Friday, February 08, 2008

Back in the saddle

My son is doing much better and I want to say how much my family and I appreciate the thoughts and prayers from all of you. It really meant a lot to us.

During my hiatus much has happened, so let's get started. John Edwards quit the campaign. I've left no doubts about my feelings toward him. America is a better country when he is NOT seeking political office. Did anyone ever buy that poverty thing? Come on, John. We've seen your house. Not exactly the residence of someone who cares deeply for the poor.

That leaves Hillary and Obama. No big surprise. I am enjoying watching Hillary squirm. The contempt and fury in her eyes is quite remarkable. This was her year, her election, her nomination. How dare this junior senator from Illinois come out and ruin it for her. It's entertaining to say the least.

Obama still has a shot, and I'm scratching my head a bit. I've heard him speak and he is good at it. He has literally given me goosebumps with his inspirational talk. But his speeches are very empty on substance. He doesn't offer ideas or solutions, he just describes the American utopia with incredible charisma and points out our most pressing problems. But what about solutions? I would venture a guess that most Obama supporters have no idea what his plan is for saving social security. I know because I read his book. But something tells me his followers don't know. They just like what he has to say, which is probably why he is so popular. You don't start angering people until you start offering real solutions and taking tough positions on tough issues. We'll see.

Ted Kennedy endorsed him and I think that hurts more than anything. Obama already has the radical Left locked. He's trying to court the moderates and a few disgruntled republicans. You can't do that with Ted Kennedy endorsing you. SOmething tells me Obama cringed when Teddy put on his little media hoopla event announcing his endorsement. But still, Obama would probably be more difficult to beat in the general election than Hillary simply because she is so easy to hate and so easy to vote against. Therefore, I'm hoping Hillary pulls out the nomination.

McCain has locked up the GOP nomination and this is quite a shocker. Last summer I said McCain's campaign was dead and his support for Bush's amnesty plan was what killed it. After that, I didn't think he had a chance at the nomination. But something happened since then. For one, Fred Thompson waffled on getting in and then spun his wheels once he did enter the race. He had a strong message but it was too little too late. The same is true for Tancredo and Duncan Hunter. These three were the only true conservatives in the race and none of them mounted any sort of formidable campaign. This left conservatives basically without a candidate, and no one to get behind. The base was fractured, looking for a home and completely unable to unite behind a single candidate. Second, Rudy Guiliani fumbled the nomination. Let's face it, this was Rudy's nomination to lose, and he lost it. And suddenly the GOP lost the candidate who presented the biggest challenge to Hillary.

So I think panic set in. Every Republican voter with any sense knows that Huckabee and Romney stood no chance in the general election. We're talking serious landslide loss here. So I think GOP voters went for the candidate who stood the best chance at beating the Dems, and thus John McCain gets the nomination. This is politics' version of the miracle on ice. An incredible underdog story. Along the way, many Repubs have compromised their own conservative principles by supporting McCain, but I guess to them it's better to have a Republican with some liberal tendencies than a Democrat who's one step away from being a full-blown Soviet.

McCain has some fences to mend, none bigger than the fence he needs to build along the southern border. No doubt his choice for running mate will be huge. Will he go for someone who appeals to moderates in hopes of solidifying his chance against Hillary? Someone like Arlen Specter or maybe even Joe Leiberman? Or does he go for someone who appeals to conservatives in an attempt to unite the base? ie Duncan Hunter or Newt Gingrich? I think that depends on his opponent. If Hillary wins, he won't need to unite the base because her mere presence on the ballot will be more than enough motivation to get people out to vote. But if Obama wins, then McCain will have a tough choice. My pick for VP would be Duncan Hunter, hands down. His platform is amazing and his big issue is immigration, McCain's downfall. Plus, Hunter may even bring California into play. We'll see.

As for me, my candidate is out of the race, so I'm left wondering who to vote for. Make no mistake, even though I like Obama as a person I still disagree with him on EVERY issue. He is a socialist to the core and would be a disaster for America. And Hillary? Well, let's just say that there is no candidate on this planet who is so bad that it would compel me to vote for Hillary. I dare say if Lucifer ran against her, I still wouldn't punch the chad beside her name (that's satire for those who don't know). That's how much I dislike this woman.

And yet, it's going to be hard to vote for McCain. He is a fine and decent man, and a genuine hero who would certainly be strong on defense, but conservative? I don't know. Maybe it's not too late for Gingrich to get in as an independent. Otherwise, it may be a third party vote for me.

10 comments:

SNAKE HUNTERS said...

Dr. John,

A fractured emotional and/or sentimental approach on the fundamental principles, and who is more, or less 'Conservative' is a sure formula for Ignoble Defeat.

The Two Remaining Opponents are the survivors of the "bring the troops home now, regardless of consequence" crowd, and all their quotes are recorded, along with Harry Reid's April '07 remark...

"The War In Iraq Is Lost!"

The Slogans of 'New Direction' and
"CHANGE we can believe in", and the
excited, gullible young faces waving those blue placards will become a vague memory in the
coming months As Reality Dawns.

A McCain/Gingrich Ticket is a Win/Win Team, but only if we stop the inter-party bickering.

Consider the Alternatives!

A Catastrophic Defeat with an Emboldened Enemy in IRAQ, Imposed Government Dependency (cradle to the grave), Open Borders, and Socialized Medicine.
>>
'Unity of Purpose' Trumps withering,
enervating sqaubbling. In Politics,
there is No Substitute for Logic and Reason. reb
__________________________________
www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com

SNAKE HUNTERS said...

Dr. John,

Your remark, "Obama still has a shot" troubles me.

Have you missed the long string of
Obama Endorsements? He has suddenly
become the Democratic Party Number One Choice! Watch the endorsements
closely, then observe the Changing
Polls in the next few weeks. It's
Ba-rack O-BBbbaaaammMAAA!

When George Soros, David Geffen & Oprah Winfrey speak, all of the
majors will obediently fall in line. Few in that organization would ever dare offer a muffled disagreement. Hillary Is Burnt Toast!

Soros, Geffen, Winfrey Money Rules! reb
__________________________________
www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

reb,

"J'accuse" to quote Emile Zola. Over the past several months you have begun to succumb to a conspiracy theory that has George Soros at the center of a web in which he seeks to ensnare the hearts and minds of the citizens of this country who you believe are unaware that they are being manipulated.

This position has started to detract from your original and central message regarding identifying and confronting the real enemies of our country and of western civilization.

George Soros is not the enemy. The enemy is Osama bin Laden. The enemy is Ayman al-Zawahiri. The enemy is Baitullah Mehsud. The enemey is Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Sayyed Ali Khameini and Hassan Nasrallah and Khaled Meshal and Bashar al Assad and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

I think all of our interests would be better served if you moved on and began to educate people about the above.

To everyone reading this comment. Can you identify the nine men named above? Certainly most will able to identify at least five, although in my opinion, seven is the least number for one to be terrorism literate.

Regards.

Anonymous said...

I think it's not so surprising as all that. People want moderate candidates. Even if that wasn't true, a lot of conservatives are becoming appalled at the Bush administration's policies. I think the other candidates, minus the ones who are left, sounded too radical and too much like Bush to win. Maybe they weren't, but that's how they were perceived.

That being said, I dislike McCain. I prefer Ron Paul. Of course, he won't win, but he's done pretty well for himself coming this far.

Dan Trabue said...

I'm very glad your son continues to mend. You're all in my prayers.

Ted Kennedy endorsed him and I think that hurts more than anything. Obama already has the radical Left locked.

I suppose you know that to the degree that this is true, it's because the radical Left is opposed to Clinton's nomination and the fear of Clinton winning is palpable?

But it's not because Obama is especially liberal. He's moderately liberal, or at least that's how he appears to we Radical types...

On the other hand, McCain's voting record appears to be 80-90% conservative. That being the case, we wonder how conservative one has to be not to be considered a traitor to the cause (as McCain is often portrayed)?

Man, I'd love it if I had a candidate that was even 50% in agreement with me! (Maybe Obama is that close, hard to say...)

SNAKE HUNTERS said...

POTOMAC RESULTS, read 'em!
__________________________________

D.C.
SOROS/Obama 75% ~ McCain 68%
Hillary Clinton 24% ~ Huckabe 17%

MARYLAND
SOROS/Obama 60% ~ McCain 55%
Hillary Clinton 37% ~ Huckabe 29%

VIRGINIA
SOROS/Obama 64% ~ McCain 50%
Hillary Clinton 35% ~ Huckabe 17%

Pay Attention Loop:

ON FEBRUARY 1ST, George SOROS, through MOVEONDOTORG Endorsed his pick - Barack Obama, and that was immediately followed by Teddy Kennedy & Caroline, et al

Now, maybe you enjoy counting delegates, but if you watch Key Endorsements you can put down the
hand calculator. Hillary's Toast.

She's Already in Texas, pitching frantically for Latino Votes. The
Black Vote Has Deserted Hilly/Billy
en mass. George Soros & David Geffen are calling the tune. CHANGE
& "New Direction". It's a Tsunami!

Re-read the numbers. reb
__________________________________
www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com

John Washburn said...

Dan, thank you for your prayers. Many people have prayed for us and we feel their support.

As for McCain, I agree that he is moderately conservative and his record on defense is strong. But he has angered the conservative base mainly with the immigration issue. His support for Bush's amnesty is as close to unforgivable as it gets. Plus, he opposes drilling in ANWR, supports measures to combat global warming, advocates for the shutdown of Gitmo and pushed through McCain-Feingold, which is viewed as a direct violation of free speech. FOr the most part, he IS conservative. But these few things are HUGE in the eyes of conservatives and overshadow his overall record.

I respect him a great deal, and may very well vote for him. But he has some fences to mend to get the support of conservatives as a whole.

Obama on the other hand has the senate's most liberal voting record. He is hardly a moderate.

Dan Trabue said...

Well, for we radical types, the whole of congress only has a handful of what we consider to be progressive. Most are middle of the road (and fairly spineless and fairly well owned by the Democratic corporate "machine").

You have Kucinich and a few others who are advocating a Dept of Peace and reasonable, responsible ways to begin to divest ourselves of our dependence upon fossil fuels and matters such as this, but not many.

So, since Bush is behind the amnesty plan, is the Right not willing to forgive him, either?

SNAKE HUNTERS said...

Bush/Cheney have less than a year now; we should Stop Bum-rapping Bush! It's Boring. Enough Already.

We must support our Volunteer Troops, FISA, Control Our Borders,
Guantanimo Tribunals, and Pray for a Sharp Vice President that Understands Global Jihad come January 20th.

Kucinch? He and Ron Paul should go
somewhere remote, together. Start a 'Me-Worry~Far-Out' Space Club.

reb

John Washburn said...

I'm not speaking for the Right, but I for one have NOT forgiven Bush on the amnesty idea. He was wrong and still is. I also haven't gotten over the Harriet Meir nomination and the fact that he was so quick to give up on social security.