Saturday, December 29, 2007
Two Down
I have whittled down my options for President. I decided this morning that under no circumstances will I vote for either Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul. If either of them becomes the Republican nominee, I will either vote for a third-party candidate or stay home. (I don't think the policies espoused by any of the Democrat candidates are the right direction for the country.)
Although both men have a few good points to make, I do not believe either has a sufficient vision or understanding of the United States' place in the world, and possibly don't possess the will to effectively protect United States citizens or the economic and political interests of the United States, which in my view is "job one" for any President. For this reason, I believe that elevating either man to the Presidency would be dangerous for the country.
Domestically, Mr. Huckabee scares me because he reminds me way too much of Jimmy Carter. I don't think a person's faith should either qualify or disqualify him or her from the Presidency (with the possible exception of Islam, because of its tenet of converting all the world and installing Sharia law, but that's a discussion for another day) but it makes me nervous when a Presidential candidate wears his religion on his sleeve, as Mr. Huckabee seems to do. The difference between him and Mr. Romney on this score is that Mr. Romney was forced by public pressure to address his Mormonism, but Mr. Huckabee seems to have gone out of his way, at least a little, to emphasize his fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
Mr. Paul seems to me to be so much of a maverick that he would be unable to form a working relationship with either the Democrats or a majority of the Republicans in Congress, and although I have some libertarian leanings, I think Mr. Paul's libertarianism is so far removed from where the American people stand that he would not be able to govern effectively on domestic issues.
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Although both men have a few good points to make, I do not believe either has a sufficient vision or understanding of the United States' place in the world, and possibly don't possess the will to effectively protect United States citizens or the economic and political interests of the United States, which in my view is "job one" for any President. For this reason, I believe that elevating either man to the Presidency would be dangerous for the country.
Domestically, Mr. Huckabee scares me because he reminds me way too much of Jimmy Carter. I don't think a person's faith should either qualify or disqualify him or her from the Presidency (with the possible exception of Islam, because of its tenet of converting all the world and installing Sharia law, but that's a discussion for another day) but it makes me nervous when a Presidential candidate wears his religion on his sleeve, as Mr. Huckabee seems to do. The difference between him and Mr. Romney on this score is that Mr. Romney was forced by public pressure to address his Mormonism, but Mr. Huckabee seems to have gone out of his way, at least a little, to emphasize his fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
Mr. Paul seems to me to be so much of a maverick that he would be unable to form a working relationship with either the Democrats or a majority of the Republicans in Congress, and although I have some libertarian leanings, I think Mr. Paul's libertarianism is so far removed from where the American people stand that he would not be able to govern effectively on domestic issues.
One Down
