Blogs > REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MUST NOT BE AS UNREADY AS OBAMA

Mar 16, 2011

REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MUST NOT BE AS UNREADY AS OBAMA



Let's be honest, no one is ready to be the president of the United States. The job is too big and the demands too unpredictable. But, some candidates are more ready than others and yes, when push comes to shove, it does make a difference as the failed Obama presidency is making more and more clear each passing day. No Democrat will have the gall to challenge the first Black American president in the manner Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter. So, it is crucial that Republicans put up a candidate who not only can win the presidency but has the ability to mend the damage the Obama presidency inflicted on the country. Since recent events high lighted yet again the intimate ties between freedom and American capabilities, Republicans have a moral obligation to appoint an experienced manager committed to rebuilding the nation's economic and strategic might.

To make such a selection more probable, insufficiently prepared candidates should follow in Chris Christie's footsteps rather than in those of Barack Obama. They should admit that they are far from ready and prove their patriotism by taking themselves out of the running. As Chris Christie told Mike Wallace, he has no desire to repeat Barack Obama's mistake of getting himself elected to a job he is incapable of performing:

WALLACE: You have repeatedly rejected calls to run for president in 2012. In fact, you said, short of suicide, you don't know what you could do to convince people that you're not running.

But I want to put up -- because I'm still not convinced, I want to put up a poll, a new poll of all the potential GOP candidates. And the only one who currently beats President Obama is a fellow named Chris Christie, 43 percent to 40 percent. Don't you think you're up to being president?

CHRISTIE: Listen, the president, rather, can rest easy, because the only guy who is beating him in that poll isn't running.

I have a state to run. I love New Jersey.

WALLACE: But why not? You obviously feel strongly about this. You think you have got a better way to do it and that everybody else is messing it up. Why not go for it?

CHRISTIE: Listen, two reasons. One, I have a commitment to my state. I have been governor for a year. New Jersey's problems are not fixed. We have a lot of hard work to do.

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: You don't think you could help more in the White House than in the state house?

CHRISTIE: No, I don't think I can help New Jersey more in the White House than I can help it in the state house. And secondly, you have got to believe in your heart that you're personally ready to be president, and I'm not there.

WALLACE: Why not? I mean, seriously. You say you answer the questions. In what way are you not ready to be president?

CHRISTIE: Listen, I think every year you have as a governor in an executive position in a big state like New Jersey would make you better prepared to be president. And after one year as governor, I am not arrogant enough to believe that after one year as governor of New Jersey and seven years as the United States attorney that I'm ready to be president of the United States, so I'm not going to run.

WALLACE: Yes, but you know, and I heard you say it might make more sense somewhere down the line, 2016, 2020, whatever. But one of the things that Obama learned and showed us all in 2007, when it's your moment, you have got to move.

CHRISTIE: Listen, that is a decision that he made. And he's obviously was successful in winning the presidency. My view is I want to, if I ever would have run for the presidency, if I was ever to do it, I want to make sure in my heart I feel ready. And I don't think you run just because political opportunity is there. That's how we wind up with politicians who aren't ready for their jobs.

In other words, first year Senator Marc Rubio should not listen to cheer leaders urging him to run and neither should Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann. The same goes for the ambitious single term senator, Rick Santorum. Premature selection of Sarah Palin to the vice presidency has cost John McCain the presidency and forced her to give up the governorship of Alaska. She, too, should prove her mantle by staying out of the running.

In short, the times are too perilous for US to either elect another untested maverick or reelect a failed one. They call for a person of proven ability who understands the known challenges and should be prepared for the unknown ones. If arrogant political ingenues insist on running, Republican primary voters should enlighten them ASAP.



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