OldCannon wrote:For VP - everybody knows Condi is interested, and I think it's no-brainer.
Gingrich is rising in the polls for three simple and very good reasons: 1) he has been downright
masterful in the debates; 2) he refuses to eat other republicans on stage for the satisfaction of liberal media; and 3) he reacts with appropriate disdain to idiotic questions from debate moderators who couch their questions as accusations against republicans.
In the last interview I saw of Condi Rice, a week or two ago, she expressed no further interest in public office. And frankly, although I have enormous respect for her capabilities, I think there are better choices.
I think that the VP slot is likely to be filled by one of the candidates already in the race. I don't know enough about this guy to say if I would approve of this choice or not, but I think that Gingrich might offer it to Rick Santorum. I think this for several reasons, not the least of which are that both Gingrich and Santorum are mavericks who emanate from the culture of Congress. They both know now the wheels turn. More importantly, Santorum was a Senator. As VP, he would preside over the Senate. He is already familiar with that "good old boy network." Also, Santorum is reliably, and more importantly,
unapologetically conservative. And lastly.....if you will all recall from one of the first debates, the candidates were asked if they would pick one of the other candidates as VP and, if so, which one. Santorum said without hesitation that he would pick Newt Gingrich. The other candidates did not answer the question anywhere near so specifically. This tells me that there is some mutual admiration there, and that Gingrich and Santorum can probably work well together.
Edited to add: perhaps the best choice for a VPOTUS is someone who has already run for POTUS, since that is someone who is already interested in the job. There is a saying that if you want it too badly, you're probably not the person for the job, but that is simplistic. Consider the possibility that an
intelligent person might not want it because they do not think of themselves as
qualified for it. A good president must have confidence and humility in equal parts.
I've been watching the debates unfold. Some of Newt's "baggage" is lies told about him in the press, which his own family members have refuted. I also watched Newt talk the other day to a reporter about the meaning of his Catholic faith to him these days. Now, I am not Catholic, but I am a religious person, and what I saw was a man saying that he used to not take it so seriously, but that in his later years, he has found great comfort in it and that he regularly seeks solace in his faith. He did not sound at all preachy when he said it, and his face was relaxed and his expression was inward looking when he spoke about it. He may be a brilliant actor, but if he is, he had me completely convinced.
I want my next president to speak and
act as if he is daily aware of being accountable to some higher spiritual calling, and to do so with humility—which all other things aside was one of the things I truly admired about George Bush....that he
lived his faith while in office. For that to be true about Obama, Golf would have to have an IRS approved religious status.
