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THE BEST GOP CANDIDATE ISN'T RUNNING
By Geoff Metcalf
March 28, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
�Reality is the name we give to our disappointments.� --Mason Cooley
My college professor cousin sent me an interesting survey which, for grins, I took. I was surprised at the statistical analysis it yielded.
It was interesting in the wake of two recent columns I wrote handicapping the �08 presidential candidate wannabes.
It should be noted the survey polls your 'preferences' of Presidential candidates based on a list of specific issues. The results compares your results with the in flux field of 25. It did not include those lingering in the wings (like former Senator Fred Thompson who probably would be my ideal candidate if or when he gets in the race). [Read]
Mark Alexander wrote in the Patriot Post, �if conservatives and the rest of the Republican electorate want to line up behind the most capable, qualified and electable candidate in the '08 presidential race, a man who can carry the Reagan mantle and draw an enormous crossover vote (as President Reagan did in 1980 and 1984), then call out Fred Thompson.� I agree with Alexander.
Meanwhile, I know�any and all speculation of November 2008 is WAY premature articulation. However, the above referenced survey it is good exercise to see how a statistical analysis of specific preferences translates to individual candidates.
I was surprised that the only candidate meeting 100% of my 'druthers' was Rep. Tom Tancredo. I would have viscerally assumed Rep. Ron Paul (#7 on my list) would have led the pack. I was also surprised to see Rudy Giuliani and New Gingrich landing at 5 and 6 on my list. Sen. John McCain (who I consider too intemperate, mean, and quick to anger) made my top ten.
I often say it is not a question of WHO is right or wrong but WHAT is right or wrong that matters. If I were to take my own counsel, my top five candidates would be Tancredo. Brownback, Huckabee, Hunter and Rudy.
However, there are mitigating elements that would and should impact on an ideal candidate. First, off is the reality check that my personal 'druthers' are not in consonance with 'most' Americans. The cruel, unfortunate reality is that before a Tom Tancredo or Ron Paul could be embraced by a plurality of the electorate, we have some significant systemic corrections to implement. Even Ronald Reagan wasn�t perfect�more consistent than most, as good as the best and better than the rest�but not perfect. His illegal alien amnesty was only overshadowed by Rex 84 for epic brain flatulence.
The sad state of the republic is a direct function of past successes of the 60s cabal of the left wing conspiracy. They have successfully chipped away at the core foundation the framers gifted us with and been helped by a complicit main stream media that has conditioned the American public to accept the unacceptable. We cannot and will not correct those past sins with the flick of a light switch or with electing a Tom Tancredo. Likewise, we cannot correct past errors by embracing a Mitt Romney RINO who is more focused on accommodation than principle.
The only candidate I 'think' has the capacity of resurrecting the Ronald Reagan legacy isn�t even in the race�yet. Fred Thompson could/should be the man for a variety of reasons.
Virtually the entire field of front running wannabes personifies form over substance. Those candidates rock solid on the substance side have already been successfully marginalized by their own team and will get buried in the primary.
All the most talked about prospects have changed positions, support positions anathema to their base or are overtly disingenuous, duplicitous, and dependent on the latest focus group analysis to establish their positions. Many lack the necessary charismatic spark that unfortunately is a necessary requisite for a contemporary presidential candidate.
Character, experience and integrity are too often lacking in most of the current field. Oh, there are �characters��and many have �experience� (not necessarily experience you would want in the future leader of the free world). And how about someone who says what he means and means what he says�consistently, regardless of special interest or lobbying pressures?
Alexander says, �Fred Thompson is the right man at the right time.� Unfortunately for the republic, he isn�t a candidate�yet.
General Charles Krulak, former Commandant of the Marine Corps delivered a great speech seven years ago about integrity.
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Samuel Johnson once observed, �Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.�
The Book of Proverbs (PR 11:3) says, �The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.� We now have a whole bunch of �transgressors� and are still waiting for the �upright.�
� 2007 Geoff Metcalf - All Rights Reserved
"Geoff Metcalf is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host for TALK AMERICA and a veteran media performer. He has had an eclectic professional background covering a wide spectrum of radio, television, magazine, and newspapers. A former Green Beret and retired Army officer he is in great demand as a speaker. Visit Geoff's
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E-mail: geoff@geoffmetcalf.com
The only candidate I 'think' has the capacity of resurrecting the Ronald Reagan legacy isn�t even in the race�yet. Fred Thompson could/should be the man for a variety of reasons.
