It should be noted that the survey polls your presidential candidate "preferences" based on a list of specific issues. Your results are compared with the in flux field of 25. It did not include those lingering in the wings (like former Sen. Fred Thompson who probably would be my ideal candidate if or when he gets in the race).

Story Continues Below

Mark Alexander wrote in the Patriot Post, "if conservatives and the rest of the Republican electorate want to line up behind the most capable, qualified and electable candidate in the '08 presidential race, a man who can carry the Reagan mantle and draw an enormous crossover vote (as President Reagan did in 1980 and 1984), then call out Fred Thompson." I agree with Alexander. http://patriotpost.us/alexander/edition.asp?id=524

Meanwhile, I know . . . any and all speculation of November 2008 is way premature articulation. However, the above referenced survey it is good exercise to see how a statistical analysis of specific preferences translates to individual candidates.

I was surprised that the only candidate meeting 100 percent of my druthers was Rep. Tom Tancredo. I would have viscerally assumed Rep. Ron Paul (No. 7 on my list) would have led the pack. I was also surprised to see Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich landing at Nos. 5 and 6 on my list. Sen. John McCain (who I consider too intemperate, mean, and quick to anger) made my top 10.

I often say it is not a question of who is right or wrong but what is right or wrong that matters. If I were to take my own counsel, my top five candidates would be Tancredo. Brownback, Huckabee, Hunter, and Rudy.

However, there are mitigating elements that would and should impact on an ideal candidate. First, off is the reality check that my personal druthers are not in consonance with most Americans. The cruel, unfortunate reality is that before a Tom Tancredo or Ron Paul could be embraced by a plurality of the electorate, we have some significant systemic corrections to implement.

Even Ronald Reagan wasn't perfect . . . more consistent than most, as good as the best and better than the rest . . . but not perfect. His illegal alien amnesty was only overshadowed by Rex 84 for epic brain flatulence. The sad state of the republic is a direct function of past successes of the 60s cabal of the left-wing conspiracy. They have successfully chipped away at the core foundation the framers gifted us with and been helped by a complicit main stream media that has conditioned the American public to accept the unacceptable.

We cannot and will not correct those past sins with the flick of a light switch or with electing a Tom Tancredo.

Likewise, we cannot correct past errors by embracing a Mitt Romney RINO who is more focused on accommodation than principle.

The only candidate I think has the capacity of resurrecting the Ronald Reagan legacy isn't even in the race . . . yet. Fred Thompson could/should be the man for a variety of reasons.

Virtually the entire field of front running wannabes personifies form over substance. Those candidates rock solid on the substance side have already been successfully marginalized by their own team and will get buried in the primary.

All the most talked about prospects have changed positions, support positions anathema to their base or are overtly disingenuous, duplicitous, and dependent on the latest focus group analysis to establish their positions. Many lack the necessary charismatic spark that unfortunately is a necessary requisite for a contemporary presidential candidate. Character, experience and integrity are too often lacking in most of the current field. Oh, there are characters . . . and many have "experience" (not necessarily experience you would want in the future leader of the free world). And how about someone who says what he means and means what he says…consistently, regardless of special interest or lobbying pressures?

Alexander says, "Fred Thompson is the right man at the right time." Unfortunately for the republic, he isn't a candidate . . . yet. General Charles Krulak, former Commandant of the Marine Corps delivered a great speech seven years ago (www.geoffmetcalf.com/krulak_20001019.html) about integrity. Samuel Johnson once observed, "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." The Book of Proverbs (PR 11:3) says, "The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them." We now have a whole bunch of "transgressors" and are still waiting for the "upright."

Editor's note:
The Clinton Crack-Up Has Arrived — FREE Offer
You Can Profit from Globalism and Technology Advances - click here now!
Hold the Toothpaste – Fluoride Is Toxic – Click Here Now

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2008 Presidential Race