Eric: the next President, Christmas eve plans

The Next President

The next presidential election is still a few years away, but many are thinking about how the 2008 race will shape up. Here are my thoughts: The public will be looking for someone who embodies credibility, competence and who is down to earth. People will be tired of the constant state of war, controversy, and perception that Washington is out of touch. Katrina, Iraq, WMD, 9/11, will have left many exhausted and the electorate will want someone to help return to an era of normalcy, like the election after World War I. Also, budgetary issues and the deficit are going to continue to dominate the political discussion as it is impossible for the US to continue to maintain its current rate of budget deficit while spending billions on the war, and billions in revenue (tax) cuts.

Here are my two Republican candidates to watch.

John McCain – He is my frontrunner. As a crusader against pork-barrel spending he has bona fides on the spending issue. He has kept himself conservative enough while not aligning him with the far-right. Furthermore, he has been an ardent supporter of the war in Iraq; and it seems impossible that a Republican could win without being in support. The media likes him, which is a major advantage. Only one candidate who is more a middle of the roader (Pataki, McCain, Giuliani) will be able to seriously contend once the field is narrowed down. Pataki will have trouble being taken seriously, while Giuliani might just be too liberal (especially since it will be 6 and 7 years after 9/11) for the Republicans to take as the standard bearer.


Mitt Romney – Romney is currently the Governor of Massachusetts who has decided to forgo a reelection campaign and will instead focus on a presidential campaign. He has great stage presence. In my opinion, he comes off with more gravitas than any of the other potential candidates. He has moved more to the conservative side while compiling a decent record in Massachusetts. Romney is a Mormon, but that serves to reassure me that he is actually a conservative and not a moderate masquerading as one. He does not have foreign policy credentials, but I think he could come across with more credibility than many of the others in the field.

I don’t imagine either Bill Frist or Sam Brownback having much success. Frist hasn’t done a good job with the Senate and I don’t think Brownback really connects well.


Christmas eve plans

Tomorrow I am going to spend much of Christmas eve with Janna’s family. Every year her Dad’s side has a big get together. Much of the family lives around here, and so it promises to be an interesting experience. In some ways it is kind of strange. I am meeting Janna’s family because I am her boyfriend, but we have only been dating a month and a half. But it is fine, and it is going to be great.


Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!