In reply #100 you stated that you would have liked to vote for John Kasich in the 2000 California primary, but now we are talking about 2004.The primary responsibility for Bush 41's defeat and Bill Clinton's victory in 1992 falls squarely on the shoulders of George Herbert Walker Bush. The aversion so many in this forum have to this decade-old truth is puzzling to me. It's as though they're personally and emotionally invested in perpetuating the myth of the boogieross, so as to remain in denial about the failure of Bush 41.
The length and breadth of my comments about Ross Perot are that, "whatever his other faults and lunacies," it was him who made the deficit a campaign issue in 1992, and that higher profile was one of the factors that made the balanced budget politically and economically feasible in the late 90s. That's just a fact; Perot is no hero of mine.
I give actual credit for the balanced budget to Gingrich's Congress, particularly to the Chairman of the House Budget Committee at the time, John Kasich.
I'm gonna reply to your #116 here, too.
I haven't devoted much time or energy to thinking about Presidential alternatives, since Bush will be the GOP nominee. I'm not currently in favor of a primary challenger, because such in-party insurrections against a sitting President are symptomatic of the incumbent's weakness as a candidate, and indicate the White House is going to change hands the following January. We saw this with Johnson, Ford, Carter, and Bush 41.
So, I can only answer your question hypothetically, based on some scenario where President Bush decided not to seek re-election for some non-political reason, like him or his wife having a terminal illness.
All I can do at this point is toss a few names out there, since, as I've said, I haven't thought about it much. Very few GOP politicians impress me, I think they are cowards, by and large. Rumsfield is the guy inside the Administration I like best, but I don't know his positions on a lot of issues. Condi Rice gets a lot of press, and she's my write-in choice to replace Gray Davis in the recall, partly because I want to get a good look at her prior to 2008.
In Congress, I like Tom DeLay and Dana Rohrbacher, Don Nichols in the Senate, and some others. They don't strike me as people likely to be President, though.
One guy who's out to pasture that I like... Pete Wilson. He's a centrist, but tough. Despite his age, I wouldn't be surprised to see him take a final crack at the Presidency in 2008. His biggest obstacle would be getting the nomination, because his ability to win in California, an indispensible state for the Democrats, would make him a lock in the general election. He'd cream Hillary, because he wouldn't be afraid of her (I think she's overrated as a national candidate, anyway).
There are a couple of guys out in the private sector that I think would make outstanding Presidents, so I'll toss their names out... Thomas Sowell and Dennis Prager. Of the two, I prefer Sowell by a bit.
Anyway, those are some names off the top of my head. I could probably come up with some more, given time. Not sure if that helps you, or if that was even what you were looking for, since I could only answer your question hypothetically.
