[Torie]

Rudy, but then I am a social moderate (except when I am not), and part of that wing of the party. Rudy however casts a wider net. McCain is too old, and lacks the temperament to be a judicious choice for POTUS, but I do admire Romney, but he would be less likely to win, and has been disingenuous about the abortion issue. I don't mind abortion moderates, I am one, but flip flopping from one end to the other, as the political need arises, on such a life and death issue, as Romney has, just does not set well with me. It just seems like the power imperatives, trumps a bit too much. Not all ends justify means. It suggests a lack of candor, and to use a psyhcobabble term, "centering." Bush for all his faults, of which there are many, is "centered."

[fieldmarshaldj]

My worry about Bush is that he may end up giving tacit endorsement to McCain, and there is no way in hell I will vote for that nut, either in the primary or general. He'd inflict more damage to the party as President than any Democrat. The only thing positive thing I can say about Giuliani is on his active campaigning for our candidates (so at least he isn't a RINO in that regard, which Romney is after his screwing and stiffing of the MA GOP), although he's doing it to collect markers. But I still remember those days after the '94 election, sitting on a train leaving NYC staring at the commuters newspaper headlines musing whether Rudy was going to switch parties. Policy-wise, it's impossible to distinguish him on too many issues, and that would prove equally devastating to the party's fortunes for the short, and perhaps long, run.

The name of Dr. Coburn was brought up, but Coburn is probably too honest a person to be able to win. He's more than willing to tell the public what they DON'T want to hear, and the public, sadly, can't handle that.