I disagree with Hightower.

What you will find here is: a centrist's view of current events;
a collection of thoughts, arguments, and observations
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

2012 Candidates - February 2011

Here are some possible candidates for the major party nominations for president in 2012.
The numbers in parentheses are my wild guesses about the percentage chance that each of them has, at this point, of getting the nomination.
My principal reaction to each is listed afterword. If you will point out stuff to me I can improve this description over time.

Democratic
Obama (99) I would consider him.

Republican
Mitt Romney (25) I would consider him. He has a flip flop problem in some quarters. The Romney health plan in MA is similar to Obama’s national plan which some say it is therefore a contradiction for Romney to oppose Obamacare is . I think not, since a state does not have the same limitations on it that the Federal Government does – i.e. enumerated powers. (Yes, I do know that references to the Constitution are sooooo old fashioned.)
Mike Huckabee (20) - Fails the SLT*.
Sarah Palin (20) - A lightweight. Fails the SLT.
Mitch Daniels (15) - I would consider him. Very straight forward.
Tim Pawlenty (7) - I would consider him.
John Thune (5) - I might consider him
Newt Gingrich (4) - I would have considered him.
……… I do not like his position on Park 51 – not only that they should not but that Muslims do NOT even have the right to build there.
Rick Santorum (2) former PA Senator - Too far right for me. Fails the SLT.
Bobby Jindal (1) Fails the SLT.
Jim Demint (1) - Too far right for me
Haley Barbour (0) -probably self removed by his citizens council remarks.

Mike Pence – now says he is not running
Chris Christie – Says he’s not running. I would consider him.
*SLT = Scientific Literacy Test (see below)
Q.1. Do you believe in the Copernican Solar System?
Q.2. Do you believe in Evolution?
Q.3. Do you oppose teaching mythology in science class?
Desired answers: 1. Yes, 2. Yes, 3. Yes .
.

2 comments:

  1. I think Q2 should be a two-parter:

    Q2/A: Do you know what evolution is actually claiming?
    Q2/B: Do you believe evolution to have the same scientific status as e.g., gravity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My purpose in the test is to exclude the real nut case candidates. Your questions might exclude all of the candidates.

    Anyway I've got to revise the test to deal with the idiots of the left who think money grows on trees. Perhaps:
    .

    I need to revise the SLT (= Science Literacy Test) into a YAMSLT = Math Scientific Literacy Test so it can be used to check on the left as well as the right. Any suggestions for another question?

    Q.1. If the budget for program X has a built in annual bump up of 11% per year and you reduce that bump up by 3% so that the budget for program X actually grows by only 8%, then the change in the amount spent for program X is most accurately labeled as:
    a) an 8% decrease, b) a 3% decrease, c) a 24% decrease, or d) an 8% increase.

    Q.2. ?

    Q.3. Do you believe in Evolution?

    Q.4. Do you oppose teaching mythology in science class?

    ReplyDelete