GOP Candidates

                    The ideal Republican presidential candidate would be a person with all the strengths of Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum and none of their weaknesses.  It would be wonderful to have a President with the knowledge of government like Gingrich, experience in foreign affairs like Huntsman, desire for small government like Ron Paul, executive experience and success like Perry, business experience like Romney, and conservative values like Santorum.  Alas, we have not found such a person; however, any one of the men listed above would make a better President than the one we have currently in the Oval Office!

                    I was very disappointed this week to read that Texas Governor Rick Perry was quitting the Republican presidential race.  I kept hoping that Republicans would give him a second chance because I think he is the best candidate.  I like Governor Perry because he is (and has been for a long time) a conservative - unlike Mitt Romney.  He has been married to Anita for 29 years and has apparently been faithful to her - unlike Gingrich.  He has been a well-liked and successful governor of Texas for a dozen plus years; therefore, he has leadership experience - unlike Santorum.  He is sane - and Ron Paul's sanity is questionable. Governor Perry has been thoroughly vetted; therefore, we would know what we were getting.  I also believe that Governor Perry, simply by being in the race, did a lot to keep the other candidates more honest.  Besides, Governor Perry is a very likeable person!

                    I believe strongly that Mitt Romney is a good man with great leadership ability and strong love for the United States.  It doesn't matter to me that he is rich and made his money as a venture capitalist because venture capitalism is muchbetter than crony capitalism.   I do not think that the media will find anything bad in his closet because they would have found it by now.  I believe he would run the nation as a business and stop our slide into the bondage of debt.  I watched part of the GOP debate in Tampa, Florida, and liked what I saw there.  I am leaning more towards Romney.  Please don't be fooled by the media talking about Romney's 15 percent tax rate because 87 percent of Americans pay less than 15 percent - 47 or 49 percent pay no taxes at all!  A man that gives 15% of his income to charity has to be a good man!

                    I like Rick Santorum.  I believe that he has good, solid conservative ideas and a good record of conservatism.  My big worry about Santorum is his lack of executive experience.  It is one thing to be one Senator among one hundred members of the Senate; it is quite a different thing to be the person sitting in the Oval Office.  We have a President now who came to the Executive Office from the Senate, and he doesn't know how to lead!  Because Rick is basically a good man and a conservative, he would be a better President than Obama!

                    I agree with a few of the ideas that Ron Paul shares.  I like his support of the Constitution and his ideas about small government.  I do not like his ideas about foreign relationships.  I basically think he is a "loose cannon."  I think that he is too old to elect as our President and that he does not have the mental ability to be the leader of the Free World.

                    I admire Newt Gingrich in the way he handles the media, for his debating skills, and for his knowledge of how government runs.  I have a real problem with his lack of morality; the man has cheated on two different wives and is a serial adulterer.  He has too much moral baggage for a party of principles and values.  Obviously, I am not the only person who thinks Newt's morals should be considered.   Check out this article or this one or this one.  A man whom I know very well and whose opinion I admire very much considers Gingrich to be "evil."  I found some articles that enlarge on the same idea - here and here.  

                    In addition to his lack of morals, I believe strongly that Gingrich is a Republican progressive.  Any man who considers Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the best President in the last hundred years cannot be considered to be a conservative.  Every conservative I have listened to claims that Ronald Reagan was the best President; Gingrich claims FDR was the best one. Gingrich apparently does not understand that a person can be a great leader and not be good for the people.  Examples include Hitler and Lenin, both with great leadership skills.  Being a good leader does not necessary mean that FDS was a good President of the United States.  FDR accomplished many things during his three+ terms as President of the United States, but that does not mean that he was good for the United States!  I understand that Gingrich also admires Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson - all liberals/progressives.  Gingrich is a Republican, but he is also a liberal/progressive, big-government person who is masquerading as a conservative.  I believe that our nation would be better off with Gingrich than Obama but not a whole lot better.  Please do not fall for his smooth language and debating skills!

                    Now that Governor Perry is out of the presidential race, this is the way I rate the GOP candidates:  Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul.  I have to admit that I'm still looking for that ideal candidate!