A Look Ahead to 2008 (Part I)Written by Terry Mitchell
Continued from page 1
Before being elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Mitt Romney headed up Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee earlier that same year. He had also made a run for U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994 and lost. However, he did so much better against Kennedy that most of his previous challengers had done, that his loss actually helped boost his political career. Since being elected governor, he has become one of bright young stars of Republican Party. His father, late George Romney, served as governor of Michigan and sought Republican presidential nomination in 1968 but lost to Richard Nixon. His father's remarks made during nominating process about having been "brainwashed" about Viet Nam ultimately cost him nomination. Should Mitt Romney decide to run, he will want to avoid that kind of blunder. Like Frist, Rick Santorum was first elected to Senate in 1994. As Conference Chairman, he is now third highest ranking Republican in Senate. Santorum is a favorite of Christian Right with his strong anti-abortion and anti-homosexuality views. However, pragmatic primary voters might shun him, feeling that he may be a bit too extreme to win a general election. Of course, four years before 1980 election, many Republicans expressed those same sentiments about Ronald Reagan. Tom Ridge was a very popular and effective governor of Pennsylvania before taking over Homeland Security. He was in his second term as governor when he resigned to take over that post. Prior to being elected governor, he served several terms in U.S. House of Representatives. Ridge is more of a moderate Republican, but unlike Giuliani, seems to have some appeal to party's conservative base. Whether he has enough remains to be seen. He is pro-choice, so he will get some opposition from Christian Right, should he decide to seek nomination. George Allen is another rising star within Republican Party. A former state delegate and son of late Washington Redskins' coach of same name, he was elected to Congress in 1990. However, his district was redrawn and he ended up in same district as another, more established Republican congressman, Tom Bliley, by end of his first term. He decided not to seek re-election in 1992 and was elected governor of Virginia in 1993 and then elected to U.S. Senate in 2000. He headed up GOP's Senate Election committee for last two years. The extra seats that Republicans picked up in Senate last week will be a feather in his cap. He has strong conservative credentials but is relatively unknown nationally. Before taking her current post, Condoleezza Rice had previously served on National Security Council under President George H. W. Bush. She is not a career politician or lawyer, but comes from an academic background - she has been a member of Stanford University faculty for over 20 years. She has never held elective office but has sometimes given indications that she has presidential ambitions. She has been a very loyal member of Bush Administration and that has earned her a great deal of respect throughout party. Where she stands on social issues is still uncertain. She might ultimately prove to be a better prospect for vice president than president. Next week I will continue my look ahead to 2008 with potential Democratic presidential candidates.
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, free-lance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He operates a website, http://www.commenterry.com, on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
| | Seeing Blue, Feeling BlueWritten by The Independent Voice
Continued from page 1
Life wasn’t easy on us. Drugs, suicide and violence affected people where I lived in a real way. The men that lived in my neighborhood were guys that actually fought in Vietnam War. They were guys who regularly rushed into burning buildings and when those 2 big ones collapsed in Manhattan, they were guys who died. Family, where I grew up, was a priority and glue that held us on brink of sanity. No, I don’t know any northeastern elites or moral degenerates. I’ve known a bunch of decent people living life best they can, who value their family and their God. They may not always agree with you but that’s probably because they’ve lead a tough, different kind of life than most are used to. They have a different perspective on things that’s rooted in where they’ve come from, what they’ve seen with their own eyes, and heard with their own ears. And they don’t know how truly good they are.
The Indy Voice (http://www.theindyvoice.com/) is a no-nonsense blog that discusses politics, current affairs, and American society and culture without any consideration of ratings or commercial entities (big business). The Indy Voice
|
