Sunday, January 27, 2008

Fred Finished

Old news, I suppose. I've been depressed by the fallout from the GOP primary in South Carolina, and I've been on the road. But it's official:

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
That's $50 and the prospects for a near-term revival of American conservatism right down the tubes. I'm not sure where I go from here, politically. We'll know more after the results from the January 29th Florida primary roll in. I may still vote for Thompson to send a "message" that conservatism is important. If it's a close race in California between acceptable and unacceptable GOP options, I'll likely vote for the acceptable candidate in an attempt to actually make a difference. In the mean time I need to go back to the drawing board and look at the remaining options to see which of these men can best lead America in these challenging times. As I type this, I'm assuming it will come down to Romney and Giuliani.

I still question John McCain's mental stability, and more importantly I believe he is much too willing to compromise core principles for the sake of a glowing editorial in the Washington Post or the New York Times. And it is clear that Mike Huckabee wants to turn the "bully pulpit" of the Presidency into an actual pulpit for his brand of Baptist theology. The good news on Giuliani and Romney is that each of them has had success in a high-profile executive position. Thus, they have at least some basic skills in leadership and management (two very different things). Thompson was not strong in that regard, and none of the leading Democrats have executive qualifications.

I'll post more as I work through it.

[ADDED: I just found a nice article that succinctly and effectively details why John McCain is not the conservatives' candidate of choice. Worth reading if you care about these things.]

3 comments:

SCARECROW said...

Conservative thinking is all but dead.Example-I have Direct TV,one day I'm serfing & I come on a channel that wasn't there before.(LOGO)its a chanel that pushes the Gay agenda.I call them up to see why it is all the sudden on my list.Thay tell me its now been added to my package,I don't want I say,take it back & give me a channel I want like another sports channel.No dice ,its policy they say.See what I mean?

Anonymous said...

I am glad to see another Conservative Irish fan. It seems many lean a little to the liberal side. I too was disappointed about Thompson bowing out. It is looking to me like Romney is gonna have to be the guy. I cant bring myself to vote for McCain, he and Hillary/Obama are the same.

Jack said...

Ron Paul is a conservative & still in the race. He is known in the House as Dr. NO. I myself am consevative in regards to car travel, let say , cutting car trips by 25%, the effective gas bill ~ $ 1 per gallon, but I'm retired, & .so much for that.. Glen Beck on TV is more conservative to my liking (CNN) than Ron Paul. I would call Glen Beck, " Dr. ON"..& he's still trying to figure who to vote for!