The Grand Old Primaries Cometh

Iowa Republicans held their famous straw poll this weekend. Mitt Romney won, Mike Huckabee nabbed second place. However, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain skipped the event and Fred Thompson is yet to officially start his campaign, making it even more of a "who smoozed the best" contest rather than a real foreshadowing of what's to come when the primary season starts.

For me, it’s a bit early to be locking onto a candidate to support, since a good chunk of the hopefuls will drop out before I get a chance to vote in a primary. Consequently I haven’t begun to dig very deep into where they stand on all the issues. Neither Romney nor Giuliani thrill me. I like what little I’ve heard from Fred Thompson, but that could change once (or if) he actually jumps in the campaign pool.

Some people think Ron Paul should receive more serious consideration, acting as if he could melt steel with his passionate conservative/libertarian credentials. A lot of Paul's positions are mouthwatering to a true conservative, anti-internationalism, pro-life, strong defense, low taxes, etc., but I couldn’t vote for Ron Paul and I'll tell you why: he may not be an out-and-out Truther but he definitely gives them credibility by listening to them.

Since it’s early, I’ll paint with a broad brush; I want a President who will:

1. Do what it takes to protect our nation (nukes on the table)
2. Talk to third world dictators like they are dictators and not legitimate heads of state (that means you Hugo)
3. Remind our allies that they should act like allies (that means you Europe)
4. Stop-up our bleeding borders
5. Stand-up to a spend-thrift Congress instead of joining them (that means you Senators Byrd and Stevens)
6. Talk to the American people and explain his (or her) policies instead of expecting us to follow with eyes shut and mouth closed (such as McCain on the recent immigration bill)
   

As some of you may know, I'm gay (ha!) However, like Robbie at the Malcontent, a candidate's stance on gay marriage, or ENDA, or any other gay "issue" is low on my list. So is “alternative fuel” technology and “global warming/cooling/climate” change. I also don’t care:

1. How much they pay for haircuts (although I still reserve the right to mock John Edwards for paying $400.00 for a wash and set)
2. How many times they’ve been married (but cheating on ones spouse does speak to character)
3. Where or how they choose to worship (or not to worship)
4. What their net worth is (though being worth gazillions and pretending to be one of the common folk does smack of disingenuousness)

With that said, it will be interesting to see what shakes out of the primary wash.