What a difference four years makes.

 

In 2008, the Republican primaries and caucuses were stacked earlier than ever. The traditionally early states kicked it off, but most of the delegates were chosen on February 5, dubbed Super Duper Tuesday. 24 states voted that day.

By March 4, 2008, - Super Tuesday - John McCain had earned enough pledged delegates to become the Republican presumptive nominee.

By contrast, the Democratic Party's nominating process was lengthy, extending into June, 2008.

Four years later, with Super Tuesday 2012 looming, the GOP nominee isn't close to being chosen

After the '08 election, the Republican Party decided that its nominee was chosen too early. The party thought a longer caucus and primary season in 2012 would enhance the name ID of the party’s candidates and keep the GOP message front and center in the news.

The party chose a longer process similar to that of the Democratic Party in 2008: it went from front- loading in 2008 to back-loading in 2012.

A byzantine system of rules was developed to determine how delegates would be allocated: winner take all, proportional allocation and a combination of both. This year, it's not about winning states but delegates.

The problem is that 2012 isn't 2008 when the presidency was an open seat. This year, an incumbent president is seeking re-election free of any challengers.

The Republican Party is left hanging out to dry in hotly contested primaries, warts and all.

After Super Tuesday - when ten states hold primary and caucus elections - 33 states still remain to be heard from between then and the last primary June 6 (Utah). A nominee could amass enough delegates before June 6 and I think most of us hope he will.

The GOP's 2012 road map will be a tricky, twisted one, not unlike previous paths to the nomination.

In retrospective, the road to the 2012 nomination should have been  a short one - like 2008 - so that the GOP could coalesce around its nominee long before the convention.

In addition to the slog along, lengthy process, some conservatives are also all bent out of shape about the remaining choices we have: Who's the “true” conservative? Who can beat President Obama?

Relax.

The angst  filled, hand wringing will play out as the nominating process proceeds, even one which seems to have no end.

Just for the sake of it, I've thought about the last three Republican presidents and the crop of 2012 candidates - including those who've dropped out of the race: is there a single, one word, sound bite which describes a positive attribute of the perfect candidate? Here's what I came up with:

Ronald Reagan's optimism; George Herbert Walker Bush's class; George W. Bush's decency; Michele Bachmann's audacity; Herman Cain's humor; Newt Gingrich's hubris; Jon Huntsman’s intelligence; Tim Pawlenty's genuineness ; Ron Paul's principles; Rick Perry's swagger (that's all I could think ofabout Mr. OOPS), Mitt Romney's straight arrowness and Rick Santorum's tenacity.

Ideally, then, the perfect candidate would have each of these attributes, yes, even swagger.

The prefect candidate should also have the attributes to be president: good character, steady temperament, sound judgment, discipline, stability and veracity.

However, there's never a perfect candidate. The closest one was 1980 but in today's litmus-test Republican Party, he probably couldn't be nominated anyway.

So, we're down to four candidates, affectionately (mostly) known here as The Toad, The Old Geezer, The Square and The Pope: none are perfect, all are flawed - some more than others. It's all about choosing and that's what the primary process is all about although we're taking too much time to do it.

Related Articles

"Pope Santorum I," (We Are Politics, February 22)

"Ron Paul: The 'Happy Warrior', (We Are Politics, February 8)

"Confession of a Gingrichphobe," (We Are Politics, February 1)

"The Square," (We Are Politics, December 27, 2011)

Apparently not content by merely insulting Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by suggesting that the Palestinians be given territory as it was before 1967, President Obama and hapless Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have given Israel several private warnings telling them not to take military action against Iran and the 'Madman of Tehran' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

At a time where Obama should be giving unconditional support to our allies in the Middle East, he again chooses to rebuke them and snub his nose at them.  I sincerely hope Netanyahu lectured Obama again, like he did about Obama's plan for Israel to give up the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, which would leave Israel "indefensible", in Netanyahu's words.  If the United States can back terrorists like we did when Obama decided to help the rebels in Libya and turn a blind eye to the Muslim Brotherhood's take over of Egypt, we should at least support Israel's decision to do something that Obama won't do, although I guess it will be difficult to help militarily since we'll be slashing the Armed Services by 100,000 troops and half a trillion dollars over the next ten years.  (Apparently this was Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank's parting gift to the country.) Oh yeah, this is at a time when China has started beefing up their defense. 

We simply cannot afford to keep Obama in the White House past January, 2013 and let him continue to learn on the job. 

WGST in Atlanta is reporting that 'Party Vice Chair Nikema Williams says the Democratic Party has to defend against five lawsuits filed by Republicans.

They're violating Democrats' first amendment rights to name whoever they want to the ballot," Williams tells WGST.

The efforts to remove Obama's name are based on the challengers' view that the president is not a natural born citizen of the U.S.'

In turn, the Democrat Party of Georgia is asking their members to help raise money to keep Obama's name on the Georgia ballot.   Wouldn't that be a fine kettle of fish?  If you don't remember, Obama was first elected to the Illinois State Senate by getting all of his opponents disqualified from being on the ballot....Maybe this would work in Virginia, Florida and Ohio too...

So here's an interesting question....Let's say Obama never gets on the Georgia ballot and he wins reelection anyway.  Can we declare ourselves a soveriegn nation and declare Nathan Deal President?
http://www.640wgst.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=122602&article=9539966#ixzz1hJFzsUs4

Controversial radio talk show host Michael Savage, citing several reasons why he can't defeat President Obama, has offered presidential candidate and former Speaker of The House Newt Gingrich $1 million dollars to drop his bid for the GOP nomination.  Savage goes on to tell Gingrich to 'put his ego aside' and 'if he really loves the country as much as he says' to  'do what's right for America' and 'take the money'.

The problem is several of the reasons that Savage cites are just not true.  According to Savage:

•WHEN HE WAS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, GINGRICH FAILED TO DELIVER ON HIS SO-CALLED CONTRACT WITH AMERICA.  (Granted all of the participles of the Contract With America did not get passed, but according to the Contract, "within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny."  The Contract did in fact do this even though Congress shot down several of the items in the Contract and President Clinton vetoed others.)  NON-ISSUE


•HE MADE ADS WITH NANCY PELOSI PROMOTING THE FALSE THEORY OF GLOBAL WARMING.  (Ok...He made the commercial in 2008.  Number 1: In 2008 the United States was at the heighth of awareness about global warming.  EVERYBODY was going green.  Number 2: Gingrich had just written a book called "Contract With The Earth".  Number 3:  Like him or hate him, Gingrich always seems to have his fingers on the pulse of America.  Number 4:  Gingrich has now calls this event 'the dumbest single thing I've done'.  There is no question at all that Gingrich and Pelosi don't like each other.  Gingrich has since called Pelosi "despicable, dishonest and vicious".  He and Pelosi are hardly picking out living room furniture together.  As for global climate change, Gingrich sums it up on page 197 of his book, "We strongly believe that entrepreneurial environmentalism is a superior approach to bureaucratic, litigious, unrestrained regulation." And on page 191 he writes, "The development of new technologies is the best way to achieve significant reductions in carbon loading.")  NON-ISSUE

•HE’S IN FAVOR OF AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS.  (This makes it sound like Gingrich wants to just hand over citizenship to anyone who floats in a boat from Haiti or swims the Rio Grande.  On his website, Gingrich writes, "We need a system that enforces the rule of law, ensures that those who broke the law pay a stiff penalty, but also acknowledges that it is neither optimal nor feasible nor humane to deport every single illegal immigrant....We need a path to legality, but not citizenship, for some of these individuals who have deep ties to America, including family, church and community ties. We also need a path to swift but dignified repatriation for those who are transient and have no roots in America....   Applicants must first pass a criminal background check, and then the local committees will assess applications based on family and community ties, and ability to support oneself via employment without the assistance of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other entitlement programs....Once an applicant has been granted the right to obtain legal status, he or she will have to pay a penalty of at least $5,000...Moving forward, those who receive this status will have to prove on a regular basis that they can support themselves without entitlement programs and pay for health insurance or else risk the ability to stay in the United States.")  Read Gingrich's whole immigration platform here.  I'm trying to not knock another candidate, but in contrast Governor Romney doesn't even have an immigration proposal on his site. 

•HE’S TAKEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC, TWO OF THE MOST CORRUPT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN HISTORY.   (While it is true he did accept money from both institutions, Governor Romney has the same type of skeletons in his closet.  When contfronted about it on the campaign trail yesterday Gingrich shot back, "If Governor Romney would like to give back all the money he’s earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain, then I would be glad to then listen to him. And I will bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won’t take the offer.”)  Possible Issue but equal with Romney and still light years behind Obama's real estate deal with Tony Rezko.

•HE’S CHEATED ON TWO WIVES AND LEFT BOTH OF THEM WHILE THEY WERE BOTH SERIOUSLY ILL, WHICH WILL DESTROY HIS CHANCES AMONG FEMALE VOTERS.  (The story regarding the first wife is completely false as I reported on last week in publishing the events according to Gingrich's daughter.   As for the events surrounding Gingrich's second wife it is true he left her for his current wife.)  Possible Issue but everyone has a private life. 

•HE CALLED THE REPUBLICAN PLAN TO REFORM MEDICARE “RIGHT WING SOCIAL ENGINEERING.”  (Since he uttered this, Gingrich backed off significantly.  He personally called Congressman Ryan and apologized for making the comment.)  Possible Issue but Romneycare will be a much bigger albatross.  WeArePolitics contributor Holly Robichaud, a resident of Massachusetts and writer for the Boston Globe wrote in April, ..."no party commemorating the day or liberal praise from Deval Patrick is needed to derail former Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. (Writing about the celebration Patrick had on the 5th anniversary of the signing of Romneycare.)   The damage was done five years ago when Mitt orchestrated the bill-signing photo-op for the Massachusetts health-care mandate with the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy and then-House Speaker Sal DiMasi, who’s now facing a federal trial on bribery charges."

•IN A PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE AGAINST OBAMA, REGARDLESS OF HOW WELL HE DOES, ON TELEVISION, HE WILL COME OFF BADLY COMPARED TO OBAMA AND LOOK LIKE NOTHING MORE THAN WHAT HE IS: A FAT, OLD, WHITE MAN.  And that folks should sum up the credibility that Michael Savage has.  There is no doubt that President Obama comes off looking very sharp on television, but to blatantly say that Speaker Gingrich is an "fat, old, white man" is as racist and degrading as now Vice-President Bidens' remarks that Obama was "clean".   NON ISSUE

I hate to break it to Mr. Savage, but the American people could care less what the GOP candidate actually looks like.  They do, however, care about what that candidate can do to get this country back on track.  Any of the GOP candidates make Obama look like a wall-flower on that front.   Oh yeah...keep in mind that Michael Savage endorsed Jerry Brown for Governor of California over Republican Meg Whitman.  He's hardly a stawart of Conservatism...

Before you get the idea that this will be an article slamming former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, I hate to disappoint you.  It's not.  Romney isn't my first choice for the GOP nomination or even my second as most of you know, however I want to commend him.  Here's why: 

It has been reported today from Michael Falcone, the Deputy Political Director and reporter from ABC News that in an interview with People Magazine, Governor Romney has admitted to trying out a cigarette one time and even tasting a beer, two vices that are completely against his Mormon faith.  Am I proud that Romney broke with his religion and tried something out while he was a teenager?  Not really.  But I would like to point out how his vices compare to that of our President, who in his autobiography "Dreams From My Father" admitted that he had "used marijuana" and "maybe a little blow".  Obama also admitted that the only reason he didn't try heroin was because he didn't like the pusher who was trying to sell it to him. 

Another interesting fact came out in the interview with People from Romney:  his playlist on his Mp3 player includes The Eagles, The Beatles, Roy Orbison, Randy Travis and heaven forbid, The Killers.  (Quite honestly I think Romney threw The Killers in there to be more hip and had a Dr. Evil moment.  Again, I'll take Romney's playlist over President Obama's which includes Nas, the modern day equivelent to Lord Byron, as evidenced in his rap "Smokin'".

My n**** smoke with one lung
If he cough he might die, passin me trees
The liquor bottle's almost empty
We about to collide, with the enemy
Only way you die if it's meant to be
You f***** with a general
No discussion is the principle we bustin it's the end of you
Now we knockin on your mama door
Like we cam to fix the sink; my kind of war
Death, angels comin for you
Spirit horse runnin from your body like Young Guns 1 and 2
Paramedics fightin for you, who's gon' win?
The hands of time, or the hands of medicine
Don't cry, witness your fate, this is your wake
Walk by your casket, spit in your face
Enter the fog dog, the light is your guide
And when you're gone all your n****z gon' light it with Nas

Given the choice between the two, I'll take the Mormon from Massachusetts over the Moron from Maui.

Obama's presidency resembles Jimmy Carter's more every day. The latest example came Tuesday at a San Francisco fundraiser when Obama chided the American people, saying, "We have lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge."

As Ronald Reagan famously said to Jimmy Carter, "There you go again." What is it about San Francisco that makes liberals run down this country? It was in front of a San Francisco audience that Obama made his quip about bitter middle Americans clinging to their guns and religion.

Whether it was Carter in 1979 or Obama now, America doesn't need a president whose first instinct is to blame his fellow Americans. We couldn't easily build the Golden Gate Bridge today because there would be layer upon of layer of bureaucratic red tape standing in the way. Then there would be environmental impact studies that would take years.

If you got past all of that, you might face lawsuits from liberals eager to protect the polka-dotted blueberry river flea that only mates in odd numbered years in the precise location where the bridge is to be built. Other lefties would object, claiming that a bridge only continues our dependence on cars and fossil fuels. And on and on it would go. We haven't lost our ambition; we have been beaten down by the political left.

And while Obama is lecturing us about losing our imagination and willingness to do big things, he has slashed NASA's budget. In fact, there are reports today that he plans to zero out funding for all planetary exploration.

Ronald Reagan never ran down America. He had an infectious love for this country. He believed America was a "shining city upon a hill," a blessed nation that had a rendezvous with destiny. Reagan had an optimistic, "Yes we can" attitude, one many saw in Candidate Obama in 2004 and 2008.

Yes, America has faced tough times. But we got through them -- and not because we were soft or lacked imagination. If anything, it is Big Government, which the left constantly turns to, which lacks imagination, stifles innovation and causes people to go soft.

Apparently, someone in the Rick Perry campaign is finally starting to get the idea that the Texas governor just flat sucks when it comes to debating.  According to USA Today,  it appears that the Governor will start skipping some of the GOP debates that are upcoming after the next debate scheduled on November 9th in Michigan.

This is a 'great' strategy that has worked for some of our past Presidential candidates including President Harding who did all of his campaigning from his front porch.  It worked for Presidents McKinley, Garfield and Harrison as well, although Perry's campaign actually says that taking time away from the debates will get him more time out with the people.  The problem with the new Perry strategy is that even if he gets the nomination, he has to face President Obama in a head to head debate.  If he can't defend himself and debate amongst members of his own party, how can we expect him to hold his own against Obama?  We sure don't need another John McCain wandering around the debate stage looking clueless.  This election is an opportunity to take back the White House for decades to come.  We can't blow it by sending someone to a gunfight with a slingshot.   

Today, in a speech before students and educators at the Auraria Events Center in Denver, President Obama announced changes to the Student Loan Program.

First, he announced a reduction in the maximum 15 percent payment amount, to just 10 percent, of a debtor’s income that is above the poverty line.

Please read the rest of this article at The Examiner.

In an interview yesterday with Scott Hennen, former Clinton campaign manager James Carville admitted he was worried that President Obama can't dig himself out of the hole he has dug for himself and the country.  He then went on to completely dismiss the candidacy of Herman Cain.

Carville: "Everything worries me in this environment. Nobody's gotten elected with these kinds of numbers. So, I'm worried in the general election."

When asked about the chances of Cain replacing the President, the 'serpent-headed' Carville said "Herman Cain is not going to be the president of anything.... Herman Cain is a salesman."

I didn't come up with the serpent-head myself.  Carville's wife former Bush and Cheney assistant Mary Matalin did.