The View From Here: Introduction, pt. 2

Part 2 is a quick review of my track record of voting in the NH Primary.  One of the coolest things about being from, and living in, New Hampshire - especially if you're a political junky - is the first-in-the-nation primary.  It is ground-zero politics at its very best.  People vying to become the most powerful person on the planet have to go into little coffee shops and stand on street corners and eat rubber chicken in hotel ballrooms with average people like . . . well, me!  It don't get no better than that.

The first election I have a clear memory of was 1964.  My parents were both life-long Democrats, and Dad was very proud of the fact that his first vote was for Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  I am one of that group of people who remember where they were when they heard that President Kennedy was assassinated.  The very idea of anyone voting for Barry Goldwater in '64 was . . . just weird!  I found out later that my father-in-law's first vote was for Goldwater. 

In '68, both my parents wrote in Johnson for the primary, and voted for Humphrey in the general election.  '72 was a different kettle of fish.  I don't honestly remember who my folks backed in the primary, but they both went for Nixon in the general election . . . and I actively campaigned for McGovern.  That made for some interesting dinner conversations.

The first NH primary I ever voted in was 1976.  It was an exciting year, especially if you were a Democrat, because they could have nominated Bugs Bunny and he'd have stood a good chance against Gerald Ford.  Remember that this was the election after Watergate.  I took a long, close look at the entire field.  I really liked Frank Church and Morris Udall, but in the end went with Jimmy Carter.  You have my sincerest apologies.  It won't happen again, I promise.

By 1980 I was so disgusted with both parties that I didn't vote in the primary, and went with whoever was the Libertarian in the general election.  I don't even remember the guy's name.  Ed something, I think.  Also, I can now tell a secret I was sworn to never reveal to my father.  He was so disgusted with Carter that he voted for Reagan.  But the real secret is that my mother voted for John Anderson, the Republican who ran as a third-party candidate.

In 1984 I was living in Sacramento, California and had to watch the NH primary from afar.  I really liked Gary Hart, but agreed that he needed to quit when the whole sex scandal thing came out.  I'm sorry, scum shouldn't be President.  By the time of the California primary, it was all decided.  And, by that time, I was a Christian and was viewing things from a new perspective.  To my amazement, I found myself voting for Ronald Reagan in the general election.

By '88 I was back in NH and jumped into the primary process with a vengence.  I changed my registration from Democrat to Independent, where it has remained ever since.  I looked long and hard at the field from both parties, as there would be no incumbent on the ticket.  Believe it or not, I seriously considered voting for Jesse Jackson, but the Republican field held more fascination for me.  By this time, I was a believer in supply-side economics.

I wound up with a short list of three candidates; Pat Robertson, who most of my Christian friends wound up voting for; Pierre "Pete" DuPont, a former governor of Delaware who had some very cool ideas but couldn't get any traction; and Jack Kemp, who quite literally wrote the book on conservative economics.  I voted for Kemp, but by the general election came to really believe that the best man for the job was George H. W. Bush.  And, I think he was an excellent President.

1992 was very frustrating.  I really liked Bush as President.  Plus, after Desert Storm he looked like a shoo-in, so all the major Democrats like Mario Cuomo bowed out.  But then Pat Buchanan reared his ugly head.  I don't care, I don't like the man, never did, never will.  Everybody blames Ross Perot for the end of Bush, but I blame Buchanan.  I believe he, more than anyone else, gave us Bill Clinton.

The Republicans put out a weak field for '96 in my view.  My wife and I both wound up voting for Allen Keyes.  In my case, it was as much for the statement it made as a belief he'd make a good president.  Held my nose and voted for Bob Dole in the general election, and was pleased to also be able to finally cast a vote for Jack Kemp, even if it was for VP.  Backed Keyes again in 2000, and happily supported Bush, Jr. in the general election.  Again, as his father had, he won me over slowly as the year went by.

In '04 I missed a chance to vote in the primary for the first time in a long time, as Bush had the incumbent's chance of the nomination and no Democrat impressed me enough to jump over.  I thought 2008 was another very weak field, and I went for Rudy Giuliani.  I did vote for McCain in the general election, but more because I thought Obama would be as bad as he is than any belief that McCain would be much better.

This year, I'm still up in the air.  I'm probably 50% ready to vote for Gingrich, but may write in Herman Cain or Condi Rice at the last minute.  This is, I'm sorry, the weakest field in years.  Maybe in my lifetime.  There is absolutely nobody running that I really like.  If Romney gets the nod, I may stay home for the first time in my life.  We need a leader with a vision, and Gingrich may be the closest thing we have.  Which, to my thinking, is a damned sad state of affairs.

Then again, times like this are what makes leaders like Reagan look so good.  Let's hope there's one in training right now, gettting ready for 2020.

So now you know a lot of my history.  Boring, pointless, but don't forget where you come from.  And, if you're actually interested enough to have read this far, you might be surprised to learn that my values haven't changed a whole lot, even if my politics have.  At any rate, the introduction is over.