Posted on 06/05/2007 10:34:29 AM PDT by flixxx
GOP: Stepping back to move ahead?
By George Will
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | One time, years ago, the veteran Baltimore newspaperman, H.L. Mencken, was checking copy coming in from the night editor and sighing at the rising number of errors he was noticing, errors of fact but also of syntax, and even some idioms that didn't sound quite right. He shook his head and said, as much to himself as to the editor at his side: "The older I get the more I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology."
— Alistair Cooke,
"Memories of the Great and the Good"
Accepting the 1988 Democratic nomination, Gov. Michael Dukakis, a carrier of Massachusetts's political culture, allowed his fervent hope to be the father of his surmise when he said, "This election is not about ideology. It's about competence." His meaning was opaque — how would he decide what to competently achieve? But perhaps today's events — from Iraq to Hurricane Katrina to the irrationality of immigration policy — have put Americans into Mencken's frame of mind as they shop for a president. Which could explain why two among the parties' front-runners are who they are.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
The older I get the more I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology.”
I find it comforting in a way when Democrats try to run on competence. It means (a) they cant run on their ideology because they know it’s unpopular and (b) they are actually *less* competent and are beatable on it.
Maybe that’s why Bush beat the tar out of Dukakis in the election in 1988.
We need to field a super-competent candidate in 2008 to win.
I think we will.
I agree...the GOP candidates have a track record and have demonstrated themselves to be competent overall...
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