With the California primary less than a week away, part of Super Tuesday, it's time to unveil our endorsements for the Republican and Democrat races for the presidential nominations. Both candidates epitomize what this blog is all about: an ability to solve the issues faced by the nation, and a willingness to change the putrid culture of national politics. One will get my vote this weekend, when I will cast an early ballot.
There is one person left in this race who has the demonstrated ability to successfully take on challenges, and he's done it time and again in his adult life. That person is Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and I support his run for the GOP presidential nomination for that reason alone.
I am not impressed with his campaign, in which he seems too-packaged for the moment and the audience, a la Hillary Clinton. His changes of opinion on important issues are too convenient, his campaign rhetoric too contrived. He tried the "change" message after Iowa, has edged toward being the economic savior and is now trying to lead the conservative charge despite never having been a true conservative -- as conservatives themselves would describe it.
However, there will be a lot of issues for the next president to address (note our post on oil prices), from the continuing war on terrorism to the precarious state of the economy to the looming disasters of Social Security and Medicare. We need a problem-solver to take on those problems, not a politician. Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is poised to win many of the Super Tuesday states, is a politician.
Romney has built and turned around businesses and rescued the Salt Lake City Olympics. He's been a pretty good governor in Massachusetts, who has a demonstrated ability to work with a legislature dominated by the other party. McCain is a "my way or the highway" type who will take a confrontational approach with those who disagree with him.
There is a lot of talk that McCain is the better candidate if Republicans want to hold onto the White House. He'll attract independents, and the GOP candidate needs independents to win. I disagree.
His record is a strange one and I think a lot of those independents will be turned off, and could flee to Democrats, when they learn more about him. McCain's two positions that Republicans can accept, his support for the war in Iraq and his pro-life stance, are not favored by independents.
He has also been involved in two things that should disqualify him for the presidency. His McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill violates the free speech portion of the 1st amendment of the constitution. It was disgusting to see him take advantage of the provisions of the bill to attack Romney on the last weekend before Florida, when Romney was unable to defend himself because of McCain-Feingold.
Secondly, in putting together his Illegal Immigration Reform package with congressional Democrats and President Bush, he urged his fellow legislators to pass the measure before the public had a chance to digest its contents. That type of lawmaking is what has made Americans so sick of our political leadership.
Romney is not perfect, but unlike his opponent, he has not been part of the problem as a longtime member of the political establishment. With his track record, he could become an effective president who transcends both political party and ideology.
The message of change is enticing when delivered passionately, and no one has done it as effectively in the last 28 years as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. God knows, things need to be changed in Washington, D.C., and Obama seems committed to bringing that about. That commitment gains my endorsement for the Democrat nomination.
Obama, like everyone else in the race, has his flaws. His voting record is liberal, and we see no need for someone who will land straight onto his ideology every time. Concerns about his experience are legitimate. He's only in his first term of federal office, and before that was a state legislator. Whoopee.
His message and his passion are what makes the difference. He's forward thinking and committed, and we need both. He's well-spoken with an ability to clearly delineate his thoughts. Even though he's doctrinaire liberal, he seems like the type who will be willing to listen to others.
My support for Obama is heightened greatly by the presence of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. That this blog favors both accomplishment and a change in the way business is conducted in our nation's capital eliminates Clinton from any consideration as our leader. Her shadowy dealings in Arkansas trailed her to the White House, and most of her work within her husband's administration ended in failure -- often in spectacular fashion. The thought of her, and the people she would bring to Washington with her, trying to solve the nation's problems makes me shudder.
And the change we seek isn't just away from the way the Bush administration does things. Bush is governing almost exactly the way Bill Clinton did in the 1990s. Clintonism is what we want to get away from. We here at home want issues to be solved, not to be something used by party officials to outsmart each other. It's been a 15-year problem now, and it has to stop.
While they might try to tell voters that they will bring change to Washington, both Clinton and McCain are longtime political insiders who are chiefly responsible for our troubles. Romney and Obama are our best chances for uprooting the establishment and putting the United States back on the road to success.
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How is the race shaping up after Florida?
On the Republican side, McCain will put himself in a practically unbeatable position if he wins most of the Super Tuesday states. Polls show him with big leads in the big states. Romney, despite a strong last-week surge in Florida, only appears to be ahead in Massachusetts.
Pundits made big play of Obama getting most of the Tuesday voters in Florida as opposed to Clinton, who got most of the early votes. It's true that some people are upset with her race-baiting. But she still won a huge victory and, like McCain, is ahead in the big Super Tuesday states.
Our endorsees are coming on somewhat, but the establishment candidates are unfortunately in very strong positions. Surges by Romney and Obama could be too little, too late.
