DING DING DING DING DING!!!!! -13.... How High can this go???
I think McCain tried to triangulate on the Presidency in 2008. If so, he miscalculated badly.
Air Force used to have as a definition of leadership: The art of inspiring others to accomplish the mission.
That is what the Republicans have to do in the next two years. Win back both chambers and keep the Presidendcy. For that we need leaders who inspire us to achieve and not compromisers who promote mediocrity.
As a pro life supporter you know I can't in good conscience vote for a pro abortion candidate if a pro life candidate was available. The 2008 elections won't be an issue because I doubt that the Dems will select a pro life candidate, so I can always vote Republican, even if the Republican candidate is pro abortion too.
However the primaries will be a headache for me. I'll have to do some research before I take the straw poll.
To be honest this is the most encouraging thing I have read all day. Today I woke up thinking I would try to be more optimistic and the hits just kept on coming and I found myself even more discouraged.
I agree with you on almost everything you said in this post. Even though I wasn't thrilled w/Harriet Miers it killed me to read Ann Coulter's scathing article about it.
And I too think Guiliani or Gingrich would both work for me. I also think the war is the most important thing. None of the other issues will matter if terrorists succeed in wiping us out. That is why I still have such a love and loyalty for Bush. He has stood strong on the war on terror despite the massive criticism. Although the more I think about it the more I think Rumsfeld resigning was a big mistake.
Mike, I'm so thankful for you!! You always have such a good take on things and are such an encouragement. Thanks!!
Atheling: It might make it easier when you consider that a pro-abortion DEM is for supporting that right at any moment from conception to birth.
There aren't too many pro-abortion GOP'rs that would go that far.
So, when it comes to disagreements on social issues it is a matter of degrees.
Our "friends" on the left would probably try and make the same case for the war on terror. Which is pretty hard to do considering Nazi Pelosis statement that she doesn't even consider our efforts to combat terror a "war."
Excellent post, Mike.
Mike, do you have Hugh Hewitt's 2004 book? You would love it! It should be a primer for anyone serious about voting and winning elections.
Wordsmith: I don't buy too many political books. Most of the good parts seem to end up on the internet for free. Though, it was funny that after my parent's last visit this fall, HH's book "BLOG" was left behind.
I'm in the middle of another Winston Churchill volume of history of the Second World War, so not sure when I would get to "Blog."
LMC: I appreciate your kind and generous compliment. But it humbles me, as you were out there on the front lines putting yourself into the campaign 100%. I sat here in SC knowing that my statewide candidates won without my help. Things will be different in 2008 when the SC primary will be the conservative firewall.
The people I talk to in SC are NOT going to support Graham, or McCain.
I'll stand up and play whatever role I can to see we defend principled leadership leading to V I C T O R Y!!
Right you are, Mike on the degrees aspect of pro abortion candidates. I've done some research on the candidates and took the straw poll. Things can change in two years however...
Churchill... ah now that's the kind of leadership we need in this fight against terrorism. I am so sorry that William Manchester died before he could finish his third volume of "The Last Lion".
Thanks for the code Mike. I'm going to have it uploaded on my blog sometime tonight.
Neither McCain or Rudy have any business as president. I would much rather have a Gingrich, or a Santorum. I think that Santorum would have an easier time sticking to principle in a nation wide election. Not that he'd run.
Wonderful post Mike, although I'm far too tired to try to fill out the 2008 primary poll. I can barely think beyond tomorrow. *sigh* It's been a tough week, sir. A really tough week.
I like your slant on things though. Very encouraging. I would get Hugh Hewitt's book as Wordsmith recommends, if I thought I would be able to find the time to read it.
Time... it moves far too fast.
Mike,
Right on with the RINOs! Like Rush said today, I hear a giant flush!
GOOD RIDDANCE! Funny, I thought the same way about Bill Kristol.
Okay, I decided to find the stamina to concentrate and did the poll. My choice, Gingrich, is ahead. I guess I'm not as out of it as I thought! My second choice, Tancredo is second. Yay! I still have a brain! 
Mike, I really like this poll. But, it concerns me as well.
I was looking down the list of potential "conservative", and I say that knowing that some of those are Rinos indeed, candidates and I thought to myself, "I'd be a better candidate than any of them".
I've never thought that in my life, but I truly believe that right now. I don't see any of them carrying on the Reagan legacy.
I don't know. Maybe I have a little of a Caesar complex, but I just don't see any of these as good leaders. Newy would be the best, but I don't think he is electable. Don't we have better than this?
My biggest fault would be I don't go to church and I'm not married. I'm sure I'd take some hits over both of these.
Atheling: Timothy of "Flesh is Grass"
http://fleshisasgrass.blogspot.com/
informed me that the third volume of the Churchill bio will be finished after all by another author using Manchester's notes.
It's supposed to be out next year. I'm looking forward to it.
John: I like Bill Kristol (most of the time) but he really does have to bear some of the blame for the current situation. Critizing Bush is fine. But doing so to the extent we lose the Congress is NOT!
W.F. Everyone says Newt can't win. It may be true. But he really has rehabilitated himself in the last few years.
And the only candidate who gives me that Reaganesque feeling is Rudy. And as you and others point out, he's too liberal on social issues.
Mike,
Thanks for the good news on the Churchill biography! I just dug up another quote by him:
“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”
Good quote Atheling. And it really speaks to our current situation.
It amazes me that so many people refuse to learn the lessons of history, somehow desperate to believe it will be different this time.
And of course when reality sets in, many of these ostriches take their heads out of the sand and demand to know why we didn't do something about the problem sooner.
I got into a huge fight with the brits and a couple of Americans over on ATW because I stated flat out that John McCain is a traitor, because of his attack on the US Constitution and was a failure as a soldier because A) he got shot down and B) he signed a confesion....
Any way GO NEWT
Hi kiddies.
And they say the gop doesn't take polls.
The problem is, the fight you are talking about is with other Americans.
Troll: You know the problem at ATW:
http://atangledweb.typepad.com/
Aside from David Vance, the other writers and a handful of commenters, most of them are happy socialist appeasing trolls with nothing better to do than toss confusion onto vital life and death issues where clarity is most needed.
Dateraper has tried to get on here and after entertaining his arrogant, yet glaring monumental delusion I've had it and won't put up with it.
And speaking of arrogant, monumental delusion, here's mudkitty right on cue.
What a boob!
Mike,
mudkitty is "auto didactic" (though that's not how she spells it) and an "actress" to boot. She just got booted from Indigo Red's site so now here she is.
Get ready for some laughs.
If John McCain signed a confession under torture then I can't blame him. However I am angry with him over his "Group of 14" treachery. I would never vote for him for President, for which I see he is gearing up for...
Mike:
I forgot to mention regarding the straw poll:
I see that Gingrich is ahead of the pack. While I like Newt for his erudition and his stance on the war on terror (I hear he's been reading Robert Spencer's books), I don't know what his position is social issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc... so I put Tancredo first for me. However Newt is preferable to the others listed after the recent elections.
Do you know his position on these issues?
Atheling. Newt focuses on economic and security issues. His web site is here:
http://newt.org/
He's been very strong on traditional American values. But like the Dick Armey piece I linked to earlier this week it's my opinion that Newt feels we shouldn't make those issues front and center.
And you are so right about McCain. I'm mulling over some thoughts on his prospective run for the 2008 nomination. I wonder if perhaps he purposely sabotaged the GOP by sticking his nose in at key times like the gang of 14 and terrorist interrorgation bill negotiations just to torpedo the party only to act later like it's savior.
The whole gang of 14 crapola was the beginning of the end of our GOP majority. That compromise started us on the road to defeat.
What do you think Newt's chances would be Mike? I'd vote for him and love to see him in office, but I'm doubting he could get too much support. He's one of those "I really love him" or "I really hate him" guys. What say you?
The only problem I had with the poll was that I am equally conservative on all three options, and was only able to choose one.
As far as McCain is concerned, the split he does in order to maintain one planted foot on each side of the aisle must make Jean Claude Van Damme highly jealous.
Romney doesn't even enter the equation because he isn't nearly as vigilant and "preventive maintenance" oriented as we need a leader to be -- rather than stay on top of events, he will wait for a problem to occur before seeking a solution, then address said problem with a 50-50 mix of cosmetic and bureaucratic style intervention. He will also place political expediency over efficiency, in a big way, in choosing a cabinet.
I would have to go with Tancredo as my pick for the next President.
Mike, great piece. Leadership is only part of what the GOP needs; 'principled' leadership is what is truly needed. The GOP failure to shrug off the gang of 14 and assert principled leadership rather than compromise really hurt the party. They would never stand up and ACT like the majority. Being champions of the war was the last thing they had going for them, and by Nov 7th, it just wasn't enough anymore. It will be interesting to see what happens within the party over the next year (they don't have tow years to get it together).
I'm not super thrilled with any of the prospective presidential candidtates at this point. Historically, congressmen just do not do well in becoming presidents. However, Newt has been out of the congress long enough to have perhaps shaken that adverse statistic. McCain is absolutely a no go; he just isn't presidential material.
Tim: When Newt's name came up months back, I too said he didn't have a chance of overcoming the negatives that have been created by the left regarding his ability, leadership and vision.
Now, I'm not so sure. You may not be old enough to remember all the times Nixon was written off as damaged goods, gone forever.
Having said that, I have always appreciated the genius of Newt Gingrich and he would make an excellent President. But( there's always a but isn't there?) Newt's appeal is strongest to political junkie conservative types like me.
It's doubtful that Joe sixpack, who revels in his ignorance, can understand, let alone support Newt.
Only one way to find out and that is to encourage Newt to run.
Seth: I was wondering where the Tancredo support was coming from. Other than his stand on immigration which I wholeheartedly support, I don't know that much about him.
Old Soldier: You're right. I thought that "leadership" assumed principle was involved. Better to state it your way:
principled leadership.
No candidate has caught your eye for 2008?
I don't know I'm not sure if it's just my nature or the point that I have been driven too. My first hero in the Republican party was Richard Milhouse Nixon, thats who I cut my teeth on. Nixon believe it or not gave us a lot of compromise on the domestic front with the Dems yet to them he IS the boogie man. Ranaldus Maximus a giant among men is THE icon and the standard, both men were foreign policy genuises, and both were able to accomplish tremendous things as President. It is only fitting that both are hated by the Press and the left the way they are it is honor they share.
Newt is another person that shares a lot with both these men and is hated prbably even more than they both are.
I am tired of compromise, I am tired of walking softly, I am tired of edditing my speech.
Unless we pick McCain "the traitorous scum" as our standard bearer the press and the rest of the world are going to ridicule and attack whomever we choose. I for one do NOT want another candidate thats ACCEPTABLE.
I want a candidate that is going to go through the country, the issues, the dems and the press, the way Sherman did his march to the sea in Georgia. Leave nothing left standing... I think a Georgian boy doing that would be a nice touch.
The RINOS will run for their own cover, the press and the dems will scream and howl but the people will rally behind Newt and we will have a chance at a real victory
Mike,
Tancredo caught my attention a year or so ago when he stated that if Muslim terrorists set off a nuke in an American city we ought to consider nuking Mecca in response.
We need rhetoric like that because that's the only kind which will make Koranimals take notice. Of course he suffered great retaliation and outrage from the media and the Liberals. Who cares.
I looked his voting record and I like it: pro life, pro gun rights, pro home security, tough on crime, pro school prayer, anti Kyoto Protocol, pro new oil refineries, pro Bush tax cut, pro tax reform, pro family... see here:
http://www.issues2000.org/House/
...om_Tancredo.htm
I picked him as my first choice too.
I like Mike Huckabee, he would put the entire Nation on a diet lol, and I dont just mean weight wise.
Well said Troll! And I don't recall you ever " edditing" your speech!
I think we need to learn alot more about all these candidates and quick! I'm told McCain is already locking up the power brokers in SC and I imagine he's doing that in the other states he visited during the 2006 campaign.
Things should start heating up next year.
"Now, I'm not so sure. You may not be old enough to remember all the times Nixon was written off as damaged goods, gone forever."
I'm only 24. You're right.
I will in fact encourage Newt to run. Out of everyone available, he is the best candidate that I can see, at least for now.
I was one of the five lefty trolls. I picked the former NY Mayor as my first choice - just in case I have vote republican again.
Roxie: You're closer to a 2 or 3 on the GOP scale. I certainly wouldn't call you a lefty troll. And I doubt this year is the last time you vote for Republicans.
Huckabee is too socially liberal. I put him as undesireable.
I like this Congresswoman from Florida: Ginny Brown-Waite. Did you read her letter to CAIR??? She's getting slammedf or it, but she has the kind of balls we need in Congress and the White House.
http://
thepugilstick.blogspot.co...gresswoman.html
I'm watchen them lefty's!
A well written article. I like Newt and his comments on the voting process. A was disappointed that he blamed Bush for the loss. That was a big mistake. We may never get a president as principaled.
Our president has moral principles! He is very righteous!
It is the blame Bush crowed that is to blame! "The lefty media"!!!
I live in her district, and Ginny Brown-Waite is no jewel.
She opposes any meaningful change to the Socialist Security System, and is far too moderate to help Republicans regain our principles over the next two years.
You would do just as well to support Lincoln Chafee or John McCain.
Although the letter to CAIR IS good...
She's not wrong on everything...
Hey mike, thanks for stopping by the mission. As I travel alot, it sometimes takes me a few days to catchup on things once I return.
Great post. In a lot of ways, it touches on where I am at with many politicos. Independant of your thoughts, there does seem to be a series of litmus' tests one must pass in order to be eligible. And leadership and integrity are not always on the list. I voted for a guy named Tom McLintocK for Lt. Gov. here in Cal. I don't agree with alot of where he is, but I felt he was a straight shooter, honest, and had integrity. Naturally, he lost.
As we head to the primary season, I have become convinced that the system is designed to weed out consensus style leaders and present us with polarizing people or options. As I think of leaders, I think Rudy G. is a great leader type. But I do not think he is electable in the GOP because of his more liberal social stands. Likewise, the Dems will not be electing a social conservative "even if he is with them on every fiscal issue."
I am not convinced that the parties really want great leaders, because great leaders can go around the parties directly to the people and that will usurp their power.
It is why I am hopeful that one day we may yet have a viable third party that can be part of the mix.
Dave: The third party way is what twice brought us Bill Clinton, elected by only a minority of voters. After that, my enthusiasm for a third way sort of withered.
I would also disagree that great leaders usurp the power of the party. Reagan was the greatest President of my lifetime and he immensely strengthened and rebuilt the GOP.
In Reagan we had that happy coincidence of a strong and visionary leader who espoused conservative social and fiscal principles. It may be too much to ask to have such a perfect candidate again any time soon.
The trick for GOP 2008 primary voters will be to know which compromises are ok and which are not.
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