Mitt, not Rick

Based on his dreadful debate performances, Rick Perry seems to have given little thought to the important public policy issues of the day. When Perry first announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination I was glad to have him in the field, and even a tentative supporter. I heard he was a "real" conservative, not a "compassionate" conservative (a term and a governing philosophy I've always abhored) like Bush. He was also confident, appealling, and good-looking, i.e. a lot of the thing one needs to be elected these days. Unfortunately, a lot of what we've learned about him since, combined with his debate performances, have given me pause. Right now (it is my belief) the only way for Obama to be re-elected next year is for the Republicans to blow it, and Rick Perry could blow it. Rather than get stronger as the campaign has progressed, he has gotten weaker, and seems smaller. He is unsure of himself and unable to defend his positions when challenged, even when his positions are easily defensible. Obama was not-ready-for-prime-time when he ran four years ago but the mainstream media camouflaged that fact. They are unlikely to give Perry the same protection.  Quite the opposite - the media will pounce on his every hesitation or misstep. Furthermore, I now have doubts about his conservative bona fides. He seems much more a crony-capitalist than a free marketer.  Is crony-capitalism what we want at a time when crony-capitalism is one of the big reasons we are failing as a nation? Washington D.C. needs to be purged, and the way the federal government operates needs to be dismantled, not reinforced. I doubt Perry has the ability, let alone the desire, to do this. His inability to articulate conservative positions tell me he has spent little time thinking about these things. It seems more likely to me that Perry has done what it takes to seem conservative because that is what is needed to get elected and to succesfully govern in Texas.

So here is a sentence I thought would never cross my lips (or type in a blog post): I am pulling for Mitt Romney to win the GOP presidential nomination. Now, for a lifelong conservative like myself, one who is hoping for a revolutionary reversal back to the principles of limited government, Mitt Romney is totally inadequate. He is a wishy-washy, flip-flopping, often liberal-leaning conservative-manqué, someone whose only true conviction is that he should be president. But since the only other person currently in the field with a ghost of a chance to win is Rick Perry, I'm throwing in with Mitt. Mitt is smoothness personified, he can think on his feet, rarely makes a gaffe, and is palatable to the independents that are currently so dissatisfied with Obama, much more palatable than Perry. Now, Mitt Romney is never going to lead a revolution (though one could possibly be forced on him from below.) But that is not the primary issue at hand. The main issue at hand, in my opinion, is to defeat the incompetent putz who curretly sits in the Oval Office. In every head-to-head poll against Obama, Romney outperforms Perry. Since Mitt Romney is more likely than Perry to defeat Obama, Romney is my man, at least for the time being.

God help us all.