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I have long been interested in the presidential campaign. As more primaries and caucuses occur, and as candidates drop out and the race narrows, I get even more interested. It seems to me that it really does make a difference who our president is. I do believe that where we are today is different than where we would have been with a different president–both for good and for ill.
One reason many people do not vote is because they believe all of the candidates are deeply flawed. I wish more satisfactory candidates were available. However, I think this isn’t a reason for not being involved, because flawed as they are, the candidates do offer very different choices.
Another reason for watching the campaign this year is Romney. It is very exciting to have an LDS candidate who is a genuine contender. I do not support Romney. However, I have been surprised to discover that I sometimes find myself rooting for him in elections where, if I were voting, I would vote for someone else. I find this very odd. In races like the New Hampshire primary, I find myself almost hoping that Romney would win, although I probably would have voted for McCain. I think this is perhaps that I fear that people (like evangelicals) do not vote for Romney for the wrong reasons. I don’t like the idea of people not voting for Romney because he is a Mormon; I do like the idea of people not voting for Romney because he hasn’t taken a position against waterboarding, he wants to double Guantanamo, and his immigration policy is Unchristian.
I keep wanting to post a long analysis of all the candidates (not because I fool myself that all y’all would find it interesting, but because I would be interested in writing it), but my kids just won’t let me get it done.
So, here’s my short version:
REPUBLICANS:
Rudy Giuliani:I will not vote for him. He cannot control himself so I don’t trust him to lead the nation. More to the point, I would be ashamed to have him represent me.
Mike Huckabee:I liked him before he came to prominence in Iowa. Now, however I have changed my mind. I think his populist, class warfare message (“vote for someone like the guys you pal around with, not like the guy who laid you off”) is not helpful. Also, I am not convinced it is the case, but I fear it is the case, that he purposely used Romney’s Mormonism against him. Obviously that is unacceptable to me. Also, I don’t think he is making enough effort to show that he would be president of the entire U.S., not just the Christian evangelical U.S. We need someone to be president for the Christian evangelicals, the Catholics, the Muslims, the Jews, the Mormons, and the atheists. Finally, he seems to know very little about foreign policy.
Mitt Romney:You’ve heard umpteen times my concerns about Romney.
John McCain:Not my perfect candidate by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t like what he did with his first marriage, but that was a long time ago. Also, he is too old. I’d rather elect someone I felt comfortable with for 8 years, and that is pushing it with McCain. I don’t know that I agree with him about Iraq (However, I don’t know that I agree with anyone about Iraq, mostly because I really don’t know what we should do).
McCain’s joke several months ago about “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” was totally unacceptable. I know he was joking, but the world listens. We don’t need another President who thinks it’s okay to insult people (including crazy dictators and totalitarian states) or throw around threats.
However, on the plus side: John McCain has shown great political courage. He opposed the Bush tax cuts. He opposed Rumsfeld. He is clearly against torture. He has a humane, workable approach to immigration. Also, he has shown that he can work with Democrats. He has vast experience in the U.S. Senate and he might be the person who could cooperate with the House and Senate to actually pass legislation and make things happen.
DEMOCRATS:
Edwards:The other day I heard an interview with John Edwards on NPR. He made (what was in my mind) an admission that the differences between him and Obama are not that great. Although I don’t think it makes sense to pick a candidate on the basis of race, gender, or religion, when all else is basically equal, I think that that is a defensible basis. Therefore, since all seems to be equal between Edwards and Obama, I’d vote for Obama, because I think having a black president would be good for the nation. Also, I oppose Edwards because like Huckabee, he seems to be a class warfare populist. That is just not helpful. We don’t need more victims; we don’t need more hatred.
Clinton:Can you imagine her working with Republicans? On anything? I can’t. She is too divisive. We would see more of the politics of gridlock. We would see more of political dynasty (after all Bill isn’t even dead) and I don’t think that’s very healthy for the nation. Also, she hasn’t repudiated what her husband did (pardons, ripping off the whitehouse, etc.) when her husband left office. Therefore, I see her as an accomplice.
Obama:
By elimination, Obama is my favorite Democrat. I don’t know as much about him as I’d like. I think it would be better if he had more experience. I fear he may be too liberal. However, he has lots of good things to say. He sounds like a leader and he is at least willing to give lip service to the idea of working with Republicans, dictators, etc.
IN CONCLUSION:
So, pending more information (or convincing arguments from you folks), I will vote for McCain in the Republican primaries. I would probably vote for Romney over Clinton in the general election (but I’m not yet decided and I would rather not choose between them). I would probably vote for Clinton over Huckabee and Giuliani. I will have to do more research on Obama if the race comes down to Obama vs. Romney.
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