McCain’s VP Choices

There has been a lot of speculation on McCain's possible Vice Presidential choices. I have seen articles promoting particular choices and commentary attacking others. Since this seems to be the newest past time, I thought I would join in. There are a few generic qualities most Presidential candidates look for. The VP candidate should complement the policy choices of McCain. The candidate should be able to bring a state or two with him / or her. In McCain's case, I think the campaign would be wise to look for someone who also looks presidential. Obama and his advisers are likely to attack McCain on his age. Therefore, McCain should probably pick someone that he believes the American people would accept as a President. As such, here are my Good, Bad, and Odd predictions.

The Good. These are the candidates that I think would bring something to the table, and I would personally be excited about. First out of the gates would be Mitt Romney. Many conservatives would prefer him to McCain for President. Romney has an impressive business resume, and the economy is likely to be a center stage topic in October. Romney is also likely to take Michigan off the table, and may even deliver a few other states. A very close second could be Condoleeza Rice. I have written about her before as a great VP candidate. I think her resume looks good, I think she takes race off the table this cycle, and there are many voters who respect her and would respond to her.

The Bad. Senator Joseph Lieberman. There are a number of rumors about a possible "Unity ticket" with McCain and Lieberman. Let's put aside the fact that McCain almost did this dance with Kerry. Lieberman isn't a Republican and shouldn't represent the party on the ballot. I respect him (as many conservatives do), but I disagree with him on 90 % of the issues. Far from reassuring me, if something terrible happened to McCain, I would not want to see a President Lieberman. I call this the "doomsday option". If we see this ticket it is either because McCain really doesn't want to win in November, has been reading his press from the 2004 election cycle, or his senior staff has decided they don't like McCain or the Republican Party. If McCain picks Lieberman before the convention, I could even see a new Republican candidate coming out of the convention.

The Odd. What fun is speculating on the VP choices without throwing a curve ball that no one expects? Here is mine: Brett Favre. That's right, the record holding Green Bay quarterback who may or may not be in uniform this season. Before we dismiss this too quickly, let's look at the pluses. First, he has name recognition. A McCain / Favre ticket is likely to take Wisconsin and Minnesota. That's 27 electoral votes that went to Kerry in the 2004 election. Plus, Favre may do well in cities that have NFL teams. Many of those teams are located next to large cities. Where do Democrats traditionally do well? Second, it has been rumored that the McCain camp is hurting for cash. The Packers are rumored to have offered Favre a $20 million payoff to stay retired. If McCain could get Favre out of their hair, perhaps they could create a 527 (Concerned Packers for 2008) that could use the money advertising for the ticket. Finally, Favre looks healthy enough to take on the Presidency. Compared to everyone else in the race (Obama included) he looks like a Greek god.

Those are my picks. On the off chance we do end up with the McCain / Favre ticket, remember where you heard it first.

Quick Notes – Presidential Politics and Others…

Welcome to another edition of Quick Notes. I am enjoying the "Quick Notes" part of this blog more and more. I find many of you like to comment on the items I probably wouldn't have written a full post about. Keeping that in mind, here are three more topics for your review:

Mitt Romney. Mitt has released his delegates and now endorses McCain. I hate to hear this for a few reasons. First, I am still undecided with regards to McCain. Romney is trying to do the best thing for his party, and what he believes is the best thing for his country. Second, I just started Hugh Hewitt's A Mormon in the White House, and I am pretty sure that Romney won't be our nominee even at a brokered convention this time around. However, keep an eye on him. If he takes the right job between now and 2012, he might be a very strong candidate in the next race. I will be watching him…

The Clintons. While discussing politics the other day with my wife, an odd thought occurred to me. Chelsea Clinton is 29 years old. If her mom should win this election, and become a two term president, guess who is constitutionally eligible to run in the election after that. You got it. We could have 24 years of Clintons instead of 16.

In Other News… The Washington Post has reported that a "long range Russian bomber" buzzed the U.S.S Nimitz. A second bomber circled 50 miles away. The Nimitz scrambled fighters to intercept the Russian bombers. This is one more thing to keep in mind when picking a presidential candidate this season. One more thing to remind us that the Presidential Race isn't the only thing going on in the world.

Super Tuesday: Lessons Learned

I apologize ahead of time is this post becomes a little disjointed. I am writing this a little after 12 AM after watching as much Super Tuesday coverage as I can take. However, I think a few important points can be taken from today:

1. Things are as confusing in both parties now as they were on Monday. On the Democratic side, Obama has picked up four or five more states than Hillary. This is huge for Obama, but in the long run, it means they are still neck and neck. On the Republican side, things aren't as clear cut as the media seems to think it is (at least it isn't at 12 AM). As of right now, McCain has had eight states called for him, Romney has had six called for him, and Huckabee has had five called for him. This will look a little different in the morning (California is still up in the air, and there is a chance Romney may pick up one or two more states). Both Huckabee and Romeny have already said they are still in it. There is very little chance that either of these two will drop out until some time after Thursday and CPAC.
2. McCain supporters should stop saying that their man has character. While it looks like the back room tricks from West Virginia were entirely legal, it has left a bad taste in many peoples mouth. It shows that McCain and Huckabee are more interested in teaming up on Romney. It also shows that McCain has no intention of changing the way things run in Washington. Buy throwing his supporters over to Huckabee after Romney won the first vote, McCain shows that he is a skilled politician, and fits the stereotype of the back room, cigar smoking politician many people in both parties associate with Washington.
3. Voters in states that haven't voted, are still going to influence the election. With all the jockeying of positions of different primaries, and will both parties penalizing states for moving their primaries, many thought the candidate would be set after tonight. In my opinion, we are still a long ways away from either party having a clear cut candidate. What doest that mean for my readers in states that haven't voted yet? Get out an vote!

Romney is Winning!

I am a little confused by the coverage of the primaries so far. If you have been following the Republican Primaries, then you know that Huckabee won the Iowa Primary, and McCain won the New Hampshire primary. Many political commentators are saying Romney must win Michigan, or pull out of the race. Some have even said it is time for him to pull out of the race now.

An important point to remember: the Republican Presidential nominee may not be decided by the number of states he wins. Most states split their delegates in proportion to how the primary goes in that state. For example, while Huckabee won Iowa, he doesn't get all 40 Iowa delegates. Instead, Iowa has assigned its delegates as follows: Huckabee gets 17, Romney gets 12, McCain and Thompson both get 3, and Paul gets 2. I believe the remainder are "unpledged delegates". These delegates can vote for whichever candidate they wish too.

New Hampshire's primary was won by McCain, but once again, the winner doesn't get all of the votes. And here is one more piece of information you may not have heard: Wyoming has already had it's primary. Guess who won it: Romney. If you are keeping score at home, the current delegate count (including unpledged) is as follows: Romney (30), Huckabee (21), McCain (10), Thompson (6), Paul (2), Giuliani (1). So currently Romney is actually winning the Republican race!

There are still a lot of states left to vote. Some of them divide out their delegates and some don't. In order to win the Republican nomination, a candidate has to get 1,191 delegates. Things can change between now and September when the Republicans will actually nominate their candidate, but keep the points in mind as you watch the coverage this election season. I have no idea why the points aren't talked about more often. However, feel free to return here periodically to see what the current score is.

"Our Nations Symphony of Faith"

Having just introduced everyone to a new format future post, I am going right back to the original format for this post. Mitt Romney gave a speech last week that I feel is worth devoting an entire post to. There has been a lot of coverage in the media regarding Gov. Romney’s faith. Last week, Gov. Romney decided to answer some of those concerns with this speech. Much of the coverage surrounding this speech has compared Mitt Romney to John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy gave a similar speech to a group of Protestant Preachers the month before the election that would see him become the nation’s first Catholic President. Many in the media compared Gov. Romney’s speech to that speech even before the speech was delivered.

The speech itself is one of the best speeches I have heard in a long time. Michael Medved called it the best speech of this election cycle. I would encourage everyone to read this speech not just to examine Gov. Romney as a Presidential candidate, but also because it argues religion’s place in today’s America. I think Gov. Romney’s argument is entirely correct. Gov. Romney’s speech is currently called “Faith in America”, but I think future classes will study it as the “Symphony of Faith” speech.

Early in the Speech, Gov. Romney says the following:

Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

This is a statement that has evidence in today’s world, and a warning for future generations. The United States is the symbol of freedom to the rest of the world. As such, we allow our citizens to worship as they choose. If we start to exercise religion from our country, then we start down the path the Soviet Union took generations ago. Gov. Romney also makes the point that many people of faith have tried to make regarding the First Amendment:

No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from public domain any acknowledgment of God…as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism.

And also:

The founders…did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square.

Today’s society has taken the separation of Church and State and turned it into something our Founding Fathers would never have recognized. The founders knew that faith was an important part of society. Far from trying to ban it, they wanted to encourage every citizen to practice their own beliefs as they saw fit, without meddling from the government.

To me, the most powerful part of this speech is towards the very end. In this last section, Gov. Romney stresses that we should be thankful and take strength from the diversity of religions in our country. I can think of no more fitting way to end this post than with the paragraph that I believe will later rename this speech.

In such a world, we can be deeply thankful that we live in a land where reason and religion are friends and allies in the cause of liberty, joined against the evils and dangers of the day. And you can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist on a single strain of religion – rather, we welcome our nation’s symphony of faith.

The Next Step with Ahmadinejad

Over the last few days Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has continued his dance with the United Nations and the West. His goal is quite simple: a nuclear Iran. He has successfully stalled and bullied the United Nations, all the while racing to get nuclear capability. Every time the United Nations has given Ahmadinejad a deadline, he has given the United Nations the finger, and continued to do what he wishes.

The United States and Israel have both said they will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. France has now gone on the record saying that war may be necessary to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. French President Sarkozy said if the United Nations allows, “Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, we would incur an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world.” Germany, one of the countries that have stalled sanctions against Iran, is calling for a tougher stance against Iran. The German government has even said they don’t believe sanctions are going to work.

Where does that leave the world? If the world truly believes Iran can’t be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, it is time to make some very difficult decisions. Those decisions may include military action in Iran. The United States and Israel have probably (and hopefully) drawn up a point of no return scenario. This would be a list of criteria that would require an immediate military response. We may not have hit that time yet, but it is fast approaching.

For those who argue against a military action, it is time to get deadly serious with Iran. Former Governor Mitt Romney released his plan for Iran this week. His plan is tough, and works to so isolate Iran that if Ahmadinejad were to continue to press for nuclear technology, the world would have reason to respond militarily. Governor Romney’s plan includes:

1) Putting Iran in a diplomatic isolation.

2) Tougher economic sanctions against Iran.

3) Call on Arab states to join this effort. This would require the Arab states to support the government of Iraq, stop all financial support of Hamas and Hezbollah, and thaw relations with Israel.

4) Communicate to the people of Iran. There are those within Iran that do not share the views of Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs. Governor Romney believes we should do everything in our power to help those people.

5) Create a Partnership with the “entire world of Islam”. Romney argues that, “[o]nly Muslims will be able to permanently defeat the radical jihadist threat. We should help them any way we can.”

The full text of his outline can be found at the National Review Online. Ahmadinejad has made it crystal clear to anyone who is listening that he is going to acquire nuclear technology. He has also made it crystal clear that he intends to destroy both Israel and the United States. If the leader of a nation tells me he wishes to commit genocide and destroy my country, I tend to take him at his word. The current process is failing. The United Nations and the IAEA continue to demand and ask Iran for cooperation when Iran has no intention of giving it. Really isolating Iran may be the only way to avoid a military strike. Once Ahmadinejad has acquired a nuclear weapon is too late.

Romney in ‘08

I am finally ready to declare my support and the support of Political Friends. We are endorsing Mitt Romney for President in 2008. A friend told me when Mitt first declared that I should watch him and I would be impressed. Months later, I have to say that he was right. My friend originally said I would want to support him because he was a Republican that got elected Governor of Massachusetts. While that is an impressive feat, there are other things I like about Gov. Romney as well.

First, I think a critical factor for any candidate this season is how they view Iraq and the war on terror. Governor Romney's site has "Defeating the Jihadists" as one of its prominent issues. I have been impressed by some of his public statements and his support for President Bush's troop surge. Governor Romney has called for a surge of support for the troops. On his official website, he says, "An effective strategy will involve both military and diplomatic actions to support modern Muslim nations." He calls for America to lead a "broad-based international coalition" to defeat the jihadists. Both of these points seem to be ideas that Democrats can support as well. He also calls for something many have called for in the war against jihadist, "…the rejection of violence by moderate, modern, mainstream Muslims."

Secondly, I am pro-life. Much like Governor Romney, I had a different belief before I truly had to confront what abortion meant. Governor Romney says that once he had to look at legislation involving abortion, he came to believe that abortion was wrong. I agree with that. When my wife got pregnant, I was confronted on an almost daily basis with the fact that another human life was growing within her. This life deserved to be protected and have a voice in what happened to it.

Governor Romney also has executive leadership. Many Republican and almost all Democratic candidates can't claim that. Romney was President of the Mormon Church, and Governor of Massachusetts. As Governor, he looked at running his state as he would run a business. Because of that, he lowered taxes in Massachusetts and increased revenue to the state. He believes in keeping taxes low and in simplifying our incredibly large tax code. I too believe in both of these points.

Finally, I believe it is a good thing to have someone in office that believes in God and has a core faith. Romney is quoted in the Boston Globe and on his site as saying that our love of liberty, love of country and love of God are what make us a successful nation and society. Romney believes that Americans look for a, "…purpose greater than ourselves in life." That kind of belief in the people of our nation is critical for a President of this great nation. I don't see that in other candidates. Because of that, I am supporting Mitt Romney for President.