Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The primary process continues to grind along and we continue the winnowing process in an effort to come up with a Republican candidate to take on President Obama in November.  This is the point in the process where the various candidates and their more ardent supporters begin to sharpen their criticism of one another.  All of them agree that the country is headed in the wrong direction and that the policies of President Obama are the major reason.  They struggle to differentiate themselves one from another.


The only candidate that has a radically different set of proposals as to what to do to get this country back on track is Ron Paul and his appeal is limited to a relatively small group of very ardent supporters.  The rest of the field are hard pressed to differentiate their positions sufficiently to attract major support from the public at large and their polling numbers show it.  Like their predecessors in races before them, they now turn to attacking each other in an effort to prove that the other candidate is not as worthy as they.


Mitt Romney is accused of changing his mind about important subjects and he has a political record that proves that he is very flexible in his political stance on these subjects.  People calling themselves "true conservatives" find this to be a serious flaw, particularly since it encompasses both fiscal and social issues.  Newt Gingrich is "known to have baggage" and that is worrisome to many even though what is actually in the baggage is rather poorly understood by most folks.  The baggage attack generates criticism of the man and his policies and creates doubt as to his electability.  Rick Santorum looks like a purist who champions traditional values to such an extent that many worry that he is out of touch with the public at large and thus unelectable.


If I had my druthers, I would take a chance on Newt Gingrich, but I should quickly add that I can easily and wholeheartedly support either of the other two major contenders.  The only one that would give me pause is Ron Paul.  In many ways he is the most interesting of the bunch.  There is no question, but that he touches some deeply felt concerns within the public at large.  Domestically, his criticism of our monetary and tax systems resonates with those that are concerned about our economic system in general.  Internationally, he plays to those who wish that the world was not as complicated as it is.  Although I find much of his message to be naiveté, my basic criticism is that I do not believe that the man is up to actually doing the job of president of the United States.


Although it is not a popular position to take, I continue to believe that what we need in the White House is someone who understands the practical day-to-day job of politics.  Someone who can rally the American people behind a set of decisions that will return financial stability to our country.  Someone who respects private enterprise and understands how to get things accomplished in government.  As I compare them with our current president, any of the three major GOP contenders would do a better job, but my guess is that, of the three, Gingrich would be the best prospect for that honor and I would love to watch a Gingrich/Obama debate.