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I do! But then again, I’ve known who I was going to back for president since March of last year. No last minute dithering for me.

Considering I live in Idaho though, my vote won’t really count for a whole lot, because by time the Idaho Republican Caucus rolls around (May 27th, 2008) the Republican candidate will have already been decided. No one ever says, “Well, we just can’t make a decision until Idaho votes.” Hardly.

So with the knowledge that my vote in the primary won’t count for much, I realized I have to make a difference another way: I’m going to have to write a blog where I list all the reasons why Mitt is my man, and hope that my enthusiasm for Mitt will rub off on the undecided Iowan voters out there.

And because I don’t want this to be a “Well, my candidate is better than the alternatives because they are really screwy, you see” post, which only leads to “voting for the least horrible candidate on the ballot” I am going to leave other candidates out of this blog. I don’t think Mitt is the least horrible candidate on the ballot, I think he is the best candidate on the ballot, and here’s why:

• Mitt has financial experience that the other candidates can’t come close to even touching. Mitt didn’t get his start in life from money his father gave him (in fact, when his father passed away, Mitt gave away the inheritance his father had left him to charity) but instead built his fortune from the ground up, through hard work and long hours. That is the American way.
• He’s not a lifetime politician. I have a coworker who is cheering Joe Biden on, and one of the biggest reasons she had for supporting him was the fact that he had been in politics since the age of 28 (that’s a quote from her - I don’t know much about the guy.) As I listened to her go on and on about how wonderful this was, I did everything I could to keep from yelling, “How is that a GOOD thing??! The last thing we need in Washington is another career politician!!” So yeah, this is a huge plus in Mitt’s favor. I want someone who isn’t beholden to all of his cronies.
• He’s an eloquent and passionate speaker who has real charisma. I have only met him once, but I’ll never forget it. He was fantastic, and I cheered and clapped as hard as I could when he was done, as did everyone around me. We need someone who inspires others, another Reagan quite frankly. It’s hard to lead a group of people who are not excited by your ideas or leadership.
• He is scandal free when it comes to his personal past. Us Republicans stood up on a soapbox while Clinton was in the White House, and pontificated about how ethics and morals are important, and that what happens in your personal life is important. Thus, we looked like real idiots during the whole Larry Craig scandal, and the absolute last thing that we need is another Republican scandal, this time the star of the scandal being the new Republican president. We need someone who is squeaky clean, and you can’t find someone squeakier than Mitt.
• He has the cash he needs to make it through the election cycle. It’s almost impossible to win a race that you’re not running for, and you have to have cash to run. Simple as can be. Mitt has that cash. Can other candidates say the same? You may say it doesn’t matter, but believe me, when summer hits and the Democrat machine is in motion and Hillary is hitting hard, you’re going to wish we had someone with the resources to go the distance.
• His stance on illegal immigration is exactly right. That is a hot button issue that this country believes in very strongly. It would be hard (read: almost impossible) for a Republican candidate to win the general election who was soft on illegal immigration. I’m not saying that we need to elect Tom Tancredo (considering he dropped out of the race and endorsed Mitt, that would actually be impossible) but we do need someone who has a plan, and who was on the right side of the illegal immigration debate this last year. Mitt is that man.
• His stance on abortion and gay rights is also exactly right. He governed as a pro-life governor in a very Democratic state, an almost impossible task. He also champions gays in the fact that they should not be second-class citizens, but also doesn’t believe that gay marriage should be allowable. It’s a fine line to walk, but it’s the same stance I take on the issue, and a stance that I believe most Republicans take. He believes there should be an amendment to the constitution, defining marriage between a man and a woman (not a stance that all of the Republican candidates have taken, believe it or not) but also hired and employed several openly gay staff while governor. He’s right where he should be on both social issues, and I think the Republican base will have an easy time agreeing with his ideas.
• His ideas on taxation is also a no-brainer for the conservatives. He often talks about how the newest threat to America is China - we’ve got to figure out how to compete with Asia, and the Democratic idea of taxing big business isn’t going to do it. Check out this ad by Mitt about competing with Asia for more info.

I have heard complaints over and over again in this election cycle about how we just don’t have any good candidates. After all, that’s why Fred Thompson got dragged into this race, because we needed a knight on a white horse to come save us. But I say that we had our knight all along. We’ve got a tight-fisted, socially conservative candidate who is dedicated to winning the war on terrorism, and competing with China to boot. We’ve got an incredibly smart guy who can take problems apart and put them back together again, this time as innovative answers, and who can work Democrats to get these things done. He’s scandal free, has a loving and devoted family, and piles of money to make this run a reality.

What else are we waiting for? Mitt Romney is a dream for the Republican party. I just hope enough Iowans feel the same as me come tomorrow morning.

Havs

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