An interesting project by a guy who calls himself POW in CA, and obviously has tremendous military experience himself. He creates a spreadsheet showing values for experience.

Republicans tout McCain’s military credentials. Does this matter? Well, apparently is has mattered quite a bit in history:

- 27 of our 42 presidents (64%) have served in the military.
- 21 of those have served in combat.
- 12 of our presidents were Generals.
- 7 or more of our presidents served with extraordinary bravery in combat.

I put together an experience spreadsheet containing all 42 of the people who have served as president, plus McCain, Palin, Biden, Obama, and Hillary Clinton. The spreadsheet shows the number of years each person served in each capacity from county assessor all the way up to vice president. I included time served in the military, which I think is relevant leadership experience

He assigned values to different life experiences and of course John McCain scores highly, second actually to President John Q. Adams. With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton scoring very low.

In preparation for Super Tuesday (Feb. 5th) Hoosier Access is highlighting the merits of the four Republican Presidential candidates still left in the field. Will Tuesday decide who our nominee will be?

Poster’s Note: I welcome my friend, fellow Hoosier, and Libertarian Candidate for Congress in the 7th CD Sean Shepard, to Hoosier Access to write on the merits of Republican Presidential candidate, Ron Paul.

THE CASE FOR RON PAUL

As I was growing up in Indiana, I somehow came to the belief that the Republican Party was the party of small government, low taxes, personal responsibility and strong national defense. I grew up with Ronald Reagan in the White House and, despite my somewhat more libertarian political views in various areas, view him as one of my most beloved heroes. Our country misses him greatly and boy, have we been disappointed by our leaders ever since.

Not very many people know, however, that Ron Paul led the Republican delegation that supported Ronald Reagan over Gerald Ford 1976. And although the outcome wasn’t what he hoped, he was four years ahead of everyone else and as correct then as he is now in so many areas.

TERRORISM AND IRAQ

Since the early 1950s especially, our country’s government has interfered in the affairs of numerous nations, but most egregiously those in the Middle East. We have allied ourselves with dictators, overthrown governments, supported wars between nations and often switched sides without regard to promises that were made.

One of the three reasons given for the attacks of 9/11 was our military presence in Saudi Arabia. Even Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia had his $10 million contribution to New York City declined by then mayor Rudy Giuliani because the prince, no friend to Osama Bin Laden, suggested that America needed to change its foreign policy. Justified or not, our military presence in Saudi Arabia has fueled hatred of the American government throughout the region.

Yes, we should have responded in Afghanistan, and Dr. Paul voted to support that. But our invasion of Iraq was ill advised at best. It was obvious at the time that Saddam Hussein could not let weapons inspectors prove he was a toothless dictator. Hussein feared invasion by Iran or an uprising by his own people. Now we will have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in that country, further aggravated those who dislike us and furthered the recruiting effort against us.

(Read more of Sean’s post below the fold)

In preparation for Super Tuesday (Feb. 5th) Hoosier Access is highlighting the merits of the four Republican Presidential candidates still left in the field. Will Tuesday decide who our nominee will be?

The Case for John McCain

Let me begin this post by saying straight up that John McCain was not my first pick to be the Republican nominee for president. What a ringing endorsement, right? In fact, at this time last year (when the field was basically Giuliani, Romney, and McCain) he was probably my least favorite candidate.

By the time the whole immigration thing was going down, I was definitively ABM: Anybody But McCain. I didn’t really take to any of the others, though I have always liked Hunter (who I felt never had a chance, unfortunately), Brownback (ditto), and Giuliani. I have never cared for Romney, but this is a column for someone and not against someone, so I won’t go there.

As late as the Governor’s State of the State address, I was asked who I favored in the presidential race, and McCain still wasn’t among them.

Rudy has always been near the top of my list, though he has at times been supplanted by Fred Thompson (who failed to impress and was a big snooze) and even Mike Huckabee (until it became clear that the Democrats were going to have an easy time of painting him as a radical theocrat, a campaign that would probably see the GOP lose forty states). Suffice to say Rudy was a deeply flawed candidate, and his campaign was deeply flawed too.

The Perfect Candidate?

Rudy Giuliani was by no means perfect. None of the candidates are. I will tell you straight up that John McCain is not a perfect candidate. In my experience, there is no such thing as a perfect candidate. If someone looks like the perfect candidate, then they are either lying to you, or you are in for one heck of an unpleasant surprise at some point down the road.

Heaven knows George W. Bush wasn’t perfect, and neither was Ronald Reagan.

Imagine the conversations today about the heretical notion of conservatives in the Republican Party rallying behind a governor that had signed a law legalizing abortion in his state, spoke of complete and total nuclear disarmament, signed into law a sweeping immigration amnesty bill, approved a giant tax increase, and signed the most sweeping arms reduction treaties in history. Sounds like a Democrat, right?

[Read more below the fold]

In preparation for Super Tuesday (Feb. 5th) Hoosier Access is highlighting the merits of the four Republican Presidential candidates still left in the field.  Will Tuesday decide who our nominee will be?

Why I am supporting Mike Huckabee

By: Brian Sikma

I have already alluded to my views regarding Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee both on this blog and in numbers of private discussions. In the interest of full disclosure, I spent one day working as an unpaid grassroots staffer for the Huckabee campaign as they conducted their ballot access effort in Indiana. I am fully and enthusiastically endorsing Governor Mike Huckabee to be the next President of the United States.

Issues

Mike Huckabee is a balanced budget fiscal conservative. As governor of Arkansas he worked with an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature to bring about positive change for the citizens of his state. Some have charged that he was a tax-and-spender who gave little thought to cutting taxes. They fail to point out that when Mike Huckabee left office the state was not burdened with a deficit and that Gov. Huckabee worked to cut taxes dozens of times.

Governor Huckabee is qualified to be the nation’s CEO after having spent more time as a state executive than any other presidential contender, both Republican and Democratic. With the prospects of Republican control of both chambers of Congress uncertain, it is vitally important that Republicans put forward a chief executive who understands how to handle a hostile legislature.

On national security and foreign policy, Mike Huckabee has demonstrated that he is willing and ready to continue to prosecute the war on Islamic terrorists. His statements, some of which have been maligned, are not that radical. He believes in working with our allies, even when those allies may be strange bedfellows, and accomplishing the overall mission of protecting America and keeping her citizens safe.

On taxes, Governor Huckabee has signed a no new taxes pledge. His support of the Fair Tax indicates that he is willing to push hard for great reform efforts that will empower the American people and reduce the inequities of our current system. As a Governor he cut taxes and as President he will do the same.

Mike Huckabee, unlike other candidates, does not have to explain away past statements about where he stands on the pro-life issue. In his mind, the issue has always been fairly simple and yet very profound: life begins at conception, we are created in our Creator’s image, and no one among us has the right to deny anyone, not even an unborn child, their unalienable rights. A society that rejects the notion that rights are absolute and that all life is precious is a society that has reasoned away its foundation for freedom.

[Read more below the fold]

 In preparation for Super Tuesday (Feb. 5th) Hoosier Access is highlighting the merits of the four Republican Presidential candidates still left in the field.  Will Tuesday decide who our nominee will be?

Poster’s Note: I welcome my friend and fellow Hoosier, Daniel Herbster, to the pages screen of Hoosier Access.  I believe that you will find the following article both thoughtful and informative.-Brian Sikma

Why Do I Support Mitt Romney?

By: Daniel Herbster

Why do I support Mitt Romney for president? That is a question I have often been asked with varying degrees of disgust, shock, and befuddlement. Since I’ve never been one to be shy with my political opinions I would be happy to elaborate.

The short answer is that I’m convinced Mitt Romney is the best overall package of what the Republican Party and the nation as a whole needs at this critical point in our history. I believe, of all the candidates of either party, Gov. Romney is the most qualified, the most conservative on the broadest range of important issues, the most intelligent, the most upstanding in personal character and integrity, is the least tainted by scandal or ethical impropriety, has the best leadership and managerial skills, has the widest range of professional experience, and has the most dignified and presidential personal deportment.

I have been a strong supporter of Gov. Romney for almost a year. I had begun an extensive examination of the candidates as part of my recent work in Washington, DC and quickly came to prefer the governor to the other options. I compared the major candidates’ current positions, past statements, temperament, experience, and character; and while Romney has had his share of mistakes and has given some cause for concern, the preponderance of evidence only solidified my respect and admiration for him.

I was of course impressed by his intelligence, articulateness, and dignified bearing, and also by his achievements in the private sector and as governor of Massachusetts. But the primary reason for my avid support is his strong, conservative, and well-thought out positions on virtually all the issues I care about. My conviction that Mitt Romney is the best choice for the presidency has only grown since.

To fully explain my decision I’d like to touch on his strong policy positions, summarize his experience and record, address some common objections to Gov. Romney, and then conclude by speculating about what kind of president Romney would make. I hope my simple thoughts recorded here will cause my fellow Hoosiers (and fellow Americans) to reconsider Gov. Romney, and hopefully come to agree with me that he would make an excellent president and that he represents the best hope for the broad-based conservative movement.

Policy Positions

I still believe in the “Reagan Coalition” and so does Mitt Romney. He understands that the “three legged stool” of social, economic, and defense conservatism is not just good politics, but more importantly good policy. I have long been disheartened by the frequent conflict and mistrust between the different segments of our coalition. So Romney’s credible emphasis of the three great pillars of conservatism was music to my ears.

[Read more below the fold]