Great vs. Better: The Eternal Quest For Enough

Those of you who read this site know that
I’ve been heavily promoting Ron Paul
as a candidate for President in 2008. Until today all of my posts about him
have been positive. But alas, I am not a fanboy. I heap praise when I like
something, and I call attention when I see something that doesn’t look
right.

Well, something doesn’t look right…

He’s also of the opinion that there is serious disagreement within the
scientific community regarding global warming. I was under the impression
that the only people disagreeing at this point are in denial.

I’m not abandoning Ron Paul, but these quotes definitely make me
uncomfortable. The problem with the race quotes is that even if he has
legitimate explanations for them they will still be used against him (very
effectively) during the entire campaign. And that’s the last thing he needs
when already fighting a nearly impossible battle.

The problem with the religion quotes is that as an atheist I think a largely
secular society is the way to go, and he clearly disagrees very strongly. I
do agree with him about maintaining Christian holidays and traditions within
our country, but to me that’s not so much a religious issue as one of
national identity and cohesion.

Either way, he has weaknesses. The only question for me (and for other
potential voters) is whether those flaws are outweighed by his strengths.
And according to my current tally I’m going to say that they are.

[ It’s now January 2012 and this post is more pertinent than ever. Whether
or not he wrote the race content himself, he surely wasn’t unaware of the
sentiments coming from his newsletters for all those years. But I think this
is a much smaller issue than his views on church and state, regulation,
education, evolution, etc. Despite his flaws, however, I’ve been inclined
recently to think again that his strengths might simply be worth it. ]

::