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"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States.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.]