Obama Floats Like a Butterfly (Townhall.com) March 13, 2008

I recently realized that Barack Obama is the Muhammad Ali of presidential 

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 politics.

You remember when traditional fighters stood in the middle of the ring and tried to hit Ali, they rarely could because, as he put it, he floated like a butterfly.  Ali said he was too pretty to be hit, that your hands can’t hit what your eyes can’t see.

That captures Barack Obama who, so far, has floated like Ali above the fray of traditional politics.  We don’t know where he stands, which has been part of his appeal.  Amazingly, Obama himself wrote that he serves “as a blank screen on which people of vastly different stripes project their own views.”

With Hilary Clinton’s and Obama’s views so similar, the democratic primary has not forced him to stand and fight on policies and positions.  Perhaps when he meets a Republican contender in the fall, he will have to come down to earth and actually tell us what he stands for.

To listen to the audio:  http://townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=11&ContentGuid=cafe2cec-d90e-460b-9ff0-2ec18e0fc0ab

Three Senators for President (Townhall.com) February 18, 2008

Not since 1960–and only twice in our history–have we elected a 

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 sitting  U.S. senator to serve as president. But a race that started with a wide variety of candidates is now, for the most part, down to three Senators: McCain, Clinton and Obama.

Voters have generally preferred more executive experience in their presidents, but with no incumbent president or vice president running for the first time in 80 years, and no governor of a major state in the race, a U.S. Senator will be our next president.

Hillary Clinton says experience counts, but what exactly is her experience?  Eight years in the U.S. Senate (compared to 4 for Obama and 22 for McCain) and 8 years as the First Lady.  I asked my wife, who was close by when I served as a university president for 15 years, whether she felt prepared now to run a college.  She correctly said, “no.”

If experience counts, look for John McCain to be our next president.

To listen to the audio:  http://townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=11&ContentGuid=5cd1ad3a-b5ff-46a6-a6b1-e3dac6f122a1

Faith and the Presidential Campaign (Townhall.com) February 1, 2008

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The Republican field of presidential candidates and the discussion of  religion remind us of the variety of ways Christians might approach political leadership.

The GOP Front-Runners (Townhall.com) January 4, 2008

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Perhaps we’ve heard enough from the Republican presidential candidates to summarize their campaign and message. Here’s how I hear the front-runners:

 * Rudy Giuliani – vote for me, I’m tough, I ran a big city and I’m moderate enough to win.

* Mitt Romney – I’ve run a big business and the Olympic games, and have been the conservative governor of a liberal state. I can make government work.

* Mike Huckabee – I’m a regular guy.  As a minister I know people and as a former governor I know how to carry out my principles.

* John McCain – I’m the mature adult in this race. I’m a maverick, no one owns me, it’s my turn.

* Fred Thompson – I’m the one consistent conservative in the race and, like Ronald Reagan, I know how to look and act the part.

With presidential primaries packing the calendar in the first quarter of the new year, soon it will be your turn to say which kind of president you want.

To listen to the audio: http://townhall.com/talkradio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=11&ContentGuid=323432e4-3128-40da-a59b-d26d2259be32

Republicans’ Secret Weapon: Taxes (Townhall.com) December 6, 2007

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 change things by next November. No, it’s not the war or abortion but that pocketbook issue that has long defined the difference between the parties: taxes.

Democratic Congressional leader Charles Rangel has proposed a $1 trillion tax revision which, by some estimates, would increase taxes more than $3 trillion over 10 years.  And finally, someone has begun to tally up the cost of Hillary Clinton’s campaign promises, which total somewhere between $100 and $200 billion.

Often as an election draws closer, the economy and pocketbook issues loom larger.  And one real difference between the parties is the Republican plan of continuing the tax cuts of the Bush years, or moving to the revisions and increased taxes of the Democrats.

To paraphrase the late Senator Everett Dirksen — a trillion here and a trillion there may start to sound like real money.

To listen to the audio:  http://townhall.com/TalkRadio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=11&ContentGuid=d529016e-e9ba-454e-bacd-e5319d97831e