20071231

Endorsing Clinton and McCain

My request for an absentee ballot went in the mail this morning.

Since I live in Virginia, I am able to choose which party's primary I desire to vote in. I am going to keep that secret. Unfortunately I am not allowed to vote in both. So my decision as to which primary I am going to vote in was based on attempting to decide now which primary my vote might have the largest impact in. I hope I do not end up regretting my decision.

I have a favorite running in both primaries. These two individuals were my favorites from early on in the campaign, and while I do not 100% agree with either of them on all the issues, and while both have made some mistakes in their campaigns, I am going to continue sticking with them. It would please me to no end if both of these candidates ended up representing their parties in the general election.

For the Democrats: Hillary Clinton. Why? Because I view her as being the most moderate, or centrist, of all those running. Sure, in order to be competitive in the Democratic Primary she seems to have tacked a little bit too far to the left to suit my tastes, however I feel that she is most qualified to get some type of bipartisan support together in Congress in order to get things done. Since she is only going to be filling the Office of President and will not be a Dictator, I am confident that moderate voices in Congress will end up pulling her proposals more to the center before anything ends up being enacted. It is my opinion that Hillary's demonstrated ability to be pragmatic will enable some of the changes that I might desire to see actually become a reality without risking that things will get out of hand. Hillary would still have to deal with obtaining a super majority of 60 votes in the Senate for anything she proposes. There is not much risk that even if the Democratic Party obtained such a super majority they would have done so by getting additional left wing extremists elected. If Democrats are going to be successful in continuing to get additional members of their party elected, it will only be by nominating moderates and conservatives for the seats. I also feel that Hillary is the most electable of the bunch. Sure she has the highest levels of negativity of all candidates from both parties, however that is only because she is the most well known of all the candidates. Everything negative that can be said about her has pretty much already been said. Since Hillary has already been through the Republican smear machine and an absolute majority does not already have a negative opinion of her, any further efforts to convince those left over without a negative opinion are unlikely to be influenced by the likes of Rush Limbaugh repeating everything all over again. None of the other Democratic candidates are as tested as Hillary has been.

For the Republicans: John McCain. While once again I do not support 100% of what John McCain stands for, I look at him as offering the best chance for wise leadership in the Oval Office if a Republican ends up sitting there. John McCain has a proven track record of being willing to work with representatives of both parties in order to get legislation passed in Congress. I love the maverick blood that courses through his veins. Sure, during his current campaign he has tacked somewhat to the right in an attempt to appeal to the right wing extremists in his party, however his efforts have not been successful in winning him right wing support. If he is nominated, it will be because he won the support of independents and the moderates within his own party. He will owe nothing to the New Republican extremists and he will be apt to return to the type of governance evidenced in his record in the Senate. I would be particularly pleased if Republican McCain sat in the Oval Office while he had to deal with Democratic majorities in both branches of Congress. My most significant concern about John McCain is his age. While some of our senior citizens remain mentally sharp well past his current number of years, this is not automatic. We have only to look at how Ronald Reagan deteriorated in his last years as evidence that electing an elder statesman to fill the Office of President does in fact involve some genuine risk. However it is my opinion that our nation would be better served, if a Republican is going to sit in the Oval Office, by taking on the risk with John McCain being that Republican individual than any of the other candidates seeking the nomination. I would point out that if McCain received the nod, it would be even more important then normal that he wisely pick a Vice-Presidential candidate to run with him on the ticket. Rather then selecting someone to "round out the ticket" he would need to choose someone younger with a developing John McCain type of record of governance who would be ready to seize the reigns if John's service in the office was cut short by age related issues.

By the way, I am still personally running for President myself. However my own campaign has not seemed to gather any traction. Last time I did any polling, I had managed to lock up only one vote, and that was my own. My own wife has said she would not vote for me - grin. So while I do believe I am the most moderate, centrist candidate of anyone running from either party (which would by itself probably keep me from winning in either primary) I am throwing my support behind those candidates other then myself who I feel stand a reasonable chance of getting elected and who would best serve in the office.

I still say with a great deal of pride that I am the only candidate from either party who won God's endorsement. It is my opinion that even the Reverend Huckabee can not lay claim to that one. But even with God's help, success is not guaranteed, and it would appear that success is not going to happen. For me to be elected it would take not just "a" miracle, but several miracles. Well I am not going to turn God into a circus act in order to get elected. God has already given me more help then I probably deserve. If the evidence of a "Divine Endorsement" already present was not enough to cause even a ripple then I am not going to go back to the well and ask for additional help.

Since it seems extremely unlikely (talk about an understatement) that my continuing run for the Office of President is not going to be successful, I am going to throw my support behind a couple of the candidates that do have some hope of success. My endorsements go to Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

2 Comments:

Blogger Little David said...

Notice the one thing that these two candidates have in common: both have shown a willingness and ability to work with their opposition.

Hillary Clinton was willing to work out details for change with Newt Gingrich for some of her legislative proposals.

John McCain was willing to work with Teddy Kennedy for some of his legislative proposals.

Both have a proven track record of listening to and working with their opposition to get things done.

By the way, I am tickled with how the primaries have been going, how about you?

2/09/2008 04:44:00 PM  
Blogger Cory said...

Actually, the remaining candidates make me puke. Another punch for the Green Party I suppose.

2/12/2008 02:48:00 PM  

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