Not for the first time, political analysts are raising the specter of a Republican convention with no clear nominee which would require political wheeling and dealing in order to come up with a candidate for president. The pundits are mostly pointing back to the convention that nominated Dewey, who lost to the Democrat Truman. But I am starting to wonder if they should be looking back to the convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln - arguably one of the greatest presidents and UNarguably the greatest Republican president. (I think even Reagan himself would agree to that.)
It is too soon to really think this is a certainty, but it is not too soon to see that we may be a Lincoln-esque juncture in American history. Like Lincoln, we have a highly polarized America (him: slave/free, us: red/blue). Like Lincoln, we face a time of unique pressures and the war (him: civil war, us: War on Terror). Like Lincoln, we see a Republican party desperate to define itself and to resolve the splinters within (him: abolitionism vs states rights, us: religious values vs economic conservatism).
Does the Republican Party have a Lincoln this time around? Do we have a compromise candidate who can both be the standard-bearer, and re-unify the party? Lincoln used the Civil War as a means to reforge the party by recruiting his former rivals to his cabinet. Do we have anyone running now who can do that? Or is there anyone waiting in the wings who could do so?
I am interested to see the opinions of Mod-Bloggers on this topic. I have my own thoughts about who has the potential to do this, and who does not. But I want to ready your opinions first.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
WHAT IF: Will the GOP need a compromise candidate?
Posted by Nomad at 7:34 AM
Labels: compromise, gop, presidentialcampaign, republican, republicans
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6 comments:
I have said for several years that we need another Lincoln, someone driven by principles, but willing to be challenged in what he thought, and also able to unite the country around what was important.
I don't know if I see any Lincoln now. To many of the candidates of both parties are swayed by public opinion or don't have consistent principles. Most are more divisive than uniting (even those who call themselves uniters).
Interested to hear your thoughts...
The one person that I would like to see run for President is Elizabeth Dole. I believe that she has the positions, experience and temperament to be President. She got both foreign and domestic experience as president of the Red Cross. She is a multi-term senator now and is solidly Pro-Life and strong on defense.
When it comes to a candidate that can reach out, I think McCain. Of course, he can have a problem of not reaching out to his own party. :)
A Problem with McCain though is that he has no ability to inspire. (at least to me.) Most everyone would agree that he is a competent legislator and a good man, but his speeches are not inspiring or thought provoking.
I don't see any Lincoln in the picture at this point. And frankly, I wouldn't trust anyone even if they did seem like they could. Bush was supposed to be that figure, after all, and look where that got us.
I dont know who to support... the candidate I like the least is also the potential winner most likely to lose in the general. So I could support him, and home he gets the nomination, expecting him to lose the general and let the democrat (Probably obama, but I would settle for clinton) in. But then, what if by some miracle he wins the general? That would be nasty. Or I could support one of the more likable candidates, but then there is a much higher chance of another term of republican presidency.
Isn't politics fun?
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