During the GOP primaries I gravitated towards Romney and thought that he would make a much better candidate than McCain. In retrospect it is obvious that Romney would have been in his element during this economic crisis. Since there is nothing we can do about the past election, we can at the very least begin helping GOP to move towards remaking itself into the Romney party.

Ballot access expert Richard Winger's blog is an invaluable resource to a minor party/indy enthusiast like myself.  Lately he's done some work detaling the large amount of unopposed incumbents for state legislature this year.

And I'm actually quite happy about it. What is this new GOP? It is the GOP centered around an oft-repeated idea (at this blog and elsewhere) of National Greatness Conservatism.

Why am I happy about it? Well, because I believe this is the real GOP and always has been all along during my lifetime of 35 years and well before. It is the heart and soul of the party...and while it gave an appearance of being otherwise (libertarian, for example) from time to time, it was simply a marketing ploy to put a different spin...however incoherent...on the true driver of party ID.

McCain Considering Conceding Election Soon?

Joel S. Hirschhorn

In highly secret discussions John McCain is seeking feedback on the bold, historically unique idea of conceding the presidential election BEFORE Election Day!

Here are the main discussion points framing the conversations with his closest, long-time supporters, including his wife, but not current campaign staff.

Let's look at it from the Republican side, since presumably Obama would run for a second term on the Democratic side. Then we can ask who should run on the Republican ticket, who will run, and who is a wildcard possibility. All very much reading tea leaves this far out, of course, but it's a nice break from the day-to-day of the current campaign. Join me below the fold for a little wild speculation...

As my good friend Brutus14 pointed out in Thursday's open thread, the Barr campaign has filed suit [PDF] in Texas to have the court compel the Secretary of State to remove John McCain and Barack Obama from the ballot.

The statute in question which states in part:

Here Obama's 10 Worst Ideas .

Here's McCain's 10 Worst Ideas .

I think they are generally on the mark though I have some quibbles.

On Obama's, I'm not so sure how bad Number 4 is. Meeting with the Iranian President, by itself doesn't seem so bad to me. However, FP adds that Obama said he would do this "without precondition". Perhaps THAT isn't wise. I'm not sure. But according to a Carnegie Endowment expert on the matter:

A long time ago marketers figured out that in a consumer driven society the quickest way to sell a product is to put the “new” label on it. It doesn’t matter if the product has changed or not. A case in point is how many “new” Cokes have there been? Every couple of years we are treated to a new release of Coca Cola under some new ad campaign and packaging. Marketers have learned that the majority of Americans will buy anything so long as it is “new” just because it is labeled “new”. New and improved, under new management, and advanced formula are all familiar refrains of the marketers and have proven time and time again to be successful in attracting consumers. Unfortunately here in America we elect Presidents the way we buy products based on slick marketing and fancy packaging. Few of us have the time or the desire to investigate the people we elevate to the highest office in the land. The amazing thing about this is that we have just had the longest primary season ever and yet there are many people who claim they no nothing more about the candidates than what has been dished out by the tabloid journalists.

As we head into election season with rhetorical and hyperbolic guns ablazing, I find this short piece by Arnold Kling to be somewhat correct and refreshing.

Kling asserts that, for the most part, the difference is more rhetorical than anything else.

Says Kling:

Quite obviously, everyone wants their party/candidate/issue to win or otherwise gain power. I wish to discover at what cost people are willing to ensure their candidate wins. The trend I'm beginning to see in our increasingly hyper-partisan and polarized politics is that this line is shifting, but in the wrong direction.

Unintelligence in Federal Intelligence Agencies

Joel S. Hirschhorn

The Bush administration has found yet another way to waste taxpayer money while providing huge sums to private contractors. According to a survey of activities in 2007 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about a third of the federal professional intelligence workforce now consists of contractors, mostly in the Washington, DC area.

It is amazing to me how foolish politicians and the media types take us for. They would have us believe that the reason McCain picked Governor Palin for his VP was because he wanted to thumb his nose at conventional wisdom and display once again what a maverick he is. According to the narrative, he wanted to demonstrate his desire for change and desire to break with the Washington insiders whom he has been a part of for the last 25 years. Let’s be clear John McCain would pick Satan himself if he thought it would get him elected. His selection of Governor Palin was a desperate move by a desperate man.

In my spectator role of this upcoming election, I've been becoming and increasingly and quietly intrigued about what could happen and what it could mean....in much the same way that I watch the analysts discuss the prospects of the upcoming NFL season. Former pros turned "analysts" and journalists are caressing their collective chin while scanning a multitude of factors to make the bold claim...namely that Team XYZ, in spite of current perceptions, is the "team to watch" or the "team to beat". See below for video.

GOP Officials just held a press conference here in St. Paul, Minnesota, to announce changes to the convention schedule in advance of Hurricane Gustav making landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast. Sen. McCain has directed that all convention activities outside of necessary business be suspended until further notice.

I have it from several sources inside the California GOP that it is indeed Tim Pawlenty who's name will be put forth into nomination as the Republican Party's Vice Presidential nominee in 2008!
I wish I was wrong, I wanted Mitt Romney, but Tim is a solid conservative and a good choice for JM considering the attacks the left would have brought against Mitt.

OH YEAH! Even better, Sarah Palin is a solid conservative, an incredibly popular Governor, an effective reformer, and the perfect pick for the ticket!

Someone once described courage as not never being afraid, but going on in spite of the fear. As a nation and as elected officials we seem to be running dangerously low on courage. Oh we have the tough talk down, we have the posturing, but do we really have true courage? Since 9/11 when at least 2,985 people died from the terrorists attacks I think that what has been lost in all the hype is some perspective. While this was surely a tragedy, the population of the United States in the year 2001 was somewhere around 290 million people. Based on those numbers the terrorist attacks killed less than .02% of the population, yet since the attack we have responded by invading sovereign nations, torturing our fellow human beings, and gutting our Constitutional protections.

subtitle:

"How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream"

That's the new book by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam.

Hat Tip to Conor subbing at Megan McArdle

The American Conservative has an article up about partisanship and the difference in how it affects views on ideas when presented with or without partisan "cues", which generally are more likely to trigger a predictable answer.

Hat tip to Publius Endures (PE) for this little expose' of the mind of a Modern Conservative.

The article he links to is from Michelle Malkin and written by "See-Dubya".

Says Mark at PE: (emphasis mine)

A personal disclaimer: I don't like McCain. ;)

I don't like his views on Foreign Policy. I don't like his views on society with respect to government. Of course, the latter applies more broadly to all candidates so he's 0 for 2.