After watching the debate last night, I found myself asking if we could kick the current candidates out and start all over again. Jeez that was awful. Romney finally stepped up, but not really forceful enough to matter. McCain seemed small and petty. Huckabee I have to say is a great orator, but you can tell he is slick talking (its a Southern thang). If Huckabee is acting as a spoiler, then I have lost what respect I had left for him. It has simply been a war of attrition with the field yielding the scraps – my opinion.
So where are we with this? Answer: campaigning started late last year and we are no closer to choosing a candidate than we were when they started. It currently looks like this – McCain has won primaries because of independents (will they be there for the general?) but many conservatives have said they will not vote for him. Romney just looks like plastic man and many will not look at him because of his past voting record.
Huckabee sounds good, but has hurt himself because he tried to ride in on the evangelical vote. Telling folks that you are going to change the Constitution to be more in line with God’s principles is a little over the top in a national election. Paul, even though he starts out sounding like a true conservative, just ends up sounding like a conspiracy theorist when he is finishes. He would make a great President if he could deal with the disconnect of that brain-to-mouth thing.
So can we just start over again? This is truly a sad time when we have had over a year of campaigning and we are just finding out what the candidates stand for. Why has it taken so long for Romney to expound on his record? Why did it take this long to understand that McCain hasn’t changed his stand on illegal immigration or McCain-Feingold?
Can we just get Senator Thompson back in the race? I would bet there are many asking themselves why they didn’t vote for him when they had a chance. But that is past us now. I have been voting for over 25 years, served under Reagan, GHW Bush, and Clinton while in the military and have never seen a campaign this divisive for Republicans. Hopefully something will break soon.
Better yet, a brokered convention might be the best thing that could happen to the Republican party. Not sure who would get the nod, but hopefully it would be someone that could bring us together as a party. I think conservatives are the part of the party that is feeling left out the most.
Moderates and liberals could vote for either Romney or McCain since they both have the same type of voting record. I really cannot see the difference between them based on the arguments made by their supporters. Based on the debate last night, I hope others saw a new side to their candidates. I have not decided yet since my horse left the race. I may not if it continues to look like this.
McCain has said he will go to CPAC to talk to conservatives. All I can say is one word to that: pandering. He will have an uphill battle, especially after the positions he took (or did not take) last night. We did not hear him repudiate his illegal immigration plan. We did not hear him discuss good economic positions. We did not hear him dispute the various liberal leaning bills he created. Mr. McCain, good luck to you.
Romney on the other hand has got to prove he is sincere about his positions and not a flip-flopper. Again, good luck with that. So after months of campaigning, we are no closer to a candidate than when we started. Can we please start over again?
