A couple weeks ago while sitting around waiting for a board meeting to start for a local conservative group I serve with I struck up a conversation with a fellow board member about 2012. This conversation rather quickly went to our favorite VP hopefuls and who’s they be best paired with. A strange conversation considering we haven’t even had our first primary yet and have no idea who will be our party’s standard bearer next year. At the time I thought nothing of where our conversation had ventured, but this morning the chat came back to me for some unknown reason and I began pondering, “Why would we be talking VP instead of the real leader, our next President?”
[ad#Google Adsense]
It came upon me, we are not excited by our current list of suitors; we want another Reagan! In the late 1970’s our Nation found itself in desperate times; unemployment was up, the housing market was down, and we had a President who didn’t seem to know what he was doing. The times were very much like those we find ourselves in today. In 1980 Ronald Reagan brought an end to that despair when he was elected President in November of that year, this great man would launch our Nation into a period of unprecedented growth, collapse the Soviet Union, and inspire a nation. Looking back from twenty plus years later we see the beginnings of the greatest President of the twentieth century, but at the time that was far from the feelings of the nation. We now only remember the good we forget at the time Reagan was thought of as nothing more than a movie star by many. Most thought he was only elected governor because of his name recognition, very similar to the thoughts of Arnold Schwarzenegger today. Many conservatives were leery due to the fact he was once an avowed Democrat and in fact ran Hollywood’s mega union, the Screen Actors Guild. Social activists we’re disturbed by the fact that it was Reagan who had legalized abortion in California! This man was far from thought of as the next savior of the United States, rather he was thought as anybody but Carter!
Today we have a long list of serious candidates ranging in experience and age more greatly than ever before! It doesn’t matter what category of Republican you are, your perfect match is in the field right now asking for your vote! If you want to get the money out of politics and end the usual pay to play schemes we find all too prevalent in Washington today, then vote for Buddy Roemer or Herman Cain. If national security and foreign policy are your top issues than you should be delighted that we have a member of the House select Committee on Intelligence in the race as well as a former Ambassador and two veterans. Evangelicals looking for a Christian to be the leader of our nation have a plethora of choices; Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Rick Santorum all fit the bill. If you want to see a businessman in the White House you have four accomplished choices and several others that have a solid voting record on economic issues. If you want someone who can reach across party lines to work with the Democrats consider Mitt Romney who comes from the liberal state of Massachusetts, Newt Gingrich who proved his salt working with Bill Clinton, or Jon Huntsman who actually worked for our current president. If you want a long and proven political history you have 2008 runner up Mitt Romney, Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, and the four term governor of Texas Rick Perry. Even the libertarian wing has two choices in this election!
While all of today’s candidates admittedly have flaws keep in mind the next time you watch a debate and begin to think to yourself, “We need a Reagan leader to run,” remember even the Duke was questioned at the time. So get out there and find you perfect, imperfect candidate!
