posted
I am looking for a good sum up, of different peoples opinions on the candidates....
Format Presidential Candidate Their ideals (Republican, Democrat, Tea Party, and ect) Pro's- Cons- --- Your comments
At the moment, I only have negative opinions about Cain due to his inability to keep his personal/religion opinions from his (potentially) professional, anyone against abortion in the case of rape needs some major life refining...(opinion)
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm not sure I'm positive on what you're wondering, but I'll give it a shot.
My ideology is probably characterized as center-left. I believe policy should be oriented toward liberal goals, but I temper my idealism with pragmatic reality. For example, I believe all education should be free to any person so long as it is a public institute. But that ideal is a little unrealistic so I recognize I need to compromise down. As far as what I look for in a Presidential Candidate, I want a person who knows how to balance the demands of competing interests and remain committed to the interests of the constituents--whether they voted for them or not. Because I'm left of center, I tend to vote mostly democratic. And by mostly, I mean there has only been one Republican I've ever voted for.
As for the candidates, here's my take. If I don't mention something (like their religion) it's probably because I don't care either way. My pros and cons are also fairly subjective. One of my pros could be a con to someone else and vice versa.
Mitt Romney: Pros - Distanced from the Tea Party. A good history with solving difficult situations. (He did a great job saving the Utah Winter Olympics) As governor of a blue state, it means he at least knows how to take account of an opposing position, even if he grew worse at it over the time of his governorship. Cons - No platform - Purely based on being not-Obama. Even though he's not a Tea-Partier, he's definitely shifted hard to the right in the past four years. Too beholden to big business.
Newt Gingrich Pros - An intellectual and a policy wonk. Good political background in DC, knowing how things work. Cons - Intellectually dishonest. Watching how he tried to stay perpetually opposed to any foreign move of President Obama's was painful.
Herman Cain Pros - A good business background, friendly in an environment of anger, willing to put forward ideas (even if they're bad). Cons - Ineffective leadership. Even if the recent allegations against him are without merit, his handling of the situation demonstrates his inability to handle controversy. Lack of a political background -- particularly in DC. Too far to the right for me.
Michelle Bachmann - Pros: I'm going to be honest here, I don't really have anything going for her in my book. Cons: Tea Partier. Intellectually dishonest. Ideologue.
Ron Paul - Pros: Not subject to a particular special interest. A decent interpretation of world affairs. Cons: Terrible domestic policy. Ineffectual leader. Objectivist libertarian.
Rick Perry - Pros: Decent leader. Good personality. Friendly, but assertive when need be. Cons: Governs by committee. We're not voting for a person with Perry, but for his advisers. This isn't inherently a bad thing--FDR had a similar style. But I'm not a particularly big fan of the counsel he keeps.
Jon Huntsman Jr. - Pros: Good business background. Good executive experience as a governor. Good foreign policy credentials as an ambassador to China. Even as governor of Utah, he demonstrated his moderate credentials. I've voted for him before. Has largely maintained his stances despite his base moving farther to the right. Cons: He lacks the gravitas of leadership. He's center-right. I really don't have many problems with him.
Rick Santorum: I've not really studied him enough to have a strong opinion. When I've watched him in a couple debates, he has struck me as too much of an ideologue, though. He also lacked a platform.
And for kicks,since he is a candidate. President Obama Pros: Similar ideology to me. Pragmatist. Cons: Lack of transparency. Backpedaled on certain promises that were not conditional upon Congressional approval. (Foreign policy) Polarizing -- Even though I think Obama is a great example of a center-left president who's willing to compromise in good faith, he's been stuck with an opposition that does not operate in good faith. It's not his fault he's polarizing, but it's an inescapable part of his identity now.
If the election were held today. I'd vote for President Obama over every Republican candidate running right now. Except for Jon Huntsman. I'd have to think about it on that vote. I am still frustrated that he chose to run in 2012 instead of 2016.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Depending on how this election goes, I think you'll see Huntsman back in 2016. If Romney runs and loses, the right will say to itself "We lost because we didn't run a TRUE conservative!" So they'll go even harder to the right than they did this year, which will probably lead to a big win for the Dems.
If they end up nominating someone like Cain, heaven forbid, and he loses, they might seriously evaluate the electability of such far right candidates, and they'll look hard for a moderate. Romney will have already tried his hand twice and lost under favorable circumstances, he might not try again. Huntsman will probably be crowded by far more popular but still relatively moderate GOP darling with better name recognition, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the election, or possibly even on a ticket.
The next GOP candidate depends a lot on who gets nominated this time around and how he or she does. I maintain a very cautious but highly favorable opinion of Huntsman.
I don't think he lacks the gravitas of leadership though, at least, I'm not convinced of that. I think his first instinct is to explain rather than feed platitudes, and I think he prefers to joke rather than scold. Both of those are things I appreciate in a leader. I think too often we conflate empty but strong sounding phrases with leadership.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
