Posted by
Darrick Johnson on Thursday, January 24, 2008 10:04:15 AM
Well, the vaunted Backspin endorsement wasn't enough to keep Fred alive in South Carolina. Fred's withdrawal from the race is a big loss. No candidate articulated conservative principles better than Fred. 2008 is going to be a tough year, when we need a good salesman for conservative ideas, not just a slick campaigner. Fred was, as many have said, "a depth guy". The debates will be poorer without him.
Not only is it disheartening that Fred lost, its disheartening why he lost. He lost because he "didn't want it enough". It is refreshing, positive, to have a candidate who wants to be President, but isn't a narcissist who has devoted every waking moment of his adult life to becoming President. Fred was willing to campaign for president, but he wasn't willing to do absolutely anything to win. We need more guys like that.
Fred lost because he's not flashy. He doesn't give a good soundbite, but if you can spare 90 seconds, he can layout some pretty deep, principled, and wise policies. We as Americans, and Republicans in particular need to take a hard look at our process for choosing a president. If principled depth is always doomed when faced with shallow soundbites, it will keep the best leaders out of office. How we fix that, I don't know, but admitting the problem is the first step.