Even though I won't vote Republican this year I am turning my attention to the Republicans this week because they have the only primary. The Democrats have decided to ignore the Mich primay because it was moved up without the party's consent. I think that is unfair. It would have been interesting to see Clinton and Obama slug it out there after they took turns upsetting each other in Iowa and New Hampshire. But we will have to wait till South Carolina and Nevada.
In Mich. we have Romney vs. McCain in a very important state for both. McCain needs the momentum to continue afte New Hampshire and Romney need to get a win after 2 disappointing 2nd place finishes. Iraq is not a big issue here. The big issue is the economy. With high unemployment rate Mich may be a forecasting state for the general election. Remember in 92 the first Bush was expected to win reelection easily after winning the first Iraq war decisively. But the economy sunk him. It is the economy, stupid--that was the thing that concerned the voters the most. It was believed a few months ago that with the war going badly and Bush's approval ratings so low that the Democrats would win in 08 easily. But given that the surge has given Bush some good news and the possibility of the recession, the economy will probably dominate the debate soon. Unfortunately for the Republicans they are in the White House now and so will also get most of the blame for the economy if it gets worse. So the Democrats are still going to win but the economy will have more to do with who gets nominated than the war.
Eight years ago I wanted McCain for president. To me he is among the most honest of the politicians, which may not be saying much but is still important. He is one of the few that can bring together Democrats and Republicans. Thus the endorsement from Joe Liberman. The reasons why I won't vote for him this year are that he is reaching more to extreme conservatives who are not tolerant, his wrong ideas about the war, and the lack of judgment he showed when he walked the streets of Baghdad and declared it safe while wearing a bullet-proof jacket, with armed guards and helicopters protecting him. All these show me that he is losing it. But if I am still in Mich I would vote for him over Romney. Neither have any specific ideas on how to turn around the economy. Of course it is entreprenuers who create jobs not presidents. But both say that they are going to create jobs. How exactly? At least McCain is being brutally honest when he says that most of the jobs lost are not coming back to Mich. Workers will have to learn new skills to compete. Romney, on the other hand, is just pandering. He says that he will fight for every job. But how? It is just rhetoric and dishonesty. So I will root for McCain to get the Republican nomination.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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Well the primary has come and gone and let me say that I am shocked that Romney won. It wasn't even that close. I am convinced that the voters in Michigan are warped and are easily fooled.
ReplyDeleteRomney spent a ton of money to convince the people of Michigan that he's one of their own and that he cares. And they bought it!
This guy will say and do anything to be president and people can't see past that.
I was actually pretty impressed with McCain's campaign in Michigan. I'm sure he'll repeat some of the commercials in other states. He comes across well as a straight shooter and is willing to cross party lines.
You are correct that we should be concerned about his policy on the war and his focus on trying to get the conservative vote. But I think the latter subject is just good strategy because he needs that vote to get the nomination.
As much as we want the troops home, it's almost refreshing to hear a candidate not budge on his stance about the war either. I have to give him credit for sticking to his beliefs and I really do think that out of all the candidates that he is most qualified to talk about national defense.
That said, I wonder if McCain will make it all the way to the end. I think he really needed to knock out Romney.
My big concern now is if Guilliani has what it takes to come back and make some noise. I guess all eyes are on Florida now. He can't afford to be in 4th and 5th place much longer.
I have no idea who's fault it was to move the primary up thus causing the absence of the competitors to Clinton. But what an opportunity lost for Obama who needed to make an appearance in Detroit to get a piece of that African American vote. I don't think he realizes that he's in a dogfight for that vote.
LBOAYM