Thursday, March 15, 2007

"Bill Wineke: Hagel would make the best president"

Here's an article that's worth taking a look at: Bill Wineke: Hagel would make the best president. Here's an excerpt:
I've pretty much come to the conclusion that Hagel is the best person to run this country for the next few years.
...
Hagel is one of the most conservative members of the Senate and I disagree with him on virtually every issue. I even disagree with him on the war in Iraq. I don't think we can just walk away from the mess we created.

So why would I suggest Hagel is the best person to run our country?

Because this country has a lot of big problems to solve and it is doing precious little to solve any of them.

I'm not at all sure it makes any difference whether our leaders follow liberal policies to solve those problems or follow conservative policies. There are different paths to solving problems. But for the past 16 years, at least, we haven't followed any path; we've just spent all our time fighting.

Hagel, I think, has the opportunity to pull the country together. He is a war hero who was wounded in Vietnam. That should mollify the hawks. He opposes the war in Iraq. That should mollify the doves.

He built a business from scratch. I have never heard any scandal associated with his name. He's not running around the country trying to convince fruitcakes that he's one of them.

In short, Chuck Hagel is the conservative Republican everyone thought George W. Bush would be - but wasn't.

Hagel gets a great deal of respect due to his competence.

Leadership, Vision, and Experience - that's why I support Hagel for '08.

Also, please donate today.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought for a moment that this article was worth a look too... until I reached the end of it. I tried to think of a more diplomatic way to say this, but frankly, I have never read an article that makes good arguments and notes important things yet punctuates it with such blatant ignorance.

Obviously, I agree that Hagel is the best choice for president, and the article named many of the things I admire about him. However, to say in one breath that "we've just spent all our time fighting" and a half-page later say that you refuse to vote outside your party is perhaps the most ridiculously contrary statement I have ever heard. It's statements like that that make me proud to be an unaffiliated voter, free to vote for the person I feel is best suited for the job rather than according to party lines. The article is right about one thing - the problem with the leadership in this nation IS the bickering. But that problem extends further than Congress. That problem includes any person who is willing to place party loyalty over what is best for this country and refuse to vote outside of a given party, regardless of which one it is. That problem includes people like Mr. Wineke.

An encouraging thought did entered my mind upon reading this article though, and it was one of a study I read a few weeks ago. It stated that registration among both major parties is on the decline, while unaffiliated registrations are on the rise. I can only hope that is an indication that my generation is one of more independent thinkers, one that is capable of looking at a situation and acting (voting) accordingly, rather than blindly following a group just because someone with the same color hat says so.

William Dalton said...

I was going to make the same observation about this character's bottom line as Jen (that was shrewd editing, Charlie!), but I'm not as critical of the blogger. Heck, if Chuck Hagel winds up leading a bipartisan Unity ticket, I bet he might even get this fellow's vote!

Anonymous said...

Nice article. Good thing you didn't post the coverage from Hagel's speech to the firefighters union. Hagel rambled on and on praising volunteer firemen - to a union!

On the heels of his non-announcement announcement, this is turning out to be a pretty unfunny joke. One more goofy outing like this and this Hagel supporter will be looking for a new candidate to support. I have no time for the amateur hour they are running.