ROMNEY WITHDRAWS: IT'S NOT ABOUT ME (And Why I Will Stand with John McCain)

By Kathleen Cahill Banaszak

E-mail: kathybanaszak@wi.rr.com
www.kathybanaszak.blogspot.com

(Originally posted 2/4/08 and later revised for edits)

In a stunning turn of events yesterday, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney withdrew his bid for the presidency. His announcement came during an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) convention in Washington DC. Romney clearly shocked the CPAC crowd.

Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham had just given Romney a glowing introduction - some might say the introduction of his life - dubbing him “The Conservative’s Conservative”. Romney went on to give the defining speech of his yearlong presidential campaign, outlining his vision for the future of conservatism as he has not done before. Standing ovations, folks were using words like “riveting”..

A Romney love-fest unfolded before our very eyes! But sadly, it was too little too late.

In fact, Romney’s stellar performance at CPAC yesterday makes one wonder if the GOP presidential landscape might not look very different today if he had given this same speech a month earlier rather than on his way out the door just yesterday.

It also made you wonder if the conservative talk show chorus - led by Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, to name just a few - had not in fact missed a window of opportunity these past few weeks to finally unite behind “their man”. Could their united front not have conceivably stalled John McCain’s growing momentum of endorsements prior to “Super Tuesday”? I think maybe so.

Forget Ann Coulter, folks. She now falls squarely into the “Suicide Bomber” category of political pundits. (I don’t know who came up with this one yesterday, but it describes it to a tee.)

Coulter’s ludicrous pledge to vote for Hillary Clinton if McCain becomes the GOP nominee not only demonstrates her willingness to bite off her nose to spite her face, but for our girl Ann, this seems to be just another sandbox fight.

What’s striking is that Coulter again makes this all about her. Could there be a sharper contrast to Romney’s theme yesterday afternoon that “This is not about me”?

Since when are John McCain’s slights toward conservative talk show hosts (both real and imagined) supposed to be reason to “sit this one out”? Is this not presidential politics folks?

Please.

And Mike Huckabee is going nowhere fast, despite his assertion that he’s not out of it yet.

So what about Dr. James Dobson? Yes, his following is huge (I’ve been a daily listener for over 25 years myself, have been a huge admirer for the most part, and have financially supported his work from time to time.) Without question, Dr. Dobson has demonstrated tremendous clout on certain issues that both evangelicals and conservatives care deeply about. Likewise, he has the real potential to be a political “Kingmaker” under the right set of circumstances.

On this one, however, I think not.

I for one have never brought into the premise that the evangelical crowd (count me in) is a monolithic entity that will necessarily follow Dr. Dobson like a robot into the voting booth. (No, Mike Huckabee will not be getting my vote, but that’s a whole other column.)

Generally I admire what Dobson is all about, but on this one – sitting out the election if McCain is the GOP nominee - I respectfully disagree. It’s wrong-headed. And it’s not about being an Evangelical.

Like many other evangelicals I know, I voted for George W. Bush. Twice. I was also part of the now famous 72-Hour GOTV effort in Ohio for both campaigns, a Poll Observer in 2004 and part of the much maligned GOP Ohio Vote Recount that same year.

I was also born and bred on conservatism: fiscal, social and national security, the whole “three stool” package, thank you very much. (I have no claim, however, as a “Country Club” conservative then or now.)

Yes, I did and do adamantly oppose McCain Feingold which not only trampled our First Amendment free speech rights, but also just made campaign financing an even bigger mess.

And yes, I did and do remain adamantly opposed to the McCain Kennedy bill that was so forcefully slapped down. (Yes, it was definitely amnesty, McCain’s protests to the contrary notwithstanding.)

And you bet I was horrified (and angry) that McCain (and my own Ohio Senator at the time) joined the notorious “Gang of 14”. There should definitely have been a Rules change on filibustering any judicial nominee by any President. Every president’s judicial nominee should get an “up-or-down” vote on the floor of the US Senate. It’s how the system is supposed to work under our Constitution. Period.

Finally, I really do “get it” that McCain’s revised position and pledge to build the wall on the border does not give him a pass on his other position. (That is, lots of people who came in illegally in the first place are put on an immediate path to citizenship, and further rewarded with a wide array of social services and educational benefits to boot).

At this juncture, it is pretty obvious that McCain knows that the wall has got to go up. Building the wall is the only right place to start. If you don’t stop the hemorrhaging you’ll never get around to doing any reconstructive surgical repair at all.

It goes without saying that any decision to “sit out” the upcoming presidential election on the GOP side amounts to a “de facto” vote for either Clinton or Obama (or both if that’s the Democratic ticket in the end). Never mind, Ann Coulter and Dr. Dobson.

Bottom line folks, it comes down to this: What is the alternative?

I could not agree more with Mitt Romney that this next presidential election represents a pivotal crossroads. He said it best just yesterday, so take a cue from him. He notes that the “greatest challenge facing America – and facing the entire civilized world: the threat of violent, radical Jihad”.

Romney reminded us yesterday of the consequences of “sitting it out”. Barack and Hillary have both already made it clear that they will retreat and declare defeat. The consequences “will make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child’s play.”

While Romney was clear yesterday that he and Senator McCain have real disagreements, the common ground they share is much more compelling: doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, finding and executing Osama Bin Laden, and eliminating Al Qaeda and terror.” Granted that’s a big order, but at least it’s on the menu.

In the end, Romney clearly gets the bigger picture in a way that Ann Coulter simply doesn’t: “Today we are a nation at war…And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

I am old enough to remember watching Ronald Reagan deliver the keynote address to the 1976 Republican National convention right after Gerald Ford had secured his party’s nomination. After Reagan finished, virtually everyone in the convention hall wished that the guy leaving the stage was the one at the top of their ticket. But Ronald Reagan’s time was still to come.

Yesterday saw the emergence of Mitt Romney as not just another presidential dropout, but rather as a rising Statesman- not just for Conservatism, but for America.

But for now, I will most definitely stand with John McCain, our very real differences notwithstanding. (And I will not pinch my nose as some pundits have suggested.)

Without question, John McCain remains a man of integrity, principle and true courage. As for me, character still matters, especially in my president. John McCain still stands head and shoulders above anyone else in the field as a tried and true patriot.

Not to mention family values.

John McCain’s brood of seven includes a daughter adopted out of a Bangladesh orphanage where Cindy McCain had volunteered on a medical mission that she also helped organize. This was a child that Cindy McCain simply could not leave behind and so took her back home – without even her husband’s knowledge as she left for the States. When John McCain met his wife at the airport upon her return, he accepted with open arms the little orphan from Bangladesh who would become part of the McCain family, Bridget McCain.

Is this living testimony not pro-life enough for John McCain’s evangelical dissenters?

And on the paramount issue of our time, both Mitt Romney and John McCain are in complete agreement: the next President of the United States must not retreat in the face of evil extremism.

As for Romney - like Reagan before him - his time is still to come.