There's No Crying in Baseball . . . or Politics

Apparently Hilary had a little break down a couple of days ago, a calculated one, as she wept over the fact that she's trying to change America and doesn't want to see us fall back. Of course, she immediately segued that into an attack on Barack Obama, so I'm not sure how sincere it was. Sheesh woman! If you want to be President of the United States of America you better at least act like one . . . even though I wouldn't vote for you even if you were the only candidate in the race. There's no crying in politics, at least not in public.

New Hampshire . . . I am truly astonished at the number of Republicans who voted for a very liberal John McCain. I hadn't realized that the core principles of this nation, laid out by the framers of the constitution, have become so passé. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani occupy the same space in the Republican party. Pro-choice (yes, that means they support women being able to choose whether or not to murder their children in utero while facing no consequences,) pro-amnesty . . . it didn't work when Ronald Reagan tried it, witness the 12,000,000 illegal immigrants in this nation now! Although McCain says he's changed his mind, now he says he's tough on border security and illegal immigration. I guess I'd believe that if he weren't still trying to push through his immigration bill co-sponsored by Chappaquiddick Teddy Kennedy which is an outright betrayal of the American people, if the southern border fence hadn't just been completely shot down by Congress.

To give McCain his due, he carried New Hampshire against President Bush, as well as Michigan, I believe. So it will be interesting to see where the Republican race goes from here. Huckabee took Iowa and will take anywhere there is a strong evangelical vote. McCain will take the exceedingly liberal Republicans if Giuliani doesn't (had Giuliani made an effort in New Hampshire Romney would have won, because McCain and Giuliani would have split the liberal vote.)

Rush Limbaugh said, "New Hampshire is not a conservative bellwether. Iowa's caucus is weird. After NH, the race for the GOP begins." Let's hope he's right.

I'm startled to see the direction this nation is headed. On the Democratic side we have Clinton or Obama . . . neither inspire confidence but rather abject terror as I fully believe the democracy/republic set up by the founding fathers is an incredible thing and not in need of socialist influence or downright conversion to communism.

When Clinton's husband was in office, just ONE of the things he did as president horrified me, and there were many. He signed all of America's rivers, streams, creeks and lakes over to the United Nations. The only two states who kept the rights to their own waters? Idaho and Utah, thanks to Helen Chenowith (I believe it was) and Chris Cannon, my congressman. Clinton sold America down the river, so to speak. He robbed us of our constitutional rights in such an insidious manner that many Americans didn't even notice because they were blinded by his Southern charm, except he made my skin crawl and I found nothing charming about that. Are we really ready for another Clinton presidency? Will there be anything left of America when she's done? Of course, Obama is no better as there is very little difference between the two.

On the Republican side we have one man who has stayed loyal and married to the woman he fell in love with as a teenager, through sickness (her MS) and health. We have one man who puts in however many hours, days, weeks, months and years it takes to do the job right. We have one man whose policies prove he is the only complete conservative in the pack, hence his National Review endorsement. We have one man who has a proven track record in turning around failing companies, the Olympics and the deficit of Massachusetts, pulling that legislature together as never before. We have one man whose ethics, honesty and integrity have never been called into question. We have a man whose faith in God surpasses all the other candidates . . . and yet, Mitt Romney is bashed unceasingly for his faith, his Mormon faith. Why?

Don't we want a president who will remain faithful to his wife instead of having sex in the oval office with an intern? Don't we want a president who can't be bought? Don't we want a president with a strong sense of right and wrong, who simply cannot be bought? Don't we want a president who has proven he can fix broken things, whether be companies, Olympics, states or the nation? Don't we want a president we can believe in, we can trust? I do! That's Mitt Romney.

This past Sunday, Fox News held a GOP debate. Mitt Romney displayed presidential qualities, he remained calm, cool and collected. The "white hot rage" Huckabee's campaign says he has for Romney was rolling off him in waves. McCain showed serious disdain for Romney, pulling out his "I ran the largest unit in the military and I did it for patriotism, not profit." Thompson and Giuliani simply didn't show up . . . meaning, they were there but they weren't inspiring. It was a three-way dog fight and only one remaind the gentleman, setting forth his vision for America . . . Mitt Romney. He said Washington D.C. is broken and it is. Of every person running for office right now, there is only one with a proven track record for fixing broken things . . . you guessed it, Mitt Romney. He's still the only one that has a prayer of fixing what's wrong with this nation. He did it in Massachusetts . . . he can do it in Washington.

What kind of president does America need for 2008 and beyond? A University of PA professor of goverment studies recently described the manager we need and his description matches Mitt Romney to the "T". A clear evaluation of what America really needs to get itself back on track was properly identified by Donald F. Kettl, director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, when he said the following: "The next president will have no choice but to confront management improvement. Both 9/11 and Katrina made the searing case that management failures can have punishing implications." Dr. Kettl runs a web-site that tracks promises made by candidates. This will allow Americans to track how well an elected official lives up to their campaign promises. The DR. has also inadvertently identified for the American people, what they should be looking for in their next Chief Executive Officer. Ironically, based on Dr. Kettl's evaluation and comment, he has actually given a ringing endorsement to the Mitt Romney management style. That style would be an advantage to the next president who could use such talents to truly make a difference for this nation for decades to come.

Posted by Stephen L Ralston at 2008-01-02 22:33:23 ~ Posted on the Five Brothers Blog

Yesterday on Fox News they were interviewing a woman who represented a candidate matching site . . . and I'm sorry I can't remember the website, I've looked all morning. But, you indicate your stance on a number of issues and they match with the candidate who most closely matches you. This is what this less-than-brilliant woman said: "The candidates need to stop focusing on the issues and focus on charm and likability. That's what people really care about, personality."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I simply refuse to believe the 20 to 30's folks will only vote someone in based on their looks and personality? Tell me it isn't so! Really, I'm serious, tell me it isn't so. The leader of the free world is NOT chosen in a personality contest, is he or she?

So Mitt Romney lost New Hampshire by a narrow margin (McCain 37% - Romney 32%.) I really thought he'd overtake McCain, but he didn't just quite pull it off. Governor Romney did point out that with the win in Wyoming, coming in close seconds in Iowa and New Hampshire give him the most votes of any Republican candidate overall . . . he has a point.

I don't know where this election is going. There are no clear front runners . . . still. Super Tuesday, February 5th will tell the tale, in the end. Or at least that's what Giuliani is hoping. So am I, frankly.

The next primary is January 15 in Michigan. Both the Democrats and Republicans will go to the polls. Come on Michigan, don't let me down.

The Republican candidates are debating again on Thursday night - January 10th, on Fox News. I recommend everyone watch it and decide for yourselves. Of course, I'll post it on my blog the next day too . . . but it's good to see all the interaction between the candidates. Really good.

Go Mitt! I'm in your corner all the way. I still want a Romney/Giuliani ticket.

Thanks to FoxNews.com for the pictures . . . clearly worth a 1,000 words.