At 12:21 AM 9/19/2004 -0500 Julia Thompson wrote:
>I vote in Republican primaries. I'd be very interested in 2008 as to
>your opinion of the various candidates going into the primaries. (I'd
>be very interested in the opinions of a good number of other people
>here, as well.)
I don't know if I can express electronically just how much I positively
detest saying this - but the most qualified Republican for the 2008
Nomination right now is...... Jeb Bush. Yuck. The appearance of
"dynasty" absolutely sickens me - and I guess that it could be argued that
disqualifying Jeb solely because of his lineage is some sort of -ism
discrimination, but I don't like it, not one bit. Nevertheless, it is
hard to argue with his qualifications: Re-elected as Governor of the most
important State in the Electoral College, and a State which gave him lots
of experience with Hispanic voters. His State wethered the recession
quite well, and he has done some very good things with education -
particularly in regards to his support of school choice for parents in
Florida. He also has pretty impeccable pro-life credentials. (Again, I
am assessing Jeb not on the basis of being qualified in a metaphysical
sense to be President - but as being qualified to win the Republican
Nomination.) Jeb also appears to have the essential dynamism and
personality needed for the campaign. He simply looks like Presidential
Material - which the Bush Family has known for some time (they never
considered W. as much of anything in that regard.) We'll see if the
American people even let Jeb Bush run - but if he does, on his personal
merits he is an incredibly strong candidate.
The chosen successor of the Bush Administration, given that Dick Cheney
seems unlikely to run, is Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He's a
former physician, and has great health care credentials, and is generally
considered to be pro-life. His speech at the Republican National
Convention, however, was very stiff, so his star is falling a bit.
George Pataki will run - but it is hard to see someone as strongly
pro-choice as he is winning the nomination, especially without particularly
strong fiscal conservative credentials as well.
I've heard Mitt Romney's name bandied about - the chairman of the Salt Lake
City Olympics and now Governor of Massachusetts. I don't know much about
him, and while he certainly won't have the backing of the pro-life
movement, I doubt he would face their utter wrath the way Pataki would.
So, he might emerge as a compromise candidate for the Republicans if Jeb
doesn't run.
Governor Owens of Colorado appears to be the John Ashcroft candidate in the
2008 primaries - the darling of the hard-core conservatives, but one who
ultimatley won't win the nomination.
Lastly, I can only hope that this country won't promote someone from Mayor
directly to the Presidency.
JDG - There are sure to be others, Maru....
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world,
it is God's gift to humanity." - George W. Bush 1/29/03
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