Decision 2008

Man, I'm totally not ready for it. We're already seeing a massive amount of speculation about who will run. As noted at The Captain's Quarters,

Center-right and conservative bloggers have not had any experience with a wide-open primary season. In 2000, the blogosphere hardly existed, and by 2004 we knew that George Bush would have no serious competition for his renomination. The 2008 campaign is tabula rasa for Republican bloggers, more so since we have no incumbent Vice-President vying for the nomination. As I wrote over the weekend, that situation is so unusual that it has been 80 years since the last time neither party had an incumbent President or VP in the race.

True enough. The conservatives in the blogsphere are entering uncharted territory. Much like the good Captain, I think we should all just settle down.

My advice, for those who want it, would be for bloggers to refrain from identifying with any one candidate until we get much closer to the primaries. For one thing, we have not necessarily seen all of the candidates yet. More importantly, we have not really seen their campaigning style and effort. 2007 should be considered a test for this wide-open field to make the best case and to hone their craft. Thanks to an early advent of the campaign, we have almost twelve months to consider each candidate, and we should take full advantage of that.

I will not be endorsing anyone until at least December 2007. I already know who I don't like, but am more concerned with issues than candidates. I recommend that we all take a breather, turn off the damned squawk box and enjoy life in 2007... because I predict that 2008 is going to be a hellish year for politicos.