The Most Qualified Republican Will Not Be a Candidate in '08

Do you realize that there has been a Bush, Dole, or Nixon on every Republican presidential ticket, except one, since 1952? And two of those names have pretty impressive winning percentages. Let's review:

• 1952 - Richard Nixon - Vice President - won
• 1956 - Richard Nixon - Vice President - won
• 1960 - Richard Nixon - President - lost (but probably actually won had it not been for vote fraud in Chicago)
• 1964 - No Nixon, Bush or Dole
• 1968 - Richard Nixon - President - won
• 1972 - Richard Nixon - President - won
• 1976 - Bob Dole - Vice President - lost (the GOP didn't have a chance after Watergate)
• 1980 - George H.W. Bush - Vice President - won
• 1984 - George H.W. Bush - Vice President - won
• 1988 - George H.W. Bush - President - won
• 1992 - George H.W. Bush - President - lost (to Clinton who didn't even get a majority of the vote - thank you Ross Perot)
• 1996 - Bob Dole - President - lost (to Clinton who again didn't get a majority of the vote - again, thanks Perot)
• 2000 - George W. Bush - President - won
• 2004 - George W. Bush - President - won

Nixon won four of the five presidential elections he was involved in, and the Bushes have combined for five wins in six tries. Those percentages will keep you in the major leagues for a long time. And that brings me to the subject of this post: It's really too bad, but the most qualified Republican for the office of president in the country right now will not be running in '08. Why? He has an unfortunate last name. Bush.

At least in recent years, America likes to elect governors to the White House. Of our last five presidents, four were former governors. Had his last name not been Bush, Jeb Bush would have been a very strong candidate for '08. He had an outstanding eight years in the governor's mansion in Florida, demonstrated on many occasions his ability to function well in a crisis (jeez, how many hurricanes and tornados did they have down there during his time in office?). He has strong conservative principles which would have served him well in the primaries, and yet he does not come off as an ideologue, and that would certainly help him in the general election. I think Jeb would have been the strongest candidate the Republicans could have fielded in 2008...except his last name is Bush. Too bad, really.

I don't think America likes the idea of the presidency being a dynastic position which is passed down from family member to family member (which is why I don't think Hillary is as strong a candidate as the press may have you believe). I don't like it either, and yet I would have eagerly supported Jeb Bush in '08 had he made a run.

It's sad that the Republicans can only muster a weak field against the Village People (my name for the Dem '08 candidates). I'd hate to think the Republicans are going to lose in '08 by default, but unless somebody comes charging out of the pack, that may happen. I still think the strongest candidate in the general election will be Rudy Giuliani (he just got the endorsement of Mrs. HolyCoast who leans a little more left than do I...but I don't hold that against her), but he's going to have problems getting through the religious conservatives in the primaries (Joe Carter explains some of the reasons why).

Perhaps after four years of a Dem disaster in the White House America will reconsider a Bush and give Jeb a chance in 2012...if he wants it. He may not want the hassles since he can be assured of as vicious a campaign as you'll ever want to see. The hard left will never forgive him for being governor during the Florida recount fiasco in 2000, and in many of their delusions, he plays a particularly evil part. Republicans may not fancy another Bush either, especially if the Iraq mess is still a mess in '08 and causes another GOP disaster.

Meanwhile, the most qualified candidate for the office will sit this one out as the lessor lights battle for the job. It's a shame...it really is.