The Liveliest Campaign Season Since 1968

The American Thinker ^ | 1-13-12 | Jack Cashill

[afraidfortherepublic]

Those who slight the Republican primary candidates and sneer at their campaigns are either innocently misinforming their audience or strategically disinforming them. In fact, this is the all-around spunkiest campaign season I have witnessed since 1968 and the smartest since about 1864.

I have been tracking campaigns closely since 1960. Then, as a pre-teen paperboy and JFK fan, I scrutinized the results of the Democratic primaries as intensely as I did Dodger games. In 1964, I chanced upon Ronald Reagan's stirring televised defense of Barry Goldwater and began to rethink my adolescent allegiances.

In 1968, I tried desperately to reconcile my drift to the right with Robert Kennedy's cagy shift to the left. His assassination in June of that year spared me that burden and thrust me, though still too young to vote, into the ranks of the independent and undecided. That was the year, of course, that the Occupy Chicago folks turned the Democratic Convention into a third-world smackdown. As the son of a cop, they lost me forever.

For pure theater, however, even Chicago did not match a George Wallace rally I attended that year in downtown Newark, New Jersey. With an 8 mm camera in hand, I stood on the low wall surrounding Military Park and filmed the day's events.

First arriving, and quickly surrounding the speaker's platform, were Wallace's supporters. This being Tony Soprano's hometown as well as my own, most of them were Italian-Americans. Scores of angry student types, mostly white and hirsute, flooded the park behind them. Bearing the banners of the Progressive Worker Party, they started surging up against Wallace's paesanos.

Before the Italians could respond, a motorcycle gang roared up on their Harleys. The gang members inserted themselves between the Wallace supporters and opponents. Their backs to the stage, they stared down

[ExCTCitizen]

I am not sure that the statement of running the most conservative candidate since Reagan is wrong. Romney is a moderate.

[rockinqsranch]

“Romney is a moderate.”

Romney is a middle of the road’er with allegiance to his legacy only. His campaign seems to be IMO to surpass the legacy of his Father.

IMO the guy is in it for all the wrong reasons for “we the people”, and that’s not acceptable.

[NavyCanDo]

I don’t have any horse in this race. I dislike Newt for almost exactly the same reasons I dislike Romney and unlike many here I am not suffering from amnesia about why I did not like Newt way back when he first jumped in. Santorum is a complete bore, and Obama would clean his clock in a debate. I had high hopes in Perry once. He blew that back in the first couple of debates and has not been able to win me back. Huntsman ranks highest amongst democrats – nuf said on him. And Paul is a screwball with nutty ideas.

So until our nominee, whoever it may be chooses (I hope wisely) his running mate, I’m satisfied with keeping on my car my Tim Tebow for President bumper sticker, and enjoying all the thumbs up I see in my rear view mirror.