Alright, onto my preferences in the primaries.

Alright, onto my preferences in the primaries.

I’ll start with the opposition. If I were a Democrat, or an independent figuring to vote blue this year, I’d have to be an idiot not to vote for Hilary Clinton.

I’m no great fan of the woman. but there’s an awful lot of pluses, provided you agree with her philosophical bent. She’s intelligent, she’s watched/advised/finagled the running of both a state and this nation at the executive level, and she’s got nearly a decade of experience as a U.S. Senator.

Sadly she fulfills many of the male-generated stereotypes of a woman of power. Like her or hate her, you have to admit she has all the genuine warmth of a iced brewed Coors Light. More importantly I’d bet good money she hasn’t made a decision in decades without rapidly checking and rechecking polling numbers. She tries to be everything to everyone and I think in the Oval Office that would cripple her, but she’s the best of the Democratic field. She’s a viable candidate with a chance at winning it all.

Edwards? Please. Some great human interest stories, but nothing of value to the voter.

Obama . . Ah, the great unknown. I’m glad Oprah likes him and all, but I’d rather my country was run by someone with more than three years of experience on the national level (and none in an executive position). I don’t like the contradictory and weak positions he’s taken on defense - calling for discussions with Syria and Iran for example - and mandatory timetables for pulling out of Iraq (comments which I understand he denies making but seem rather clear-cut). I don’t like his calls for socializing medicine on the national level, and I don’t like the fact that a man who wants to be President of this land doesn’t have the time or inclination to act proper during the Pledge of Allegiance.

I believe Obama is nothing more than a Jimmy Carter redux , this time disguised as the handsome and eloquent JFK. People are blinded by the flash and if we are to be honest, so blinded by the prospect of a popular African-American candidate that the shallowness of his candidacy isn‘t addressed. I sincerely worry that an Obama presidency places our country at risk, both domestically and abroad.

On the Republican side I am in awe of the comedic potential here. You have a TV actor (Thompson), a frequent host of Saturday Night Live (Guilianni), and two folks with downright silly names - Huckabee (it always makes me think of Huck Finn) and Mitt Romney.

If the Democratic side is regrettably boiling down to a split on racial lines, the GOP has a clear ideological gap. One group aiming to secure the conservative base, another trying for the middle of the road. Whoever wins over both takes the nomination - if that happens. Otherwise, it’s a dogfight until the convention.

On the conservative end, Huckabee is the GOP version of Howard Dean. I’m all for Christianity, and referencing Jesus in a speech doesn’t bother me, but to confuse the podium with a pulpit time and time again is irksome. It shouldn’t matter who he thinks will or will not get into heaven - as a preacher, he jokes that he doesn’t even believe all Baptists will get in - but at some point I want to know that you have more to offer than advice for my soul.

And from a practical point of view, how will his message carry with folks that aren’t Christian conservatives?

McCain is certainly popular, and I can envision him on the ballot in November, but I think his ship has sailed. Three reasons:

His age, like it or not, is an issue. He’ll be 72 on election day and all of 80 should he win two terms.

He’s been in Washington a long time. I’m not alleging one man can change the world, but it’s hard to argue that he’s a dynamo of action and progress if he’s been part of the game so darn long.

And third - and I justifiably will take some hits on this point - I have always felt that he left something behind in Hanoi. I don’t think you can survive hell like that and come away unscathed. I worry that if we come upon another Iranian hostage situation, McCain may not react with the necessary restraint.

I know, I know. Even I think I’m probably wrong on that score, but I haven’t been able to shake the feeling since ‘00.

I like Giuliani. I don’t care if he’s a ‘good’ Catholic or bad. I don’t care if he’s had three wives or eight, and I could care less if he pissed off the NY fire department. He’s a likeable guy. He was a good prosecutor, he was a damn shaman as a mayor, and he did a masterful job in the wake of 9/11. Will he make it in the primaries? Probably not. But I like him as a Vice-President.

I like Fred Thompson on an elemental level - he physically brings to mind my paternal Grandfather - and he’s been around a long time, having taken part in the Watergate hearings. After reviewing his positions I can’t find many that don’t jive with my own to some degree, although he tilts more to the right. Right now he’s not looking very feasible as the nominee, but I have a friend who’s convinced this a strategy to take advantage of early voter burnout . . Hmm. We’ll see.

Last but certainly not least is the man I have decided to support for the nomination, Mitt Romney.

Romney is pretty much everything I wouldn’t normally be drawn to; the former Governor of Massachusetts, of all places, a pretty boy with a reputation for being a bit stiff and awkward and politically disingenuous.

So why do I like him?

First and foremost I watched the speech he regrettably had to make defending his Mormon faith A bit too Huckabee-ish in spots, but all in all a powerful and articulate refutation of his critics. He won a lot of favor with me that day [subconsciously it ddint’ hurt that George H.W. Bush introduced him (the speech was at his library) as the old man continues to hold sway over me]

Aside from that I like that fact that he has business experience, successfully turning around a company without resorting to layoffs. I like that he stepped into the mess that was the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and cleaned up the scandal and bribery ridden event, in the end netting a profit.

I like that he gave Ted Kennedy a run for his money during a failed Senate run - and I like that he failed. Great men learn from failure.

I love the fact that a Republican took the Governorship of Massachusetts, even if he was forced to compromise on several issues when facing a tough legislature and a liberal judiciary. He still stuck to the roots of his philosophy, and I applaud him for that.

Romney’s positions have grown closer to the party line as he searched for the nomination. Some would view this as opportunistic political flip-flopping, Clinton style. Perhaps. He says that he has simply learned from experience; I say he is representing the wishes of his prospective constituents, just as he represented their (more liberal) wishes in his home state.

I agree with most of his platform as it currently stands, even if I don’t see an end to the estate tax in sight and doubt that taxes can be kept in check another decade, especially with a Democratic congress.

In short I like the guy, I like his stances, I like his political guts when it came to that speech, and I think he canwin it all.

My choice for the GOP nomination: Mitt Romney.

My ideal VP: Giuliani, although the party line would say that it’s a one-two punch that’s too much to the left to win the essential support of the conservative base.

Should Romney take the nomination, look for a dark horse VP or someone like Thompson.

That’s my take on the primaries.

Tags: Politics, 2008 election