Okay, I've picked myself up and I am now ready to analyze this whole primary mess. I feel better now, having listened to a whole day of news and punditry, as it has given me some clarity on the whole situation.
First, I will give credit to the Democrats for splitting down the middle. It means that none of them will be infiltrating the Republican Primaries. Also, they seem to be divided between the unprincipled (Hillary) and the empty-headed (Obama). Remember, liberals are people too, they just forgot to think.
John McCain is the clear front runner now for a few reasons. First, there's the legacy factor. This is the dumbest of all the reasons, as it means McCain gets the nod because it's his 'turn'. That's the mentality that gave us Bob Dole before the Viagra. Also, he still does well among independents and liberals. What a surprise. Third, he has a big booster in the media, as he was declared the front runner in many outlets the moment he won New Hampshire. And finally, the votes are being split three ways, with Romney and Huckabee fighting for votes that would probably go to each other.
Mitt Romney has two problems. First, I think he's failed to get his message out there clearly. In fact, I will have to explain why people should vote for him. The second problem is that he has as many people pulling the lever for him as votes against McCain as he does people voting for him. You can't really win when you're the least despised candidate.
Mike Huckabee is still around for two reasons. First, the substantial thing (and what caught my attention at first) is his focus on the FairTax. This resonates pretty well right now, as it is tax time. Second, there is the allegation of collusion with the McCain camp to help McCain win it all. To be fair, it's not provable, but the evidence is quite damming.
Now, this situation does mean that my great state of Ohio will have a say in the Republican primaries this year, and I will be proud to cast my vote for Mitt Romney on that day. On the downside, it may also be the day that McCain goes over the top. I'll probably have to spend the next whole day on the Heritage Foundation website, wrapping my battered spirit in utter conservatism.
On to related note, Ohio governor Ted (the Hillary Lover) Strickland gave the State of the State address yesterday. It was previewed as a speech containing a whole lot of cuts. While it did speak of a balanced budget, it did so by adding to the state debt through issuing bonds. It's supposed to be some economic stimulus package. And I think I covered my opinion of stimulus packages already. I wasn't expecting our liberal governor to go conservative, and I wasn't disappointed. But to be fair, we could do worse (Bob Taft).
I'm hoping Ohio will remember this when we get the chance to choose among Republicans, some being more inclined to flop over to the Democrats than others. Either way, it will determine where the party will go, and whether conservatism will be going with it.
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