Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bob Stannard, a lobbyist and author.
In all likelihood the Republican presidential primary is down to two. Yes, as of this writing Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are still in the race and both have declared that they are in it for the long haul. However, the pressure on these two to get out of the race will be mounting as the slugfest between the Newt and the Mitt continues in debate after debate after debate.
The many debates that these candidates have had have served a purpose. They have helped to educate Republican voters on their possible choices for the candidate of their choice to go up against an incumbent president who’s had the luxury of sitting back and watching the show.
And what a show it has become. We’ve seen Mr. Santorum wearing his conservatism on his sleeve, but for some unexplained reason he doesn’t seem to excite the conservative base. Perhaps it could be because he’s not that exciting; certainly not a disqualifier for serving as president (remember, we sent Calvin Coolidge down there, ya know).
Then there’s Ron Paul. Here is a man who has tossed out ideas that even I have liked. For instance, he’s not a big fan of jumping into war willy-nilly, as our previous president was fond of doing. However, he does come across as the crazy uncle at the family Thanksgiving dinner. (I can forgive him for that as there are those in my family who’d put me in that category as well. I love them just the same.)
So the Republicans are seemingly left between a guy who wants us to move to the moon and a guy who has never held fewer than two positions on every issue imaginable. The Republicans have strived, begged and pleaded for someone, anyone to come forward other than the Mitt. Michelle Bachmann, the slightly more than moderately insane congresswoman from Minnesota, was originally the darling of the party, but she quickly fell from grace once she began speaking.
Rick Perry led the pack briefly until he couldn’t remember the third agency that he would abolish, thus providing Americans of all stripes with one of the most excruciating video clips ever recorded. I’ve never been a big fan of Texas governors, but I would hope that there was not one among us who couldn’t feel a little sympathy for this guy. Notwithstanding the fact that he was not presidential timber, all of us over 50 can be a little forgiving of someone forgetting something.
There wasn’t a lot of forgiveness to be had with Herman Cain, with the exception of Stephen Colbert who invited Cain to campaign with him in South Carolina. One wonders who does the vetting of these guys. Cain was a bus accident waiting to happen. The only question is what took so long.
John Huntsman was apparently the only rational one of the bunch. It was very clear from the start that he was not going to last long.
Now we’re down to two (not counting the other two); a Mitt and a Newt. They are fun to watch. You may remember not too long ago, after Newt led the impeachment of Bill Clinton, that the term “family values” was the standard bearer of the Republican Party. What a difference a decade or so makes. Newt is a serial adulterer. He was committing adultery while he was persecuting a president for doing the same thing. No double standard there. He was brought up on ethics charges while serving this country and paid a hefty fine. His colleagues stripped him of his position as Speaker of the House. Maybe he’ll do better on the moon.
That leaves us with the candidate in the primary that 76 percent of Republicans don’t want to see as their candidate; the Mitt. Why would Republicans distrust this man so? Could it be because he supported a woman’s right to choose before he opposed it (John Kerry comes to mind)? Could it be because he supported mandatory health care before he opposed it? Maybe because he supported climate change before he opposed it, or that he supported the bank bailouts before he opposed them?
John Kerry got his clocked cleaned, for among other reasons, because he was perceived as a flip-flopper on the Iraq War. Apparently now if a candidate flip-flops on key issues and core beliefs, all is forgiven; or maybe not.
The Republicans are in a tough spot. It appears as though their candidate is going to be the poster child for the 1 percent. He’s incredibly wealthy having made a fortune, not by manufacturing anything of value, but by being a predator buying up marginal businesses, loading them with debt and then selling them off for a profit, while ruining lives of everyday people. He’s also known for having tied his dog to the roof of his car and driving to Canada on a family trip.
It’ll be interesting to see how President Obama fares. Perhaps he’s not been a great president, but he did kill Bin Laden and didn’t tie his dog on the roof of his car.
