Bill's Notes

Probably McCain. After Dubya, we need more than someone who can win. We need someone who can demonstrate national leadership. Bush was a decent governor of the United States. We need someone presidential this time.

My thoughts:

1. Mitt Romney. Seems plastic. Typical politician. Once put his dog in a cage and tied the cage to the roof during a family vacation. Dogs are a powerful constituency, as we've seen with Michael Vick, and the story may make him unelectable.

2. Rudy Giuliani. Too liberal on social issues; too conservative on economic issues; just right on national security. I think he might be an effective president -- but he's got an authoritarian streak. Better than Hillary.

3. McCain. Great, but a little old, and not getting much traction. Also, pro-life credentials somewhat in doubt.

4. Mike Huckabee. What a nice guy. A pearl of a gentleman. Right on all the right issues. I don't have anything against him. Just not ready to endorse yet-another-southern governor.

5. Fred Thompson. Turns out to be a bust. Seems lost and unfocused on the campaign trail. The confident leadership image he cultivated seems to be coming apart.

6. Ron Paul. Also a great individual who has led an exemplary life. He does make a lot of good points about how the company has gotten off-track. (No pun intended -- Ron Paul was a track star back in the day.) But he's a little too isolationist and libertarian for me.

7. Um, did I miss anyone important?

I'm still thinking.

Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. An old-fashioned Democrat. If you're gonna nominate a Democrat, why not take the best one? Edwards is a joke. Obama will be ready in 2016. Kucinich is a nice guy, but extremely kooky. Hillary Clinton ... Lawd no. Biden is also qualified, but Dodd is better.

But it's not by process of elimination. Dodd is pretty good on financial affairs, he is well-spoken and thoughtful, and in the Oval Office, would probably demonstrate considerable leadership skills.

Paul has decided he's done with blogging. Here's hoping it turns into a sabbatical more than a permanent thing. But I'd like to thank him publicly for his contributions to the blogosphere, both on his own blog and here in the comments.

I've been wondering myself whether I have anything more to say. That's one of the reasons for my lack of posting. But I'll continue to soldier on for the time being.

Thanks again to Paul.

If people are taking Alzheimer's prevention medication for memory loss, does that mean they have Alzheimer's already and are trying to slow its progress? Or does it mean that they're merely taking a preventive measure? Or something else?

Late on this. Former Jersey-Shore writer Norman Mailer has died (yes, I'm joking about the JS part. He was born in Long Branch, NJ, but grew up in Brooklyn.) Maybe now that he's passed, I'll read one of his books. I've only read a few excerpts. Reading some of the obits, he seemed like a complex fellow. RIP.