Bill Owens for President 2008

I would agree with your thoughts...but geography is only one factor. To appeal to the family values types, we will need to get a candidate that is happily married (I don't think Sanford is married and there are speculations that he is gay or is that Lindsay Graham). That isn't important to me, but it sunk Mark Foley's Senate run in FL this last year.
Frist did not demonstrate real leadership as Majority Leader the first two years, but things have changed a bit. I am concerned that he could be heavily attacked as a wealthy doctor who owns several health care facilities. The Democrats can play really dirty. George Allen is going to have a tough reelection campaign with Gov. Mark Warner and he is a Senator. Very few Presidents moved from the Senate to the White House. Yes, Allen was a Governor first so it can play into that. Hagel is a maverick Republican and the RNC will think that he is a lot like McCain, unpredictable, uncontrollable and destroy his candidacy. I like Hagel and thought he would have been a great candidate back in 2000, until I saw what Rove and the RNC did to McCain. Not a fun campaign at all as I really supported McCain in the primaries and was constantly called a RINO. Ehlrich is going to have a tough reelection fight. He won because he was running against KKT and a turncoat Republican. Steele pulled enough African-American and swing voters to pull him across the finish line. Will it happen twice? I don't know...I hope so and then yes, he would be a quality candidate. Much like Romney in MA. Won because his opponent was challenged...or like Rossi in WA, if he wins, won because because of the negatives surrounding her campaign. I have heard both positive and negatives regarding Gov. Pawlenty. I am concerned that a lot of Americans would be scared by his name. Petty yes, but we are talking about a crowd of people that think Jerry Springer is wonderful and WWF wrestling is not staged. The election is still very far away. I am watching the cabinet appointments carefully as they may be an indication of an heir apparent. It is too bad that Bush had not switched VPs so that there would be an heir apparent, but I don't think he would have won without Cheney. They make a very balanced team.

Owens is not the best choice.

1) I've heard it through the grapevine that his "separation" has culminated in Owens developing some Clintonian personal problems.

2) Owens is part of the social conservative crowd that likes to talk about "values" a lot. That's all good and well if you practice what you preach. But Owens may not.

3) As far as personal charisma goes, Owens has none. He's not the "next Reagan," as some have said. He's sort of a dorky, wonkish guy. It's not a fair criticism I know, but in this age of television, the guy who looks and talks like Kennedy always seems to beat the guy who looks and talks like Nixon. Why should we chance it?

4) Finally, Owens was supposed to be doing to CO what the Bush Bros. did to TX and FL --- turning it into a solid GOP state. Owens failed miserably. After 6 yrs in power, 2004 was a horrible yr for the CO GOP. We lost an open US Senate seat, a US House seat, and BOTH houses of the legislature. Moreover, GWB just barely won the state by 5 pts, meaning it's now a "swing state" and Democrats will be pouring money into Denver in 2008. It looks like Owens may have given the state back to the Democrats, not exactly the heir to Bush when it comes to building a Republican majority.

Owens "A great man and leader", you say........??? You gotta be kidding? Really.

Dare to see beyond the Potemkin Village he promotes.

Bill Owens, the takes a stand on nothing governor, the closet governor (in more ways than one), the I never met a developer I didn't like, I love sprawl and have turned my back on those within the agricultural sector within Colorado governor, the let our road network go further to hell, all the while 49 cents on every gallon of gasoline pumped (for road repair) goes to the state without any accountability whatsoever governor. Bill Owens, the fey - limpwristed governor. Yet he knows a bunch of Russian folk songs verbatim governor. Wow.

But, if integrity is worth anything to anyone - which I trust it is as we're supposedly decent and upstanding folk (I am), above all those who are righteous conservatives and spout endless righteousness ad nauseum.............., Bill Owens, the (shhh) I commit adultery against my loving and dedicated wife, in the process betraying the elements of propriety, character, ethics, morals above all betraying my trusting family and if that wasn't enough knocking-up my secretary, having a love child while in office which has been (shhh, again) totally covered-up to make Bill Owens look decent and clean governor.

This scumwad, were he to possess so much as a scintilla of conscience and responsibility would have resigned. Makes James Trafficant and the Clintons almost look clean, by comparison.
I forgot to mention Karl Rove and the Bush presidency and administration, too.........., whew!
The worst thing about so many conservatives these days is the increasing - and v. disturbing sanctimonious and hypocritical posture being demonstrated. Such used to be the near exclusive domain of many a liberal. Not so any more.

(Dare to) wake up and see the forest from the trees.

Bill Owens could NEVER win the presidency. He isn't NEARLY as popular in Colorado as some would like to believe. Most Republicans I know think the past four years of his governorship have been lackluster and simply tolerate him because there's no alternative. He has been AWOL as a leader in dealing with Colorado's budget issues and hasn't articulated a longterm vision for the state.

I think he would have lost to Salazar in the U.S. Senate race by a larger margin than Coors did. Owens won big in the 2002 Guber race because the Dems were thinking more long term in the state and didn't want to invest a lot of time and money just to lose small instead of big. Owens would have won regardless, but the Dems didn't put much into it, thus the landslide.

Why NOT President Owens? Comparisons likening Owens and Reagan are absurd. First off, Owens is effeminate. He has a weak chin, bug eyes, and an affected manner of speech. He looks and sounds like a wimp. Secondly, the man has little charisma. He comes across as a dork...an effeminate dork. He does have a sense of humor, like Reagan, but unlike Reagan Owens' sense of humor is often abrasive. Reagan would make jokes that everyone could laugh at, even those the jokes were directed at. With Owens the jokes are almost always pointed, and often come across as boorish. Reagan was NEVER like that.

Reagan was a maverick. He had his ranch, his horses, his mystique. He was older, but still in great shape. He was vigorous, handsome and charming. Owens lives in a boring, white bread, suburban neighborhood totally devoid of character. He isn't an outdoorsman or vibrantly athletic. He isn't handsome or charming. Owens' favorite food is Cheerios. No kidding. A George McFly clone for President of the United States?

And Reagan practiced what he preached. Many did not agree with him, but he lived his creed. Owens, on the other hand, is a hypocrite. He barks about family values, but his own marriage is on the ropes and he raised a common criminal. Remember, his teenage son was a vandal who helped cause something like $20,000 in damages. People won't appreciate a man in office who preaches family values but is himself questionable as a husband and father. And didn't his underage daughter get trashed at a public event? Maybe she's 21, but I don't think so. The whole family seems to have issues.

Owens can win in 2008. The reasons given here why Owens cannot win the Presidency are hollow, slanderous and not based on fact.

First of all, he is popular in Colorado. His approval ratings have been consistently equal or higher to those of prior Colorado governors. As ColoradoMatt should know (assuming he lives in Colorado), until Owens swept into power in Colorado, it was a state run by liberals and Democrats for many years. There is still a substantial liberal base in Boulder and Denver, and Colorado has never been a place that has offered smooth sailing for any Republican. As far as the 2004 elections, the Republican losses had far more to do with individual situations than Owens' popularity. People don't vote for a Republican US Senator just because they like the governor. Owens had no control over the situation. Ken Salazar was a well-respected statewide politician who had a perfect advantage in being able to tap into Colorado's large hispanic population. Pete Coors was a novice beer executive with a lot of money who had never held any political office. This was not a good matchup. As for the state legislatures, they had been historically controlled by Dems and both houses only enjoyed a narrow majority when taken under GOP control when Owens came into office. A switch of a few seats is all it took to turn it over, and tying these seat losses to Owens in any way is really stretching things. Based on historical data considered in the context of Colorado politics, Owens has far exceeded all expectations.

I agree that he lacks some of Reagan's rancher allure and charisma, but he makes up for it with intelligence. Reagan was a figurehead who believed in broad principles, but had to rely on smart aides to actually make them work. He was fortunate to have been surrounded by great people. Owens, on the other hand, is intelligent enough to appreciate the finer points of policy in his own right. I loved Reagan, but I demand more from a presidential candidate than looking good on a horse. And besides, who said comparing to Reagan is essential. Reagan's charisma is the gold standard. There is no way that Frist, Romney or any of the other touted candidates match up to Reagan either.

Finally, all this empty, unsupported criticism about Owens' family values is nothing but rumors and garbage. He is separated from his wife while they attempt to work to save their marraige. They are still friendly with one another, spend holidays together, and travel together to make joint appearances at public events. There is NO EVIDENCE to support this idiotic speculation about his having an affair. It is a reckless rumor, and is pure slander. I challenege anyone to come forward with any actual fact supporting these rumors. Colorado liberals who hate Owens would like nothing better than to bring him down, and if he did have a child or an affair, this would have been public already. Why can't people accept it for what it is - a conscientious couple with very demanding, public lives who are trying everything before giving up on their marraige. Explain to me why that is such a bad thing, or why that undermines "family values?" Plenty of conservative politicians have had divorces and have managed fine.

As to Owens' family itself, his son (who is a star athelete with excellent grades) was part of a group of teenage boys that vandalized some property. He was not the ringleader, but is guilty by association and for being an accessory. Like all kids, he did something stupid, and because his dad is famous, it was reported to the public and he paid dearly for his actions. Taking one teenage mistake coloring this kid's entire character is just flat wrong. By most accounts, he is a great kid who, aside from one isolated incident, has stayed out of trouble is doing very well in college. He is not the deadbeat you portray. As to his daughter, she also has done very well in school and has not been in any trouble. If she had a few drinks at a public event when she was over 21, so what? We all have. There is no evidence that Owens or his family lack good values, and I would hope you'd consider the facts before outwardly slandering someone.

Owens is considered a good presidential candidate because he is young, has executive experience, is smart, and champions the core values of the Republican party. He is no Reagan, but he no geek either. He looks as good as any of the other contenders in a suit, and is fairly well spoken. He is known well among all the major players in politics, both among his fellow governors and among Beltway types. His big challenge would be to make himself known to voters who are not political junkies who may not have heard of him. I think he can do it - the question is if he wants to do it or not. Very few people knew who a young, repeat term governor named Bill Clinton was before 1991 either.

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