Thursday, February 7, 2008

A little bit in denial...

I couldn't believe it when Andy called me today to tell me the sad news. I think my Brother put it best though - 4 years...4 years. I guess there is hope for us yet.

Got this in an email - thought it was appropriate since I am upset about this whole thing.
"Today's Republican Party is a riddle. Just like George W. Bush, its president whom it elected with fervor and now rarely recognizes, the party itself says one thing and does another. Republicans say they want a fiscally responsible president - smaller government, limited taxes - they say they want a president with vast experience, they say they want a president who has demonstrated leadership and success, they say they want a president with strong family values, they say they want a president with deep-based faith, they say they want a president who can make change, they say they want a president with strong resolve. Yet, they are making the only candidate who has all those qualities their second choice. Mitt Romney. Mike Huckabee lacks the business experience, fiscal-conservative, change-agent array that Romney's resume demonstrated. John McCain lacks the business background, Reagan-like tax-cutting commitment and reform-minded resolve that Romney has displayed. If Republicans really are looking for another Ronald Reagan, which they'll never find, they couldn't do much better than Mitt Romney. He can place even with Huckabee on faith, he can best McCain as an agent of change, he can best Rudy Giuliani on family values, he can bury Fred Thompson on vitality and nearly every other category and he can stand strong on all those standards against every Democrat - measuring up even with Barack Obama on family values and vitality. He even seems to have developed the strongest stance among all the candidates on an issue considered by most voters to be among their top three or four concerns - immigration reform. He has been a highly successful businessman, the savior of a scandal-ridden and debt-laden Olympic Games, and a reform-minded governor. His background is the most varied of the field, deeply steeped in private enterprise, international relations and government administration. This Republican guided the strongly Democratic-minded state of Massachusetts from a $1.2 billion deficit to a healthy surplus, he boosted children's math and reading scores to the highest in the nation, he provided a model for health-care reform and he avoided any hint of scandal. What are Republicans, and voters in general, so afraid of? There seems to be one word, beyond all others, that summarizes Romney's qualification for president - competency. I think there possibly are two factors that might solve the Republican riddle of why Republicans are reluctant to embrace the man who, on paper and in action, seems to represent all their best interests. One is religious bigotry, and one is envy. Romney is a Mormon, a much-misunderstood and often-ridiculed (out of ignorance) faith. Romney once, when talking about family values in a GOP candidates' forum, quipped, "I'm the only one on this stage who's had only one wife, and I'm the Mormon!" You've gotta like a guy like that. Romney last month delivered an eloquent and historic speech on the touchy subject of separation of church and state, trying to put to rest concerns about his faith. For anyone who was listening, and willing to carefully consider his words against American history, it was a treatise on personal faith and American governance. But apparently most Republicans and most Americans are comfortable living with the myths of modern Mormonism and their own religious intolerance. Republicans say they admire entrepreneurship and business experience, yet they seem resentful of Romney's enormous business success. While scornful of special-interest campaign finances, they criticize Romney for personally putting millions of his own fortune into his campaign, as his opponents tap into the accounts of major contributors. What is it the GOP has against competency as the prime qualification for president?"

Chuck Green, veteran Colorado journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Denver Post

4 comments:

Joneel said...

Boo Hoo. Wish people would have really seen what a great leader he could be.

Elizabeth J. said...

I'm with you. It's sad, but even though he would be a great president, people are not willing to vote for him because he is LDS. One day they will be sorry...

Larsen Family said...

AMEN!!

alma and nicole smith said...

i had been putting off reading this until i had time, but i really enjoyed it! im sad that mitt isnt in the running anymore and am quite worried for all of the candidates that are!! thanks for posting! florida's coming up quick :)