Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Republican Debate


I watched the Republican Debate tonight mainly because it took place at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. If you ever get a chance to visit it is well worth it. The historical documents are interesting, but the piece de resistance is the Air Force One Pavilion. The room that houses Air Force One has a breathtaking view of the valley below. The plane's landing gear is resting on three cement columns above the main floor so you can walk underneath it. It appears to be taking off through the massive wall of windows that is the architectural hightlight of the building.

Now to the politics. My heart would love to vote for someone like Huckabee, but I don't believe he can win it. I love many of his arguments and his unique debating style. I appreciate his honesty with many tough questions. He doesn't seem to dance around the hard question. In light of the primary in California next week I am trying to decide who to vote for. Here is what I presented to a couple of my friends today.

Based on the polls I think my vote for Huckabee is not going to help him stay in this contest. Having said that, I am not a big fan of McCain. He seems to be pretty inflexible and I am not sure if in our day in age inflexibility is going to be an asset in Washington or the world. That doesn't mean I want someone who gives in on principles, etc., but rather someone who can work with others to find solutions. McCain would definitely be a strong foreign policy candidate.

On the other hand I believe that Romney would be great at helping reestablish a strong economy on the domestic side. I know you shouldn't judge books by their cover, but Romney looks and acts more like a President in the prime of his leadership years. My main deal with Romney is the fact that he is a Mormon.

Here is my premise. If Huckabee were a front runner I would like voters to vote for or against him based on his record and ability to lead not the fact that he is a Christian. There are enough checks and balances in place to keep a President from "taking over the world" in a religious sense.

I have to say the same thing about Romney then. I should vote on his record and his ability to lead. I also think he would be able to compete against Obama's youth and ability to communicate better than McCain. McCain campaigning against Obama reminds me of when Bob Dole ran against Bill Clinton. I also think Romney can compete against Hillary's supposed strengths.

At this point I think my vote will be for Romney, but who knows until I get to the voting booth.

Billy

5 comments:

Blair Farley said...

Don't forget that you could also join the Ron Paul revolution. Another possibility would be to just write in Norm "Firecracker" Westwell. I just want you to have options.

Kristi said...

good for you...you've come along way in not wanting to even talk about politics, to actually blogging about it.

btw...i'm still not convinced on anyone...except that mccain is a freakin' robot.

Anonymous said...

I have to say the best part of the debate was the view of Air Force One. Awesome! Can't wait to see it in person. Now about the politics...thanks for articulating just what I was thinking. Romney has my vote next Tuesday. Huckabee needs to drop out now so his votes can go to Romney otherwise I'm afraid we'll be holding our noses and voting for McCain in November.

Billy and Laurel said...

Hello Blair, kt and Stacey...

I think Ron Paul is the national equivalent of a Norm "firecracker" Westwell, so he probably won' t get my vote either.

I guess what I am really asking is on McCain and Romney who can beat Barack or Hillary?

Anonymous said...

The problem with McCain is that conservatives don't like him for his many liberal stands, i.e. McCain Feingold, The Gang of 14, immigration etc. So they may just sit the election out if he gets the nonimation. With Romney you have evangelicals who won't vote for him because he's a Morman. But they might vote for McCain because of his pro-life stand. On the other hand Romney is definitely the more conservative of the two, especially fiscally. He's also very pleasant to look at :) I mean he's more Presidential. So...its hard to say who can beat Obama or Hilary. I think that Hilary is more beatable than Obama because no one can stand her...even the dems are getting sick of the ol' Hill and Bill act. If Obama gets the nomination, we may be in deep doo doo.