Now that you’ve gotten over the initial shock of who is left in the presidential race, it’s time to weigh the candidates. The good thing about the Republicans having pretty much chosen their candidate, is that it gives the country plenty of time to see the enormous difference between the Republicans and the Democrats.

Speaking as a layperson, and not as a pundit who has looked at the minutia of every candidate’s policies, this is the picture that is shaping up for me.

Both of the Democrats lean very hard to the left, with Obama being further to the left than Clinton. These are the impressions that I am getting. We can depend on the Democrats to do these things: they will both clearly raise taxes, especially those on the highest income brackets. I can’t imagine fuel costs going any lower under the Democrats either. We can also depend on government to get bigger under both the Democrats on the slate. They will do “something” about health care, but it will not be the something that needs to be done.

John McCain has had his problems, especially for conservatives, but there’s one thing we can depend on McCain to do. He will support the military, and do what needs to be done to secure Iraq. This obviously is not a popular position right now. If he loses, it is not because he is not the best available man for the job; I believe many of his positions would make him a good Commander-in-Chief. The problem is that we live in really insane times, especially when it comes to how those on the left demonize conservatives.

There’s no getting around it: people are simply tired of George W. Bush, and tired of the war.

Supporting the war in this climate may be a liability. An aside: I believe that history will see George W. Bush as a good president overall, but the idea of going to war with Iraq may be seen as a blot on his record. Unfortunately, I think even going to war against Afghanistan would be seen as a mistake by the doves of our country, even though it was a “just” war. McCain is no conservative, but the label “Republican” has been given a bad name because of the way people seem to feel about George W. Bush.

Other than McCain’s position on the war, his other weakness is one he shares with all the candidates: He seems to believe in Global Warming, and his subsequent policies on energy could be a problem. However, I like his “straight talk” and I hope that people will listen to what he has to say.

Barack inspires, but has little experience. Clinton has experience but doesn’t inspire. I think McCain has the ability to do both, but as Michael Medved has pointed out, McCain will have to clearly differentiate himself from Obama to make it clear how important the difference really is. McCain would not satisfy conservatives or liberals, but I think he would make the best president of the three.

Here’s what I think the ideal candidate would focus on. I think these are winners:
1. Reform Social Security and Medicare.

McCain talks “straight talk” and I think he realizes something needs to be done here before this “House of Cards” collapses. The Democrats want to reshape health care, but don’t want to deal with the problem of funding this mess.
Do you want to decrease health care costs? Here’s an idea: we need more doctors and fewer lawyers involved.

2. Energy Costs

Approach the problem of energy with a multi-faceted solution. Forget biofuels. It’s a waste of time. Instead, focus on increasing cheap energy and take away some regulation if possible. Mid to long term: work on getting energy plants up to date to create cleaner energy, but get technologies into action that can help eliminate our dependence on foreign sources for oil. Increase refineries in the meantime. Republicans could really take it to Democrats on this one. We need “straight talk” on energy. Just how many taxes are there on our gasoline? Just how much does it cost the average family? I think the problem of high fuel costs could easily be placed at the door of the Democrats. This is a big interstate commerce issue – dealing with this one would actually be one of the few things Federal government has a mandate to do.

3. Lower taxes.

Everyone thinks that more government programs are the answer to all our problems. I feel that there is a great deal of taxation without representation going on in our government. Often our lawmakers are out of touch with our needs, and vote accordingly, all the while taxing us at higher and higher rates. Taxation stagnates the economy and stunts the growth of jobs. You can tax big business, but they WILL move away and do business where they can keep profits up, and expenses down. Business isn’t the enemy; BIG government is!

4. Support the nation’s security.

A candidate might take this approach. We’re in Iraq, and this is not the ideal situation, but to protect those people from further bloodshed, it is a moral obligation for us to stay. Getting us out, could also lead to a power vacuum, which unsavory elements will quickly fill. We must do what is best for America abroad, which also means not signing treaties, especially when the other signatories refuse to keep them. A strong America is good for the world. It would be wise for us to maintain the size of our military (even if we bring some military people home), and continue to improve weaponry.
The CIA may also need a house-cleaning. We don’t need policy wonks and bureaucrats; we need people on the ground, getting important information, and that means more spies.

5. Cut government. Let the private sector fill the void.

Reading a “Wired” magazine article about private space travel versus NASA, I found their satirical NASA patch humorous. On it I believe was an upside down American flag and the words, “Big. Dumb. Slow.” This is a good description of how big government bureaucracies do things. We need to streamline. We need private innovators and less regulation. Fewer taxes will put more money in the pockets of innovators, giving them the incentive to take risks that will pay off. We also need the ability to protect the things our people invent.

6. One more pet idea: put the United Nations elsewhere. Someone else can pay for it.

What do you think?