Fred Thompson for President

The Iowa caucuses take place tomorrow night, beginning primary season in earnest. It is now time for MoltenThought to endorse a candidate. We endorse Fred Thompson.

This was not an easy decision. Thompson entered the race relatively late. He did not find his footing until recently. He has never managed anything larger than his senatorial staff, a serious drawback for a prospective commander-in-chief. He is not known to be a diligent worker, nor a master of public policy.

However, Thompson is a true conservative and an effective communicator. These are considerable strengths compared to the current President. They are considerable advantages over the rest of the GOP primary field, of whom only Duncan Hunter can claim to be both. Hunter unfortunately lacks the financial wherewithal to remain a serious presidential contender. He would make an excellent vice president.

For the rest of the GOP field, here is our rundown:

Mitt Romney - A brilliant executive utterly lacking in core principles. This campaign and his prior political career have demonstrated he will say and do anything to become president. He must be denied the office for this very reason. Character counts in the GOP. Romney's pervasively plastic approach to politics betrays an empty suit who wants to be president because his father wanted to be president. He is this cycle's Algore. Moreover, Romney's mediocre record in Massachusetts affords no comparitive edge over Democrat candidates. He can hardly support free-market healthcare reform given Romneycare, for example. Moreover, Romney simply lacks credibility in foreign policy. We need a commander-in-chief in wartime, not a policy wonk of dubious ideological moorings prone to arrogance.

Mike Huckabee - Mike Huckabee is the media's choice for the GOP nomination this cycle. He is their choice because he embodies the GOP in their warped, leftist view: corrupt, fundamentalist, ugly, and foolish. He is a Potemkin conservative. He jacked up taxes at every opportunity while governor of Arkansas. He was subject to numerous ethics complaints, the common denominator being enriching himself while in office. He has the reputation of being stubborn, arrogant, and condescending. We have had 8 years of stubborn, arrogant, condescension. We do not look forward to stern lectures from the like of this election cycle's Bill Clinton.

Rudy Giuliani - Giuliani was a great New York mayor and has enormous credibility when it comes to law-and-order and wartime issues. He is a complete disaster on social issues, and is an utter disgrace when it comes to personal character. He publicly humiliated his wife while in office, and dragged his constituents into the mess. When drafted to spare America Senator Hillary Rodham (and ultimately President Rodham), he ran a terrible campaign which his prostate cancer allowed him to escape. He will get crushed in a rerun, chiefly because he seems to have learned nothing from the last go-round. He either has an enormous blindspot when it comes to judging the character of subordinates such as the (now-indicted) Bernie Kerik or likes to associate with the corrupt and immoral. He is not only no conservative, but stridently so, and a Giuliani candidacy may well send the Reagan Democrats, largely Catholics who take social issues seriously, scurrying back to the party they left behind. Giuliani would be a disaster as president---scandal-plagued, myopic, and prone to making impulsive and ill-considered decisions we'll pay for for generations.

John McCain - No one looks better on paper as wartime president than a former POW who served as honorably as John McCain did. The man was a hero. The past tense is well-considered. Since then, McCain's managed to get himself implicated in the Keating Five scandal, reacted by trampling the Constitution and hobbling his own party through the abomination that is campaign finance "reform", has sucked up relentlessly to the left-wing media while alienating conservatives (whom he evidently despises) at every turn, had a meltdown over push-polling in South Carolina in 2004, grandstanded on judges and through away the GOP ability to correct the composition of the Court as their electoral victories demanded, and otherwise created dissension and division within his own party while providing aid and comfort to Democrats. Stubborness and arrogance are traits which made McCain a hero in the Hanoi Hilton; they have not improved his character with age, and would make him a dangerous and likely disastrous president.

Ron Paul - Please. Unless Art Bell is granted 3 billion votes, this lunatic will never finish anywhere near the top tier in any primary state. He is an embarassment, and ought to follow David Duke out of the party before he disgraces it further.

Alan Keyes - Ron Paul with a racial grievance drum to beat on. Keyes' disgusting race-baiting performance in his last run destroyed all of his good will with us. I say that as someone who would gladly have voted for him. Keyes has serious personal issues which make him unelectable. Were there only another GOP candidate as articulate and clear as Keyes is, minus his arrogance and brittleness.

As for the Democrats, every drone spewed forth by the Democrat hive-mind is completely unsuited for high office, much less in wartime. It does not matter which is chosen; all that matters is that they are beaten, and beaten badly. Any serious showing in November by one of these pompous clowns will embolden our terrorist enemies and their masters in Tehran.

We therefore endorse Fred Thompson, and wish the senator godspeed and strong cabinet choices.