Where's the birth certificate

Free and Strong America

Friday, November 19, 2010

Better Late Than Never


The American Spectator arrives at the same conclusion that I did in 2008.

"A Gallup poll released this week showed a wide-open Republican field. Romney led the pack at 19 percent, with Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee at 16 percent, Newt Gingrich at 13 percent, and all other candidates in the single digits.

While Palin remains the biggest GOP star and has a passionate following, when you get beyond her core supporters, voters are deeply skeptical of her ability to be president. An ABC News/Washington Post poll taken last month found that even conservatives are divided -- with just 45 percent saying she's qualified to be the nation's top executive and 48 percent saying she isn't. Tea Party supporters are split 48 percent to 48 percent on the question. Meanwhile, among the public at large, just 27 percent view her as qualified compared with 67 percent who say she isn't. Were Palin to run, she'd have to prove that she could build a functioning national political operation and translate her celebrity into actual votes beyond her fan base.

When Huckabee ran the last time around, he built a strong campaign on a shoestring budget with little name recognition, but he had trouble competing in states that did not have a critical mass of evangelical voters. And national security and economic conservatives distrusted him. Were he to make a second bid for president, in addition to these obstacles, Huckabee's penchant for pardoning criminals as governor of Arkansas would come under added scrutiny given that he commuted the sentence of Maurice Clemmons, who in 2009 was suspected of killing four cops in Washington state.

Gingrich, who in the past has exploited speculation about his presidential ambitions to promote himself and his books, may actually decide to run this time. But while he's respected in some quarters for being a one man idea factory, he's rankled many grassroots conservatives for such decisions as recording a television ad with Nancy Pelosi demanding action on climate change and endorsing liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava over conservative Doug Hoffman in a well-publicized special election, allying himself with the GOP establishment. Should he run for president, he'll also carry a ton of personal baggage that he'll be seriously questioned about for the first time since the late 1990s.

The list goes on and on. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will enter the race with lower name recognition than his rivals and a sense that he's too boring to be president. His rightward shift over the past few years will also open him up to charges of being a flip flopper. Over the past several months, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has managed to anger key constituencies of the conservative movement by calling for a "truce" on social issues, saying that defense cuts had to be on the table, and flirting with a value added tax. At a time of unprecedented anti-Washington sentiment, it's hard to see Republicans rally around a lobbyist in Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour."

Back in 2008, I forced myself to become quite pragmatic over what was then the current crop of presidential nominees and I concluded that on net balance, Romney was probably the best candidate out of all of them. Of both parties. Although far from being anywhere near the perfect candidate, at least Romney had accomplished something in life and helped turn around failing, money-losing businesses for a living before being elected governor of Massachusetts. Guiliani? Too much personal baggage and his type of so-called conservatism doesn't play well west of the Hudson River. Fred Thompson? Good, but uninspiring. One commntator noted that it seemed he was walking for the nomination rather than running for it. Mike Huckabee? Too many pardons of hardened criminals while governor of Arkansas. McCain? Wrong on immigration, cap and trade and a whole host of other issues as well. We all see what a disaster his campaign turned out to be.

Yet Romney, despite some baggage of his own, seemed to be the best out of the entire lot. Although he had some dalliances with policies that skewed to the left, I do not question his patriotism or that he would throw the US under the bus. I cannot say the same for our Kenyan-American president.

Who do you think is presidential material for 2012? Post your thoughts here.

P.S. I just realized something. If I were to follow the patented Whateverman System of Logical Argumentation, I would have to conclude that the reason that Romney didn't get the nomination in '08 was due to bigotry because of his non-traditonal religion (Mormonism) and it couldn't possibly have anything to do with policy differences. B-b-b-b-bigots!

15 comments:

Froggie said...

I find it repugnant and absurd that you claim WM's opinions that were directed at the rhetoric you used, would also apply to Romney. That is fractured logic by any standards.

Also, it is cowardly for you to put words in WM's mouth without allowing him equal time.

Respectfully submitted,
Froggie

J Curtis said...

Look, just show me where he made the case that my criticisms were directed at quote, "an entire race" and I'll concede the point. This is the umpteenth time I've asked you to do so.

Whateverman was allowed several chances on the thread I linked to show me where I was wrong and yet he did not even remotely show that I am racist or bigoted by any definition.

Also, I would argue that WM's logic would exactly apply to the example I cited up above concerning Romney. But before doing so, I would appreciate it if you would answer the question that has now been put to you 3X.

Speaking of repugnant, I find it repugnant that I have to enable moderation for the first time on this blog due to some fools prancing around proclaiming Bigot, bigot, bigot! without citing any substantiatingd evidence whatsoever.

Froggie said...

I am not going to argue WM's case for him, but I do think he started to make a case when you banned him.

Yu spout a lot of opinions on this here blog, which is yours, but you definitely are too thin skinned for others to have their opinions.

J Curtis said...

I do think he started to make a case when you banned him

Froggie, this is the last time I will ask. Did I characterize an entire race or not? Yes or no.

My entire blog entry and the subequent accusation by WM are there for your review.

I understand if he's some sort of friend of yours, but right is right.

Froggie said...

"Froggie, this is the last time I will ask. Did I characterize an entire race or not? Yes or no."

I don't know. I don't want to go back and revisit that. It's not my argument.
I will say that it is my opinion that some of the stuff you have quoted here seemed bigoted to me, but that was cncerning gays.

I will say that I was very conflicted about that article and the writing confused me. It seemed that the writer was trying to say that blacks were abandoning the Democratic party willy nilly, which is not true, and, the black caucus is indeed meeting with the new republican black members.

I think it is important that blacks stay vigilant about discrimination, especially in the area of education.

Jquip said...

Froggie: Yu spout a lot of opinions on this here blog, which is yours, but you definitely are too thin skinned for others to have their opinions.

It's an etiquette issue. He's shown himself, over a fair long time, to have no shyness bringing things to brass knuckles elsewhere. Doesn't mean he wants blood on his own rugs. It's hard to get the stains out.

Same same, I'm far more proper here than in other venues out of respect for the host's particulars. Now, you're welcome to call such rules of civility thin skinned if you like. But I don't think you have any preference for incivility in discourse.

No matter that you can't have discourse without a dis.

GentleSkeptic said...

He's shown himself, over a fair long time, to have no shyness bringing things to brass knuckles elsewhere. Doesn't mean he wants blood on his own rugs.

Spoken like a true bully!

This obsession with a banned commenter is really unbecoming. I guess he really got under your skin.

J Curtis said...

Froggie, your evasion is becoming quite tiresome. After asking you no fewer than 3X if I characterized an entire race or not, when you finally proffered something that somewhat resembled a response, you referenced "that article". Not a single thing that I wrote.

Look, for someone who seemed quite convinced that a certain critic of mine, quote "really nailed it", you have little to offer in terms of your own criticisms and explaining why someone is a bigot and have yet to demonstrate you have anywhere near the ability to step outside of your own preferred brand of groupthink. And your aforementioned evasion speaks for itself.

J Curtis said...

Spoken like a true bully!

I'm quite confident he was speaking metaphorically GS.

This obsession with a banned commenter is really unbecoming. I guess he really got under your skin

Actually no. I only made brief mention of him at the end of today's entry. I would much rather disuss the 2012 presidential race, but what can one do when your blog attracts a prepondrence of trolls?

Insofar as Whateverman is concerned, I'm sure his patented brand of nonsense will be a source of comic relief from time to time in the weeks and months to come.

Jquip said...

GS: Spoken like a true bully!

I can only wish I were such. Then I'd the money *and* the women. As it is I only have pictures of Huckabee. (That's on topic, right?)

Froggie said...

"I would much rather disuss the 2012 presidential race, but what can one do when your blog attracts a prepondrence of trolls?"

Bbby Jindal will end up as a frontrunner for the nomination but he is too far right- like Huckabee in the last election.

Theological Discourse said...

Froggie has shown himself to be a liar on multiple occasions. Not only is he a confirmed liar, he is hypocritical, he's too much of a coward to directly answer questions and he's not man enough to retract statements he's made that were proven to be wrong. He fits the typical internet atheist stereotype nicely.

Anonymous said...

I actually kind of like the idea of Governor Christy of New Jersey running for President. He has a pretty strong base and no shortage of honesty :)

J Curtis said...

I like his ideas, but Gov.Christie is a pretty big boy. There have already been questions raised about his weight and if he has the stamina for an intensive national campaign.

Ross said...

Someone like Palin wouldn't get very far in Australian politics. Our political news media s largely left wing, so they'd be pretty hostile towards her brand of conservatism. She might get up as an independent, but she'd have little chance of becoming the leader of a political party.