A SNAPSHOT OF MY PICK FOR PREZ ...

So who’s my pick for the Republican nomination in 2008 right now? Well, before answering that question let’s establish the fact that there is a difference between who I think SHOULD be the nominee and who I think will actually get it. I’ll answer both questions though in this blog …

The man I think who is the most likely to actually win the nomination is John McCain. The reasons I say this are because Hillary seems to be almost the de facto Democratic nominee at this point. The MSM really, really, really wants to see Hillary on the top of the ticket – and won’t rest until she gets there. The poor Dem’s have little choice in the matter it seems.

As Hillary becomes more of a factor – the Republicans will start to breathe a little easier with regards to their base – knowing full well they can nominate a liberal Republican and still count on the right-wing vote. John McCain is the beneficiary of this situation, I don’t consider him a liberal – but I surely don’t consider him a conservative either. John McCain would literally wipe the floor with Hillary because he’ll have the support of the Republican base – and will actually steal some of Hillary’s traditional Democratic base. Why would traditional Democrats vote against Hillary? Well, wait for the campaign and you’ll see. Hillary is protected by the MSM right now – but in a “get down” campaign, her flaws are going to come streaming through in high-definition. This is going to leave the Democrat’s saying “What the hell have we done here?” – the month before the final election in November.

That’s my prediction right now – and things can change. But it looks to me like John McCain. It won’t be Condy Rice (no experience / doesn’t want to run anyway). It won’t be Bill Frist (who makes bad political decisions and has a strong tendency to stick his finger in the wind – which Republican voters hate). Won’t be Rudy because he’s too liberal (although Rudy would also wipe up the floor with Hillary in a head-to-head show).

Now, as far as whom I THINK SHOULD GET the nomination …

The answer is …

GEORGE ALLEN

I like George because he’s an honest man – and he’s a Reaganite. Here are some of his assets …

He’s a likeable guy – a REAL guy who doesn’t stick his finger into the wind too much. He’s a leader; he’ll run down a tough path if he thinks it’s the right path. He’s a communicator – sure, he can look just as stiff and “stuffed shirt” as any other politician, but when the chips are down he can communicate with an audience because he’s not an empty suit. George Allen “has it” where it counts. He’s a guy with a smile on his face – a smile equals optimism and Americans like to elect optimists (Democrats take note here because this is one of Hillary’s SERIOUS flaws). George Allen has a solid elected background as a Congressman, a Governor, and a Senator – so he’s seen the game from all sides. Additionally, although he’s been all three – he hasn’t been any of them for very long – which is an asset because it means he’s not entrenched in the weirdo-world of politics inside the Beltway. Allen has only been in national politics for about 15 years – not long enough to be considered a real “insider”.

Virginia law does not allow a Governor to succeed himself – but in his one-term in the Governor’s mansion his list of accomplishments are exemplary. He made vast and real improvements in education and in the economy. His support of high-tech industry paid huge dividends for Virginia. This is a guy who understands the global economy and what it takes to compete in it.

On the downside, the things working against him politically are …

Allen has been known to “dip” tobacco on occasion. His anti-abortion views are fairly binary and well-known. He’s been wishy-washy on the subject of stem-cell research, and it’s difficult to ascertain exactly what his position is at the moment. Since 2001, he’s generally been for it but has started backing down on his support for the research just recently. While Governor of Virginia he approved a “Confederate Heritage” holiday observance and has been quoted referring to the Civil War as a southern struggle for independence. So there’s plenty of cane for his political enemies to make syrup with in his political record.

The things that disturb me about him – his waffling on stem-cell research and his position on the Dubai Ports World deal (it appears he sided with the rest of the uninformed politicians against George Bush). George Allen is beginning to look like a man running for president – and that will not serve him well. He needs to pick sides, and let everyone know where he stands. Historically he’s done that, but now that he’s running for president – he seems to test the waters a lot more.

Still, with all that – I’d like to see this guy take the nomination because I think he’s a good man with a good heart who also happens to be a born leader. He’s a 21^st Century Conservative. He’s smart, and he can take this country places. I think he would make a great President.

Now, I’ll say this – I could change my mind on this tomorrow because there’s another guy out there that I’m researching that I (so far) like a lot. He’s a Yankee by the name of Mitt Romney. I haven’t seen anything about Mitt that I don’t like but – as a Southern Republican I’m going to look 12 times at any candidate from Teddy Kennedy’s home state before I commit to him. Maybe there will be some more on this later on down the line – especially if George Allen doesn’t shore up his positions on the issues. Whoever I end up supporting has to be a guy or a gal with real guts.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything in this blog so I thought I would stop in and write something. Rather than just blather on one topic ad nauseam, I thought I’d use a shotgun approach and talk about a lot of different things …

First, my house – which flooded 5.5 feed in Hurricane Katrina…

It’s coming along great and I’m about 50-60% done with the repairs. My wife talked the insurance company into replacing the whole roof and we even splurged a little and upgraded to architectural shingles – which look great. The weather is getting warmer around here so I did a bit of work outside on the yard this weekend. My beautiful centipede lawn was completely killed by Katrina. The flood completely killed the old turf and deposited a large number of weeds all over the yard. However, it also brought in a lot of Bermuda seed – and I have some pretty Bermuda coming up in a lot of patchy spots. I think this Bermuda was carried in by the flood off the levee – as the levees around here are planted heavily with Bermuda grass. I actually prefer Bermuda to Centipede – so I’ll go with the flow on this one and replant the yard in Bermuda. Bermuda certainly survived – even seemed to thrive as a result of the flood – so if, God forbid, another flood comes – I shouldn’t have to worry about replacing my grass again.

On the inside of the house the sheetrock is replaced, textured and painted. The downstairs bathroom is reinstalled with all the trimmings. My wife and I finished laying the tile in the kitchen this weekend and already have half of the cabinets installed. Sooo, the inside of the house is starting to look like more of a house again.

But we’ll keep chugging on the repairs. Kind of funny, we no longer have to plan what we’re going to do on weekends – we already know that every weekend we’re going to be repairing the house. No other option and we probably won’t get any real weekends for at least another year. When you’re doing it all yourself, the going is slow.

Now on to some national events …

The Dubai Ports World (DPW) Deal …

Chalk up another victory to Osama Bin Laden – as the Liberals come through for him again by driving a wedge between the US and its strongest Arab ally in the war on terror. The Terrorist’s Rights Party pulled out all the stops on this one folks – even boldly venturing into racist territory to get this DPW deal turned off. Sunshine Patriots of the Republican Party even helped ole’ Chucky Schumer and the Dem’s pull this one off. Thanks guys! Not only are we NOT any more safe without this deal – but we’ve firmly shown the UAE that even if they help us fight Osama – we still look upon them as a bunch of sand-splattered camel jockeys with terrorist sympathies. If anyone thinks the UAE is going to buck the trend in the Arab world and continue to help us fight terror – they’ve got another thing coming. We’ve effectively proven to Dubai that there’s no upside for them if they help us. Thanks to all the Democratic and Republican idiots who orchestrated this!

Nuclear Iran …

Folks I’ve blogged on this one many times in the past and things aren’t changing here. We’re now involved the same-old story … with the U.S. and the United Nations attempting to dance with an unwilling dance partner. And, as predicted, we all look weak and stupid for even trying. I’ve said it before … hands off on Iran. Let ‘em develop their nukes and let them KNOW that we will be covertly fostering revolution within their own country. Also let them know that we will have a viable anti-ballistic missile defense system in place BEFORE they have deliverable nukes. Assure them that any nuke they shoot will be blown from the sky and let ‘em know that our own nukes will be headed to Tehran if that happens. We should adopt a policy of completely blowing Iran off the map if they get even a little irresponsible with those nukes. People tell me that this policy is irresponsible and wrought with lunatic-fringe recklessness. Well, news flash – it makes a lot more sense than the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) policy that kept the peace throughout the cold war. I like to call this the Iran “YAD” policy, which stands for “Your Assured Destruction”. The “Your” in that phrase referring to IRAN.

Hillary and the Road to the White House …

Hillary continues to be “pumped-up” by the MSM as the 2008 Democratic candidate of choice to replace “Dubya” in the White House. I’ve said this before … Hillary as the Democratic nominee? Make my day! Bring her on because she can’t win. She’ll draw more Republicans to the polls than any effort managed by Karl Rove to “get out the vote”. Running Hillary makes the job of the RNC much easier. My prediction, if it looks like Hillary is going to take the Democratic nomination then Republicans will run a centrist – like John McCain – and they’ll feel secure that the right-wing base will turn out to vote for that centrist, because the right-wing of the party will vote even for a pro-abortionist Republican if it means that Hillary goes to Pennsylvania Avenue again if they don’t. Again, “make my day”.

The Tennessee Straw-Poll …

Was anyone watching this and who cares? Of course Bill Frist won it – he’s from Tennessee. Unbelievably though, I’d tell you that Bill Frist is about the only candidate that Hillary COULD possibly beat. And the reason for that is because Bill Frist has fewer political skills than even Hillary does. Right now my prediction for a Republican nominee is John McCain. I’m not a McCain man – because although George W. is often ACCUSED of being a “shoot from the hip egotistical manipulator” – McCain actually IS one. I’d still vote McCain over Hillary though, and hold my nose in the voting booth whilst I pulled the lever! The positive thing about a McCain presidency is that it would never be boring. He would always be up to something!