Ioway
So.Are you as glad as I am that the Iowa caucus is in the tail lights? Egad it was becoming annoying.
Look, I believe in the process. I really really do. I am just not enamoured of hearing about it with the unrelenting coverage. The fact is, the real election is practically a year away. There is so much time for things to change it is ridiculous. For all of the states clamoring to be the first primary, it is all a bunch of hooey. I think a bit more spread in the dates of the primaries would be advisable because it would give a bit longer for the message to get out. And for politicians to recover from gaffes.
But whatever.
My opinion on the results?
I don't really care who won on the blue side because, frankly, none of them inspire me. Clinton is more of the waffling corrupt political machine we've already endured once and I don't give a damn if she is a woman. Obama seems too young and too naive and too inexperienced to carry the mantle - he just doesn't inspire confidence that if push came to shove he'd be able to tell Ahmadinejad to go kiss his wife because we are lighting up the sky at dawn. He looks like he lacks backbone. Edwards is just a pretty pony who is a lot like saran wrap: you can see right through it and it has an annoying way of sticking to itself and not laying like you want it to.
On the right side of the field I am equally unimpressed. I wouldn't vote for Huckabee if you paid me. He's just a little too entrenched in his religion and that makes me uncomfortable. It isn't religion that makes me uncomfortable in and of itself, just the way it seems to lead him. I'm looking for a leader, not a follower of the faith, if that makes any sense. The only bright spot I see is the fact that it is still early days and there is plenty of time for Huckabee to go boom. Romney strikes me as the republican equivalent of a Clinton. He's slick and he's got money and a machine, but he's from one of the bluest - if not the bluest - states in the nation. Again, he doesn't inspire confidence. I have the same problem with Guiliani. I don't doubt his leadership bona fides, but he's too socially liberal for my tastes. I have a love/hate thing with McCain. I despise the anti-American crap that is McCain Feingold, but I respect the man's military service and his sacrifices. Still, I don't like his positions on illegal immigration or so-called "torture", nor do I like the fact that liberals like him - again, he's a little too far to the left on most issues. Though I don't doubt his leadership abilities and I like the way he tries to seek a compromise (I'm just not comfortable with some of the things he's willing to give up so readily to seek a compromise.)
I still like Fred Thompson and I am encouraged by his third place showing. He's the only real conservative in the field, the only one I feel that I can trust. And that is huge to me.
His positions are not likely to change based on polling and he's not likely to push some social agenda. He's the only one with any position papers that have any depth. It is clear to me that the guy has seriously looked at the problems facing this nation and he's not going to brush anything under the rug. He's a leader and he's a problem-solver. He's not afraid of talking tough or just plain calling bullshit on some reporter's antics. I like him. I feel like with Fred I know that my little girl will grow up free and unencumbered by the debt of two generation's worth of failed social programs. I know that Fred will continue to take the fight to our enemies to prevent another attack on American soil. More importantly, he's the only guy from whom I get a sense that he would actually prefer not to take the job. He's not seeking power or the limelight. But I have no doubt that he would work hard for the American people without pandering to special interests. This sort of big-picture integrity is both incredibly refreshing and awesome.
I just hope that people will keep listening to him. Because if you listen to what he has to say, it is hard to disagree with his conservatism.
Check him out.
Labels: Fred Thompson
