What you say about the media is true and frankly i have bordered on despair in that regard, especially seeing what they did to get Obama elected and what they continue to do to keep him from completely tanking with the public, and yet they have suffered no discernible backlash from their blatant manipulations of the public. They are too powerful, too corrupt, and i see little hope in the near term of limiting their power or their corruption.
I’m with you about not being able to stomach another 4 years of Obama. And i also appreciate your rational approach to picking a candidate but for better or worse i’ve always gone with my gut feeling. And my gut tells me that....
Bachmann and Santorum: are better positioned for winning the Republican primary than the general election. So if they are struggling here, then i do not like their chances in the general should one of them happen to win by virtue of staying out of the line of “friendly” fire that’s been so prevalent this campaign season.
Rick Perry: i think he has the most “likeability” of all the candidates and there’s a lot to be said for that. Not brilliant like Newt but more stable, fewer negatives. The bottom line is that he is potentially the strongest candidate to go up against Obama but the question is whether he can overcome his early missteps to have a chance to take on Obama. I’m hoping he can since i think he has the best candidate to able to keep the party united against Obama.
Newt: his main hope in the general would be to have multiple debates with Obama and completely blow people away with his performances while clearly illustrating the many ways that Obama and his policies have made the country worse off than when he took over. Many of us have gravitated toward Gingrich because we feel that the best chance to beat Obama (or more specifically: to overcome his billion dollar war chest and his many rabid defenders in the media) will happen during the debates and Gingrich is the most capable of delivering a knock-out blow. Also he gives off an air of competency which contrasts well with the incompetency of Obama and his administration.
Romney: under different circumstances he probably wouldn’t make a bad President but we can’t afford a middle of the road kind of President at this time; so that when the dems come back into power they would easily get the country off track again and resume shaking down we the people once more. Plus he is the favorite of the media/Republican establishment and we need to send a strong message that we don’t appreciate them picking our candidates for us.
Paul: he has his libertarian niche but can’t go beyond that; he could play a spoiler role but i’m not sure if he’d take more votes away from the Republican nominee or from Obama, especially if it’s mostly young rebellious types who are attracted to him.
Huntsman: great name for a Republican candidate but beyond that there’s not much going for him especially since Romney holds the position that would have otherwise been reserved for him. Without Romney he could well be leading at this point, but as it is his candidacy comes off as rather pointless.