THE JUNGLE REPORT

Looking at the current crop of GOP candidates, I just can’t seem to get myself enthused. The question keeps popping in my mind is “Where’s the Beef?” None of the top candidates, really, look that impressive, when it comes to conservative principles. And that may be the real problem here. The party itself is in disarray.

Much of the blame goes to George W. himself. He has single handedly managed to take the party platform and cut it into pieces. In short, he has not only weakened, but in some cases, reversed the stance of the core principles that bind the party together. Now, the rest of the field is left to pick up the pieces and the electorates are trying to determine the electability of this weak field.

On key issues like illegal immigration, pork barrel spending, budget deficits, taxes, and judges, Bush has managed to anger the GOP base. On fighting terrorism, arguably, his record is not so great. I’ll explain that a little later.

Needless to say, his muddled vision has led to fracturing of the Republican party from the senate, to the house, all the way down to the grass roots. Grudgingly, I say, that as a leader, he has failed. And that failure and the mish mash of blunders has culminated in this years GOP Presidential field.

Let’s take the top candidates.

McCain is a no go. Actually he should be running from the Democrat side. Enough said. Giuliani’s record on social issues is abysmal. Anyone who turned a city into a illegal sanctuary is a non-starter. Romney looks like a flip flopper. Not knowing how many times he’s flipped and flopped, who know’s what he’ll do once elected.

That leaves the non-candidate candidate Thompson. Frankly, his record doesn’t look that impressive. Although he seems to be saying the right things now to appease the base, my feeling is that he may not be the heavyweight everyone thinks he is. It’s more of a case of wishful thinking, since no one with a good record has really emerged as a strong contender.

Part of the problem, also, is that some of the strong potential candidates got entangled in corruption and essentially caused their own stars to dim. People like Gingrich, and Tom DeLay are the prime examples here.

What this boils down to is that no matter who finally gets the nod from the GOP side, he will not be able to galvanize the electorate to the degree needed to win the general election. Although there is still some time left for a strong leader to emerge, the current field is lacking in horsepower, even before the real race starts against a Dem.