The Grand Old Party's Choice

Watching tonight's Republican debate is painful. For the first time in this long primary season, I sympathize with Gov. Mitt Romney. He pinned Sen. John McCain to the wall by proving that McCain has been lying about Romney's past statements about whether there should be a "timetable" for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Unfortunately, it's too late for Romney. McCain is polling 20 points ahead of him (44-24% nationally.)



There were two other candidates at the debate, but they were essentially observers to the McCain-Romney spat. Gov. Mike Huckabee, the lone GOP candidate with a sense of humor and some basic human charm, won no points on anything, though he still polls as the favorite of 16% of Republicans nationally.

(You might expect that I would dislike Huckabee, as a Christian conservative, but I don't. Hell, I have family members who are deeply committed Christians, and I have always respected them as among the most ethical people I know. I also do not fear every Christian conservative candidate in a knee jerk way. But the experience of living under the idiocy of George W. Bush's horrible failure of an administration has taught me to be very, very careful of these candidates who pander to voters on the basis of their faith, whatever it may be. W was supposedly a "compassionate conservative," but there has not been one iota of compassion for any of us under this reactionary regime.)

The other spectator was Ron Paul, the strange Libertarian candidate who can raise so much money online that even though few ever vote for him he's sticking around, and I suspect he will until the bitter end. But, to give him his due (although it's hard to when he speaks as if he may be a victim of an invisible ventriloquist, or maybe he has no teeth), he was absolutely brilliant tonight in denouncing the Iraq war and rendering the McCain-Romney spat as silly as it indeed was.



You know, to be honest, McCain looked like an old, wizened squirrel next to the much bigger, younger, more vibrant Romney. If I were a voter in the GOP primary next Tuesday, I would vote for one of the three trailing candidates, but not McCain.



It's funny about politics. I actually voted for McCain in the 1990 primary. Yes, and that was hardly the only Republican ballot I have cast, always in honor of my father's beliefs. When it comes to economics, I often identify with Republicans over Democrats because I do not consider big government a solution to anything.

But, on national security issues, unlike many Americans, I do not like Republicans at all. They exploit my fellow citizens' fears and biases, and demonize people who look different or follow a different faith.

I prefer leaders who understand that wherever we may live on this planet we are all made of the same genetic material. Barack Obama is the prototypical multi-racial, multi-cultural leader who can unify, not only Americans, but also people all over this globe.

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