Completely Unsolicited Advice

[billroper]

So here we are, on the early morning of the eve of the Illinois primary and I discover -- unlike most every other presidential election year -- I'm in a position to cast a vote that might actually mean something. Oh, dear.

Oh, dear, because the slate of Republican presidential candidates is, well, less than ideal, speaking charitably. But you go into an election with the candidates that you have, not with the candidates that you'd like to have, so I'm going to have to vote for someone.

All that said, here's some completely unsolicited advice for each of the candidates on the ballot:

Mitt Romney: It would be good if you could explain to us what exactly it is you believe in -- other than Mitt Romney.

Rick Santorum: Please tattoo the following phrase in reverse lettering on your forehead so that you will see it every morning when you shave -- "It's the economy, stupid!"

Newt Gingrich: We are all willing to concede that you're the smartest man in the room. Would you please try to act like it?

Ron Paul: You would be really interesting if you weren't at least 10% crazy. There's a reason that Libertarians with a big "L" seldom win anything.

Where's Dr. Frankenstein when you really need him?

*sigh*

Comments

[grey-lady.livejournal.com]

I wish you wisdom in your selection.

It's not something I have the opportunity to influence; I only get to choose between the last men standing. Even then, my ballot is only opened and counted if it is a tight enough race to potentially make a difference.

[hrrunka]

Sounds like your candidate choice is a bit "who do I least not want"...

...a bit like ours was, to be honest. Can't help thinking that there's something broken in western democratic politics at the moment.

[billroper]

Well, I've often heard it said that anyone who would want to run for high office has such a massive ego that it should immediately disqualify them...

[hrrunka]

Hmmm... I wonder how one might design a democratic system that ensured anyone who actually wanted a top position would never get one, and also ensure that the people who actually got those top positions would be able to do the job...

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately any system which could achieve these aims would never be implemented due to having to make it past the current crop of politicians.

[hrrunka]

Indeed. An insurrection might remove them, but they're never going to vote for something that would make it less likely they'd be re-elected...

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

Insurrections rarely result in an improvement in government. It will be interesting to see how North Africa and the Middle East shake out over the next five to ten years.

[hrrunka]

Yeah, the ones who assume power most often fall into ways no better than those they usurped...

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

I was disappointed when Huntsman dropped out. He was moderate enough to accept an appointment from a Democrat and smart enough to learn chinese while over there. I was also really impressed by the book by his father that I read, "Winners never cheat."

I think that 10% estimate on Ron Paul is rather low.
I don't know Gingrich well enough to have any comment on him.
If Santorum gets the nomination then the entire campaign will be about social issues.
Romney would at least have more chance of resulting in a campaign about the economy.

Frankly it looks like the republicans decided they were going to lose this year so decided not to run any serious candidates, wait four years and try again without a sitting president.

[billroper]

Of course, you could have said the same about the Democrats in 1992. :)

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

1992 would have been Clinton? Not really a follower of US politics until Janet and I got together in 1995.

[billroper]

Yup. Early on, there was a lot of commentary about how none of the viable Democrats had gotten into the race because George H.W. Bush was easily going to win re-election.

Fortunately, inability to predict the future has never been a liability for a commentator.

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

And ability as a candidate does not translate to ability in office. A lackluster candidate might be great at the job and a stunning candidate might be unable to cope once in office.

I think Obama is great at running for office but generally disappointing at doing the job. I think another ten years or so in a lower office might have improved his grasp on how to get things done. Of course I was really torn over who I wanted to win last time right up until the VP candidates were announced.

[hrrunka]

right up until the VP candidates were announced.

Heh. Palin was an inspired shot-in-the-foot choice.

However, having heard Senator McCain interviewed on BBC Radio 4 recently, I'm inclined to think the World had a lucky escape there...

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

I missed the recent Radio 4 interview. Generally I have found McCain to be a moderate republican who was more interested in getting things done than scoring political points which puts him ahead of a lot of people on both sides of the house.

Anything in particular about what he said?

[hrrunka]

The interview I awoke to (so I was less than fully awake, and may have missed important context) was discussing military intervention in the Middle East and Africa. I got the impression that he thought there'd not been nearly enough...

[kevinnickerson.livejournal.com]

I probably shouldn't give advice like this, but...

From my left wing side, the only one who stands a snowball's chance of defeating President Obama is Gov. Romney. Speaker Gingrich and Sen. Paul won't make it to the nomination. The GOP will be putting up Gov. Romney, or Sen. Santorum. I just can't imaging Sen. Santorum's social views picking up a single independent vote. So, if you want any chance at all of claiming the presidency, you'll have to vote for Gov. Romney.

Therefore, I suggest you vote for Sen. Santorum. (rimshot)

Oh, and I can't find anything at all to fault in your capsule summaries of each.

(ugh, being called away, no change to double proof read)

[mbcrui.livejournal.com]

From just left-of-middle, I agree with your evaluation, but I would --and have-- compared this to the year Michael Dukakis got the Democratic nomination.

You can always write someone in... I like Senator Olympia Snowe, myself.

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

Look at it this way -- any one of them is a vast improvement over what we currently have.

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

Can I just say how pleasant it is to have a political discussion of this length on the Internet without anyone resorting to insults?

[patoadam]

Re Mitt Romney: Yes, if I thought Mitt Romney as President would be the Mitt Romney who brought health care to Massachusetts, I would probably vote for him. "It's the economy, stupid," and Romney has a sensible mainstream economist (Greg Mankiw) as an adviser.

But I have no idea which Mitt Romney I would be voting for. See

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/etch-a-sketch-highlights-missed-opportunities-for-romneys-rivals/

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/opinion/krugman-paranoia-strikes-deeper.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss