Who do you like? Part 2

Well it is now time to talk about our Republican candidates. It pretty much has come down to John McCain, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Huckabee. New Hampshire primary has just completed, and it looks as though Mr. McCain has taken it for the Republican side.

John McCain has definitely great strength in the areas of his patriotic stance. His history as a military man, former POW, and Senate experience on the Senate Armed Services Committee have served him well in the eyes of all conservatives with that military focus. His weakness from most conservative perspectives is his support of campaign finance reform, his immigration stance, and his weakness in the area of not voting for the Bush Tax Cuts. By the way, he just won the New Hampshire Primary.

Mitt Romney is a former Governor of Massachusetts. Many believed this could help his cause in the Northeast. His strengths have been a good record of fiscal conservatism, executive experience as Governor, and strong against immigration. His weakness has been past “flip flops” on abortion, taxes, etc. He is a very competent business man, negotiator, and a politician. He is often perceived as “slick” as a speaker. This has hurt him in many instances. He has also ran many negative campaign ads to date which many look unfavorably upon.

Mike Huckabee is former Governor of Arkansas. His name is obviously the first thing people notice about him. As a former Baptist preacher, he has good speaking abilities that the average watcher can relate to. He has been accused of being a populist by focusing on the messages that most appeal to the masses instead of digging into the details of policy and immigration. He is the only Republican candidate which has proposed a completely new tax idea with his fair tax, doing away with the IRS, and going to a tax on consumption. Huckabee is identified as Christian conservative, extremely pro-life, but weak on history of crime & punishment, as well as taxes as Governor.

Fred Thompson is a former Senator from Tennessee. He is laid back, not a particular eloquent speaker, and has yet to convince many that he really wants to be President. He is a proponent of Federalism and is strong in all the major components a conservative would look for. His real weakness is his presentation and communication style up to this point. It will be interesting to see how he fairs as the race turns to the southern state primaries.

Rudy Giuliani is former Mayor of New York City. He is most noted for his dealing with 9/11. His strengths are his perception of great leadership, his success with New York City on crime and taxes. He has taken an approach of focusing in on Super Tuesday Primaries. His performance in the initial primaries has been nonexistent and could prove to be challenging to truly win the nomination. His weakness is social liberal policies in the past, his historical lady problems, and his nomination of key city officials which turned out to be corrupt.

Who will get this nomination? No one knows. Right now, an average of the national polls shows Mike Huckabee leading by 1.3%. I look for this to quite possibly change in the near future. I hope you have fun reading and learning about all your candidates, for knowledge is power.

Beliefs – Stand Up for Them or Suck.It.Up.

Who do you like?

It is an interesting time in politics. The regular two party establishments have started their Primary/Caucus process, and the results are now starting to trickle into our minds as we ponder who our next Presidential candidates will be. Iowa is over, and New Hampshire is in full swing. Our candidates sling their viewpoints, and it is time we take a look at them.

Democrats are faced with three real candidates at the moment. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

Hillary is faced with a tough battle right now. Her name obviously precedes her, but the country is trying to figure out if they want another cycle of the Clinton years. Many view the Clinton years as some of the most prosperous in our visible lifetimes, while others would argue it was defined and put in place by a series of Republican administrations that set up the success with their “conservative” philosophies. Hillary’s problem may well be her traditional old school democratic song which she sings. She wants to emphasize the “change” slogan, but her debates always lead back to old Washington politics which she definitely knows how to play. Granted Hillary as President would certainly be change as being the first female, but I am unsure the old school Washington political game would be any different. She continues to discuss universal health care, troops coming home, and discussing her 35 years of experience. It will be interesting to see if she can win the nomination with her political machine.

Barack has taken the first caucus by following what many label the populist philosophy. He has focused in and appeals to the younger generation. He has excelled at getting out the young vote by his "on the ground" tactics inspiring many with his speaking abilities and working to keep his campaign on a positive note. He is a fantastic orator. He gives speeches reminiscent of JFK that can and do inspire many. He has also to this point done well with the independent voters by emphasizing change. He has opposed the Iraq war from day 1 and is certainly on the universal health care initiative. Iowa caucus goers opted for the new guy, rather than the same old excuses on these issues. He is one to watch in New Hampshire as he is shaping up to take this Primary as well. His weakness (or so the pundits will tell you) is his inexperience. Many see this as an advantage as well saying he is not buried in "old Washington politics".

Edwards has recently backed up Obama in the “war against Hillary” as he realizes the strength of his campaign is her not getting the nomination. He has much work ahead of him being behind once again in New Hampshire polls, but as well is focusing on change. It appears his focus theme for New Hampshire is he will not allow any special interest corporate lobby in his administration. I look for him to go all the way to the convention, but I doubt we will see him nominated, but alas, we have been shocked by these races before.

In summary, it is interesting the discussions as the primary level really have not revolved around the core of what America is generally concerned with right now, which seems to be the economy. It seems we have had many discussions on health care, pulling troops out of Iraq, and more than that, conversations on who is more for change than the other. These are certainly important items, but gas prices at $3.00 per gallon, our companies closing down in the US and moving overseas, and the devaluing of our dollar (better known as inflation) are the issues that seem to have an effect on our daily lives. Things which affect our pocket book everyday are the things I believe are important to Joe Average in America. Up next? The Republicans.

Beliefs – Stand up for them, or Suck.It.Up.

The Challenge

Happy New Year to you and all your loved ones. 2008 has come upon us, and of course we all are reminded of Resolutions which we make and often do not keep. Resolution is defined as the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc. What have you resolved to do in 2008?

Reflecting back on 2007, it was a challenging year. Perhaps we have forgotten much of what happened through 2007, or perhaps you did not. I often need to be reminded. Here are just a few of the things which happened along 2007:

- Nancy Pelosi first female Speaker of the House
- Drama with Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Anna Nicole
- Virginia Tech gunman - 32 people killed
- the final book of Harry Potter
- Lead in China toys
- bridge collapse in Minnesota
- Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's record
- Michael Vick gets arrested for dog fighting
- the "surge" in Iraq appears to make progress
- California wildfires & a severe drought
- Al Gore wins a Nobel Prize for Global Warming film
- Subprime mortgage crashes
- Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto is killed
- and of course the expanded awareness of our own small community to what takes place on a local level.

Is it not interesting when we reflect on a previous year, how we tend to focus more on the bad things which happen, and often pass over the good things which happen?

I believe this will be our challenge for 2008. We must adjust our focus on the goals at hand and make a conscious decision to focus our thoughts on the positives of what 2008 holds for us. As many of you know, I have been quiet the last few weeks with minimal posts. I have watched the commentary. Many of my posts for 2007 revolved around revealing some facts and truths. This will not stop, as my foundational beliefs are in the rights of the people to lawfully receive information of their government entities and for the constituents to hold their elected representatives accountable.

The challenge for all of us in this political season will be to focus our efforts on a positive outcome for our community from this point forward. Yes, we have exposed some ugly points and events that have occurred. Accountability does not end, but it graduates to the next Evolution of stern commitment to moving forward with replacement, and permeating the positive vibe for 2008.

I challenge each of you as well to move to the Next Evolution. Our community, our school, and our children are ready for action. The action for 2008 should be to move forward in a spirit of unity, resolved in our beliefs, with an effort to reflect positively on our upcoming year.

I hope you will join me and welcome the Next Evolution!

Beliefs - Stand up for them or Suck.It.Up