I don’t believe for one second that G.B. II is stupid. He might be a fool, but he isn’t an idiot. During his first bid for the presidency, he told the public what they wanted to hear. They elected him and he slapped them down. During his second bid, he did exactly the same and so did the great unwashed.
The questionaire that most of the Republocrat candidates recently answered for Charlie Savage is revealing, not because of the specific answers, but because of the manner of answering. Hillary Clinton followed Bush’s lead by lying through her teeth. Even the most naive among us can’t possibly believe her when she writes, “The President is not above the law.” Most of know she’s lying to us, because even Satan wouldn’t vote for her if she told what she really believes. Like Bush, Clinton–may she fade away in ignominy and believed by future generations to be of Canadian birth*–is no dummy.
Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson took a more honorable–but no less telling–route. They simply refused to answer the questions. Q: “Does the Constitution permit a president to detain US citizens without charges as unlawful enemy combatants?” A: “The candidate declined to answer this question.” It’s the same tactic that a well-advised accused employs in a courtroom. If you don’t say anything, you can’t be caught out in a lie. I think it’s safe to assume they both believe the answer is “Yes.” When would you not take 30 seconds to have a flunky tell people about your beliefs? When your beliefs will cost you an election. Silence is golden.
Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is an idiot.
He answered the questions, but did so ambiguously. And a bit ominously. He tried to leave enough room for interpretation that those who want to believe the best of him are able, but he made a terrible job of it.
Q: Does the president have inherent powers under the Constitution to conduct surveillance for national security purposes without judicial warrants, regardless of federal statutes?
A: Intelligence and surveillance have proven to be some of the most effective national security tools we have to protect our nation. Our most basic civil liberty is the right to be kept alive and the President should not hesitate to use every legal tool at his disposal to keep America safe.
What color is the sky, Mitt? “The color of the sky is a very important question.” What kind of car do you drive, Mitt? “The automobile manufacturing industry is vital to our economy.” Umm, Mitt?
“The right to be kept alive?!” That sounds like a very odd construction until you realize that Romney doesn’t believe you have the right to keep yourself alive. That’s the shepherd’s job, don’t you know? We can’t have the sheep going all vigilante on us. They might decide they don’t want to be eaten.
Romney tried very hard to obfuscate without actually lying. He failed. Miserably. One could plausibly argue that Huckabee didn’t receive the questionaire or he didn’t have time to answer it. Romney took the time to craft some obscure, disingenuous answers and still managed to come right out and say he believes the president should be able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
A lot of people will still vote for him in the primaries. All Canadian infiltrators of course.*
Ron Paul’s answers are different than anyone else’s. John McCain called him “the most honest man in Congress.” Paul is either an uber-master at deception, loudly and consistently hiding his true beliefs for more than thirty years, or else he truly is one of the last honest men in politics. If he’s trying to take over the world, he surely does have an odd strategy: eschew power and money, smile a lot. Well, at least he has the name: Dr. No. Some of his responses were a little wordy, but many were very simple.
- Answer 1: “Absolutely not.”
- Answer 2: “None.”
- Answer 4: “None.”
- Answer 5: “No.”
- Answer 7: “No.”
Sometimes Paul is so honest he might be shooting himself in the political foot. People are so used to being played, they don’t know how to respond to him. Here’s a good start: Vote for him. Wouldn’t it be nice to be left alone for a change?
*Nothing personal against you Canadians. I just want everyone to forget they were Americans.
Interesting side note: Andrew Napolitano is one of Paul’s close advisors. A good V.P. candidate? He’s a lawyer (I can feel my lip curling, baring my teeth.) but his work since retiring indicates he might have repented.
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