill the shoes as outlined above.  I won't be supporting Rusty any longer...