Monday, August 15, 2011

Speaking Of Compromise

With Rick Perry now in the race for the Republican nomination and Tim Pawlenty gone, I'm wondering just what it is we want in our next President, assuming we don't want to re-elect Obama, and what are we are willing to compromise on to get him or her.

So far I've heard mostly negatives on everyone.  So what is it?  Do we want another empty suit?  Someone who so stuns us with personality that we look no further?  I don't.

Someone who espouses social issues above all else?  Like gay marriage and abortion?  No.  Abortion at the moment is the law of the land and I have no problem with gay marriage though civil unions seem sensible  in states willing to accept it as an alternative to something labeled 'marriage'.

Someone who has business experience and no governmental experience?  Someone who has governmental experience yet no foreign policy experience?  I could go on and on with likely combinations depending on the candidate.  Somewhere along the line we're going to have to decide among ourselves just which issues are the most important to us and look for who is strongest in those area.  None of the candidates can be all things to all people.

What I will be watching closely, something I didn't do enough of with Obama,  are the positions on the issues and the strategy for solving them.

I do know one thing.  To be against our present President, his policies, his leadership, the direction in which the country is going,  it seems to me to be a cop out to say we'd not vote for any of the opposing candidates.  To think the present is the better choice negates everything the other candidates have to offer.

In a rare show of optimism,  I'm positive that if  I compromise on the qualifications for the perfect candidate I will find one who is more than acceptable.  Congress is being asked to compromise in order to get the country moving.  If part of that equation is to include new leadership, we too are going to have to compromise.  We just need to be seriously well informed on who we choose.

3 comments:

Margie's Musings said...

I haven't run onto any candidate I would be willing to compromise on at this point. But I am still weighing one of them. Huntsman seems the best choice so far.

Mari Meehan said...

Huntsman piques my interest too. Interesting isn't it, that Mormonism is becoming less and less of an issue?

Margie's Musings said...

Oh, it will be an issue if one of them gets the nomination or if not, it should be. The LDS are advised to heed to the council of their leaders...or else.