I did it last late night..I may not post much but I read a lot.
I am waiting to make my choice..I like Perry but he is a terrible debater..I like Palin but she has not declared..I like Cain but worry about his lack of experience..Newt is great in the debates but has way too much baggage. Newt was once my hero long ago..but he can’t lead and gets mushy.
I am definitely ABO
Here I was tempted to believe you were trying to take credit for someone else's dropping the dime :-)
But...since you were kind enough to address me directly, and then proceed to substance, let's converse on that level.
I have several fundamental disagreements with Perry on policy, so he's out.
(Using the EO on Gardasil and then claiming it couldn't be overridden by the legislature, then claiming "he's listened to the public" once they DID override him; doing the EO "to get Medicaid funding" but claiming to run to get the Feds out of our lives; being a globalist (e.g. the Trans Texas Corridor's tolls were to be collected by a Spanish company); pandering to illegals (Texas Dream Act setting ILLEGAL aliens on an equal footing with some US citizens, and above others); "pay-to-play" (too numerous to mention, but it includes > $10 million to Countrywide financial and a $55 million slush fund from rich backers to Blitzkrieg the GOP primary process).
And the fact that he has shown in the debates that he is just bone-crushingly *STUPID*: he had Romney right in his sights with the "flip-flop" speech all memorized and flubbed it: and if Obama is a post-turtle, Perry is a post.
He is a creature of his handlers and backers, and is too reliant on bragging about TEXAS for a national audience: what plays when running for the GOP Governor's office in Texas won't play when running for the President of all the US -- you can brag about your state but do it in a self-deprecating way, with humor, not like an aggressive tire salesman poking his finger through a customer's chest ("Whoa, pal. You don't need four new tires; you need at least SIX. Don't he need six new tires, Chuck?")
Not to mention supporting GORE while REAGAN WAS STILL IN OFFICE: you can talk about 'the most conservative Democrat' but none of them can hold a candle to Renaldus Magnus.
I think Palin is going to declare; she's just waiting for a signal, or circumstances, known to her but not to us (Christie or Jeb entering in to weaken Romney; some significant hit on Obama, say Nader or Hillary declaring they will primary him?); but she's cutting it awfully close from a logistics point of view, even considering the boots already on the ground via Conservatives4Palin: and I wouldn't rule out the Dems trying dirty tricks to try to disqualify her from key primaries at a late date.
Cain's lack of experience is peculiar: he has been an executive, but only in the private sector. Which means that when you say "jump" everyone else says "How high?" and it doesn't work like that in D.C. And to make it worse, you have a hostile press deliberately MISreporting in the Dems' favor, to include leaks from your own side by people with an axe to grind. Palin has no illusions anymore about the Press, and has obviously learned a lot about playing them like a fiddle. I don't know if Cain has the luxury of *that* kind of a learning curve.
Newt -- if it weren't for his past affairs and the AGW sofa ad with Pelosi, he'd have grown on me. I'd like to see him as part of Cain's or Palin's "kitchen cabinet" (if you remember your US history and Andrew Jackson).
I'd like to be ABO but I don't know if I can quite stomach Romney or Perry or Ron Paul.
That's why I'm pulling for Palin so hard.
Rita: you claimed earlier I couldn't argue and had no substance, and I invited you to offer some substance rather than mindless cheering squad.
So here's a brief take of my opinions on the candidates. Cheers!