I still like Rick Perry the best. He strikes me as honest. He was an Eagle Scout who grew up on a small farm where scouting and church was all there was. This sort of UNcosmopolitan upbringing does not foster the sort of confidence in public speaking that, say, being a CEO does, but it DOES foster a tendency towards common sense and instinctual honesty. If we consider that in practical decision making, you have more than 1 minute to decide, and are allowed to consult with people you have chosen to advise you, then momentary glitches in what is after all a performance, and not anything actual substantial, can be overlooked.
Perry wants to substantially downsize the government, and I believe him. He wants to figure out what the Fed is up to, and I believe him. He will give our troops what they need to succeed. He will keep taxes low.
Border security is in my view not even remotely as important an issue as reducing, dramatically, the size of the Federal government. We borrow $125 billion a month. We borrow $125 billion a month.
I would be fine with Cain as well, and would like to see the leftist hypocrites explain his successful nomination.
Rightly or wrongly, I do not trust Gingrich or Romney. I may be wrong. This would be a great thing, especially if one of them gets the nomination.
I like Michelle Bachman, but I don’t think she can win a general election. She would be a good VP candidate, though.
Ron Paul, always the last, it seems: as I have said often, I am willing to risk what I see as his unrealistic idealism in foreign policy in exchange for his willingness to tackle the Fed directly.
It is a valid question, in any event: do we really need to be globocop? We are unappreciated most everywhere we go, and not under any conceivable threat of direct attack, at least by conventional armies, and if we are clear that there will be draconian consequences to any support for terrorist attacks on our soil, I think we might be able to stop patrolling the world, keep our men and women home more, and still live in peace.
To be clear: there is no equivalent to Nazi Germany out there, which is the counter-isolationist example so often invoked. The Muslims are stupid. They don’t create anything, and by and large just want to live in their world free from history and time. If they are not saber-rattling–which would be stupid given our profound military superiority–then we can just leave them alone. Even if they are making noise, if it is not credible, we should ignore it.
Iran might be able to develop a nuke, but if we share with them in advance the strike package that will be awaiting them–10 megatons on Tehran, 10 on Isfahan, and a dozen cruise missiles in places of our choosing, including their oil refining and production areas–if they attack ANYONE with nukes, then that should be enough to dampen their ardor. We have, in any event, no really good military options. The bases are deep underground, and I doubt we can assume we have them all.
You do always have to paradigm shift with Paul, since he is not like anyone else. He is consistently in the top four, but even Bachman gets more attention than him.
His only hope is leftwing support. It will be interesting to see if it emerges. There are no rules against switching parties for primaries.
Thus, my three, in order: Perry, Cain, Paul. I may change my mind, but that’s how I see it.
I will add, actually, that all the criticism of Romney is plainly being reserved for a time following his successful nomination. The media, which can and should be viewed as an integral element of Obama’s election team, plainly wants Romney. The Republican establishment wants Romney.
But can any serious mind doubt that they have their own strike package ready for Romney? They attack everyone BUT Romney, creating the illusion that he at least is not tainted by scandal, where everyone else is.
But can you doubt that the tenets of Mormonism will not come out into the public space, with the seemingly serious minds out there questioning, for example, the role of men versus women in that polygamous religion? Or the underwear that they wear?
And who knows what else foul smelling, even if inaccurate, stuff they have dredged up or created? Some business deal where somebody did something dishonest; Romneycare, self evidently; some associate who did something illegal. This is the coin of the realm for people who cannot think because they have abandoned their desire for personal autonomy and thus the NEED for political freedom.
No matter who the Republicans nominate, strong attacks will be waiting for them, and in a spirit of collusion that makes direct State control of the media unnecessary, they can expect nearly universal negative press, outside of the internet, and Fox.
So much misery is caused by perceptual inability, itself caused by fear, sloth, and arrogance. May we one day rise above it.