Other than listening to the demons wail about the deficit,...
Now STOP it! As for Keyes, I admire Keyes no end. He is a fantastic orator with exemplary credentials. There would have been no problem with me if he would have WON the nomination. Unfortunately for him, and for his supporters, he didn't. And that makes ALL the difference. He ran and lost. Rigidity has its admirable qualities, but it also has its drawbacks. Few people perceived him as a man who could accomplish much within the brimstone palaces of the House and Senate. Had he won, his principles could not have held his head above water and he and the presidency would have sunk like a stone. Articulating a position in stark black and white is wonderful if your candidacy is based on stating a message and not actually being elected.
You claim to admire him. If you admire him so much, you surely must understand that he had no intention of winning the primaries and/or becoming the nominee. His candidacy was to deliver a message to conservatives. It was received with fervor by many of us, like a cool drink in the midst of a desert. But being elected is something else again. Alan Keyes occupies a prized position on my wall of great people, autographed picture and all. But great people don't always make great presidents and vice-versa.
Alan IS his message, but it would have echoed hollow in a place built on the crumbling foundation of our beloved Constitution where no one listens.
Being free to be real is a life option I don't think Keyes would have really wanted to give up. I was sorely dissappointed when he used the race card to proclaim his skin color as the reason for his loss. It wasn't.
There aren't very many conservatives who didn't believe in their heart of hearts that Alan keyes won every debate he was in. Just as there weren't many conservatives who didn't agree with his stated principles. The VOTE wasn't just based on his orating skills, but on the ability to get things done within the confines of reality. In a perfect world, Alan was a perfect candidate. In the real world, he would not have been able to take even half the heat President Bush has had to endure because he couldn't have controlled the situation OR his temper. Character counts. So does temperament. One he has. The other, he unfortunately does not.
Had he been running for the Senate anywhere but in Moose Country, that great bastion of Mikulski-ites, there is not a doubt in my mind that he could have beaten just about any dem running anywhere west of the Catskills. But Maryland HATES anti-abortionists, AND conservatives, especially BLACK conservatives. He is doing fantastic work where he is free to be who he is. Kudos to the man. He deserves all the respect I can offer. May his flame never go out.
KEYES