And My Long Awaited Endorsement Goes to. . .

Back in April, like the political geek that I am, I eagerly awaited the first debate for the Republican nomination on May 3rd (seems like an eternity ago). Throughout the first few months of 2007, the only thoughts that I had were that John McCain had been a tireless defender of the war in Iraq and was a logical candidate for Commander-in-Chief and I was (relatively) open-minded to the other candidates. However, the immigration debate heated up as Sen. McCain and Ted Kennedy lead the charge for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” (read: amnesty for illegal aliens). This in my mind was a major blow for my early support for McCain.

Now enter the first debate. I sat, by myself, and watched the first debate. McCain did little to redeem himself with immigration, but he continued to impress me as the most authentic person on the War in Iraq. Mayor Giuliani offered nothing new and only reminded us of the fact that he was mayor of New York City during 9/11. Gov. Romney failed to impress me. However, this folksy Governor from Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, really impressed me. Governor Huckabee came across as authentic, articulate, and smart.

I wanted more. I got more at the next two debates (May 15^th and June 5^th). After doing some initial research, I found that Huckabee maybe weak on fiscal conservative issues like taxes and the concept of limited government. My personal research left me satisfied that he would fight to keep taxes low and to reduce the size of the federal government. I went up to an event in Concord to hear him play with his band, expecting to hear him speak, but his event was only limited to his band playing. They weren’t bad and the food was pretty good.

The campaign for the Republican nomination carried on and I watched more debates with interest. I even watched C-SPAN to see Huckabee come in 2^nd place in the Iowa Straw Poll on August 11^th. I again went to see Huckabee in Manchester on August 17^th coming off of his strong finish in the straw poll. At this point, I would have to admit that I was solidly in favor of a Huckabee Presidency.

Finally, September rolls around, we’re starting to get into the real “beginning” of the campaign. At my alma mater, the University of New Hampshire, McCain finally does what he needs to redeem himself. He speaks passionately about the success of the surge (that he pushed hard for), he comes out for border security first, recognizing that the American people have a fundamental distrust in government citing failures in Iraq and with Hurricane Katrina. I see truth in his words and I believe him.

Nine debates and three months later, we’re less then a month from the NH Primary. Gov. Huckabee’s popularity has risen tremendously, but in the same time period, my confidence in his ability to be an effective Commander-in-Chief has gone down. Also, Sen. McCain has continued to demonstrate strong leadership on the War in Iraq. I discredit Governor Romney early on, because I felt that he was not authentic enough. I believe him to be strong on the economy and fiscal issues, which makes sense considering he is a businessman by trade, but on social issues and foreign policy, I feel as if he is just taking those positions to pander to the Republican base (this is reinforced by the fact that he has “flip-flopped” on each of these issues with every election he’s run in). However, he delivered a great speech on faith in America and for the first time he looks Presidential to me.

Fast forward a little more, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan is assassinated and Gov. Huckabee responds by linking the issue to illegal immigration… This is the camel on the straw’s back, and I am sorry to stop my support for the Governor, but feel that I can no longer support him.

To me, the most important issue has been the war. The person that I will vote for must be a competent leader who can articulate to the American people why we must win the War in Iraq. The American President is first and foremost the Commander-in-Chief.

We are finally seeing progress in the War in Iraq. If we chose to, we will elect a man who will rally the American people to win and bring the troops home once we achieve victory. So, why isn’t my choice obvious? Sen. McCain is most surely the most qualified to do this.

This is probably the case, but I believe Gov. Romney is qualified to do this. In Gov. Romney, I see someone who is presidential. He’s strong on all of the issues that are important to me (immigration, the war, the economy). He is articulate.

I personally believe that Sen. McCain has learned that it was a mistake to try to pass comprehensive immigration reform without securing the border first. I realize that until we secure our boarder we essentially have de facto amnesty. Do the American people believe Sen. McCain though? I’m not so sure.

I am deeply troubled by Sen. McCain championing the limitation of one our most precious rights: political speech. Will he further restrict free speech by restoring the fairness doctrine?

Can I vote for Gov. Romney who I have a hard time connecting to at times? Can I risk nominating a person that may not be able to get elected? He’s the only Republican candidate that puts traditionally safe states like Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, and probably more into play. Some say its because he is unknown, but Huckabee is equally unknown and he polls much better in head-to-head matchups. I think its because of his religion. America says over and over again that religion should have nothing to do with politics and Gov. Romney has said that he will not be “Pastor-in-chief”, but unfortunately it still remains an issue.

So, my endorsement is for whatever you feel most important as you enter the voting booth and mark your ballot. Will I vote for leadership/electability or someone who I align on with most of the issues. A principled person might tell you to vote for the person you align with on more issues, but I would also contend that leadership in a person is important, especially now.