Are There Any GOP Presidential Hopefuls You Like?

I am not a Republican and though I used to call myself a "conservative" the definition has mutated into some kind of weird, ill defined rendition of Reagan idealism meets Glenn Beckism meets George Bush Junior. So I'm guessing maybe I can be somewhat called a libertarian since "conservative" seems to be "government is the solution" and "liberal" means "HUGE government is the solution" and personally I (and my money) would just like to be largely left alone.

Anywhooo...back on track. I'm looking at the Republican playing field because let's face it, I'd pluck out my own eye and use the jelly from it on my breakfast toast before I'd vote for Obama. The problem is there is not one viable or even likable candidate in the whole murky mess that the Republican 2012 Presidential nomination process seems to be churning out. Sarah Palin can’t win and hearing her speak just makes me want to change the channel, especially when she gets all passionate and screechy. Mitt Romney is about as uninspired as his haircut. Huckabee is likable but he isn’t running and I’m not sure he’d be able to inspire the big donors to shell out the kind of cash to beat Obama. Donald Trump is a more of a punch line than a person. I don’t know if Giuliani is thinking about it still or not but he’s more “Democrat Lite” than “Republican” and doesn’t really near even the warped version of what would be considered a “conservative” candidate, he kind of reminds me somewhat of Romney. There’s the Newt but I know so little about that guy…

So since I doubt many Democrats on this board have a favorite GOP nominee other than to see them going down in flames, are there any non-Democrats here with a GOP favorite? I’m feeling somewhat discouraged these days.

 

I'm backing Trump, largely to piss off my highly liberal future parents-in-law. Otherwise all of the horses, in both parties, are pulling up limp in the race for my vote. May skip this election altogether.

 

Mitt Romney '12

 

Romney is likely the most viable at this point, successful in business which will be a big selling point. Two strikes against him though; Romneycare here is Mass, which Obamacare was largely modeled after is going to be a problem for him as is his religion, he's Mormon. It doesn't bother me, but a lot of conservative Christians, especially in the South, would likely not vote for him. I suppose we'll see if anyone else comes out.

 

The problem with Romney is that he lacks all "sizzle." I don't see many people getting excited about Romney. I get a distinct sense of "He would be ok," not "WOW, this guy is something special!"

The two issues you mentioned don't bother me personally, but I don't have any reason to get excited about his candidacy either. I don't see him getting very deep into the primaries before dropping out.

 

I'm a Christian in the South and love to talk to people about politics. Never once has Romney being a Mormon been brought up. Truthfully I am too ignorant of that particular faith to even make an ignorant bias against it. I really don't think the faith issue is much of an issue these days...I think it's going to boil down to economics. Which candidate will let me have more of my money. I'm wiling to bet that feeling is pretty rampant these days among the electorate.

 

Mitt Romney is the only candidate that I would seriously consider voting for. Sometimes I think that all of the other potential Republican candidates are nothing more than plants by the Democratic party to insure that President Obama wins a second term.

 

It is not a big issue in the general election, but it could play a role in the primaries. Most of the GOP candidates are going to have similar economic platforms, so the issue of faith could derail Romney.

I am also a Christian in the South, and I have heard it mentioned, but not that much. The thing is this--his religion may not lose him a lot of votes, but it won't gain him many, either. In the GOP, you can score "points" for being an evangelical protestant Christian. Sometimes being Roman Catholic helps because of the pro-life angle. Mormons lack that appeal because most evangelical protestants (who constitute a major wing of the GOP base) consider Mormonism at worst a cult and at best not truly Christian.

 

Interesting...I do not know the first thing about Mormonism, maybe I should look into it (not for political purposes of course). Honestly I kind of like Huckabee...I have no idea why, maybe it's his personality. Romney just leaves me cold, he kind of reminds me of Bush Senior but without the war record.

I wouldn't mind seeing Bobby Jindal run but after that response to the State of the Union he botched he would have an uphill climb. Perhaps I'm just biased towards Bobby because I'm originally from Louisiana.

I'm living in Texas now but Rick Perry (who wants to be a VP) sucks. He sucks in Texas, he'd suck in the White House. He's an over slick, hair sprayed, career politician who is as greasy as they come. A Romney, Perry ticket would cause me to vomit and vote Libertarian. The only thing worse would be seeing McCain try and run again.

 

Romney in 2012!

 

Ron Paul 2012.

 

If one is looking for experience and talent, then Romney appears to be the most likely candidate. He has top-level governing experience and has made a career out of taking dysfunctional, failing businesses (or a poor run and corruption-laden Olympics) and turned them into efficient and prosperous organizations. I cannot think of a more dysfunctional failing business than our federal government. Some of the candidates have government experience and Trump certainly has business experience. Perhaps it is time for someone who has both.

Regarding Romney's charisma (or lack thereof): Charisma certainly played a major role in our last election, so those looking for the glitz and sparkle candidate should be happy with the outcome of the last election.

 

Chris Christie
2016

 

I agree Dr. Pina...

According to the well-known leadership consultant and author Peter Drucker …"Leadership: More Doing than Dash”. Please don't make the mistake of confusing charisma with leadership. Although charisma might be helpful, this trait is certainly not necessary to be or become an effective leader. The measure of true leadership is performance along with achieving the desired results. I don’t believe charisma is an imperative part of the formula; in fact, research shows it can be organizationally destructive. Per Padilla et al. (2007), destructive leaders in general are charismatic.

Dr. Robert Hogan et al. (1994) in referencing the “dark” side characteristics, “… the way you spell charismatic is narcissist. Charisma is not an attribute of good leadership. However, charismatic people who are defective leaders nonetheless attract followers, build a political base, and appear to be competent. Only after they have taken over leadership, do we learn that they are truly defective and incompetent as leaders” (Noll, 2008). How often have we witnessed those who’ve attained leadership positions merely because of the personal trait of charisma? All too often, charisma has more to do with the attainment of the position vs. professional competence or more importantly … the ability to lead. Moreover according to McShane & Von Glinow (2010), “…charisma is distinct from transformational leadership” … “charisma is a personal trait or relational quality…” “…charismatic leaders easily build allegiance in followers but do not necessarily change the organization.” When asked if two people were eligible for the same position, would the one with the attractive personality get the job even if the other had better qualifications, Dr. Hogan answered emphatically: "Charisma trumps accomplishments and integrity every time” (Ostrand, 2007). There’s the old adage, we might believe we know who we’ve elected, hired, promoted, etc., but who’s the personality that really shows up?


Hogan, R. Curphy, J. & Hogan, J. (1994). What we know about leadership: effectiveness and personality. American Psychologist, 493-504. Retrieved from http://enrollment.mst.edu/documents/What%20We%20Know%20About%20Leadership.pdf


McShane, S. & Von Glinow, M. (2010). Organizational behavior: Emerging knowledge and practice for the real world (5th ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill /Irwin.

Noll, D. (2008). Incompetent and defective leadership–An epidemic. Zimbio. Retrieved from Incompetent and Defective Leadership

Ostrand, M. (2007). Charisma in the workplace. Ezine Articles. Retrieved from Charisma in the Workplace

Padilla, A., Hogan, R. & Kaiser, R. (2007): The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers,
and conducive environments. The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 176-194. Retrieved from http://peterberry.sitesuite.ws/files/hogan_research_articles/journal_articles/the_toxic_triangle_-__destructive_leaders_vulnerable_followers_and_conducive_environments..pdf

 

It would be nice to have a leader that had charisma, experience/know how and the right motives. Is that too much to ask for the highest office in the land? I refuse to believe the best and brightest among us are represented in the halls of legislature and the executive office.

 

I would vote for Christine Todd Whitman should she decide to run.