The first weeks of February, 2008, allowed for some rather interesting speculation by John Q. Public. When it was recently announced that the former (or elder) President Bush was throwing his endorsement to McCain in this 08 election – party leaders were exuberant while John Q. Public reacted differently. Those on the “blue” side of the aisle were jubilant, as they understand that the public in general have no love for any Bush, and this endorsement was exactly what was needed to propel the Democrat’s nominee to the white house in 08. McCain, for his part, has been challenging Obama left and right, and vice versa, as the two presumptive (one has to love that word), nominees an early start to the “us vs. them” mentality of debate that has just sickened the country.
What seems to have been forgotten by the media is that there are still two other candidates (or three, my apologies to Ron Paul) in the race, and that there is a convention to be held, and that convention is held in July. Should anyone care to check a calendar, there is a difference of 5 months between February and June. The last of the primary states to weigh in, goes to the polls in June. The regular voter, not the administration or any party, is aware of the following:
There are still 5 candidates in the field.
Note: presumption: assumed, and one knows what happens when one assumes anything.
So, for the record:
McCain: Senator from Arizona, consistently votes on social issues moderately, and has done so since he took the seat. One can assume this presumptive nominee is conservative, or one can check the record.
U.S. Senate Vote Record One can also access the exact voting record for the Senators campaigning this cycle through their individual pages on this web site.
Clinton: Senator from New York, and the only candidate with experience in the White House. The First Lady’s position, it should be noted, is not a fluff job, but involves actual management of staff. Using the link to the US Senate given above, one can find that Senator Clinton is possibly more moderate in votes than McCain.
Obama: Senator from Illinois. Voting record for Senator Obama is not particularly clear, given his short time in the position. (2006), however, one understands his position is to the left of both Clinton and McCain.
Mike Huckabee: Governor of Arkansas: 10 years as governor. Improved schools, improved conservation, cut taxes (unless federally mandated programs caught the state short budgeted, and then only when the electorate voted yeah or nay to raise taxes), etc. (etc., because, accomplishments to the positive would require a book)
Finding non-partisan records is almost impossible. Every single Republican special interest group has an article decrying his record as one of little note. That said, one can find unbiased reporting on the Governor, if one goes back 20 pages in Google: For a snapshot: Governing 2005
There are more such articles, as ten years is a long-time to govern, but more to the point.
Mike Huckabee and Hillary Clinton are the only two candidates with any management and or governing experience.
Both Senators McCain and Obama have experience legislating and they hire people to manage their staff.
Voting records show that both Clinton and Huckabee would be kind to the American people, not necessarily the party or the press.
In the interest of full disclosure, (although glaringly apparent), I am 100% behind Mike Huckabee’s efforts to bring the final vote for and by the people to the Republican convention. The systematic destruction of two political candidates by their own parties and the media has not gone unnoticed. No matter the outcome in this election, for the first time in a long time, people of opposing political viewpoints are reaching across the aisle and agreeing on one point. Neither the media nor the party has the right to choose the nominee.
Addendum: Club for Growth: Backers- Bush Administration
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