Although it’s
early, the race for President of the United States is well underway. And, given the nature of political contests,
there’s still a lot of room for error or some surprise disclosure that will
take a candidate out of contention.
That said,
both the democrats and republicans have significant problems with the
candidates who have declared, none of whom seems to fit the ideal model for
either side.
The reality
is that there are never any perfect candidates.
The republicans face a Hobson’s Choice of
supporting a candidate who is not only flawed but, for some, may not be
acceptable at all. Their ideal candidate
would be strongly “pro–life,” in favor of an unrestricted right to “bear arms,”
a fiscal conservative, strong on national defense, want strict
“constructionist” judges, AND be electable.
But rarely
are there any perfect choices in life, especially when it comes to politics,
which has been defined as “the art of compromise.” Those republican candidates who have entered
the race all seem to have problems with their backgrounds or their positions on
important policy matters that are likely to turn off many conservatives. And, the question is, “Will that keep the purists
away from the polls?”
So, who’s my
pick? I confess to a purely pragmatic
approach: the person I think has the best chance of beating the democratic
opponent.
Invariably, I
find myself conflicted when I try to judge candidates on the basis of their respective
philosophies. Generally, they are too
liberal or too conservative for my taste on certain core issues: defense (and
war), health care, social security, education, the courts, and fiscal
management.
Starting with
the position that I don’t want to lose the White House to the democrats, my
choice will be based on the combination of my evaluation of a republican
candidate’s ability to win and my assessment of his or her qualifications on
what I consider to be the three issues that concern me most:
1)
Leadership: we need a leader who can rally the nation’s support for the battle
against terrorism and who can lead in a crisis.
2) Judges:
the appointment of conservative judges to the federal bench and the Supreme
Court.
3) Fiscal
responsibility: we need someone who has a demonstrated ability to straighten
out the financial mess our leaders, republican and democrat alike, have created
– and has the guts to do it. We are
spending our way into oblivion, and if that’s not reversed very soon, we will
surely lose everything we have in a tidal wave of financial excess.
So, who’s my
guy? At this point, it’s Giuliani. He’s the only republican candidate I see who
best fits my personal bill of particulars.
He may not be the ideal candidate for a variety of reasons: two
divorces, his positions on gays, abortion and gun control. But, this process is about compromise, and I
believe Rudy has the experience and qualifications on the core issues that
concern me most: the war on terror, the appointment of judges, and fiscal
management (he turned New York City around financially after years of
mismanagement, while cutting taxes over 20 times in the process).
Remember,
“Politics is the art of compromise.” So,
as often happens, many of us on the Right may have to hold our noses at the
ballot box. But we had better vote.
© 2007 Harris
R. Sherline,
All Rights
Reserved