The Pendragon's Hall

As much as the Pendragon has growing respect for Mitt Romney and likes the momentum his campaign is gaining, the 2008 election has me profoundly depressed. Even if Romney wins the nomination, will conservative Christians have the same sense they did in 1980 when they picked the issues over theology in a president and voted for Reagan instead of Carter? It seems unlikely. No, they'll stay home or skive off to support third-party candidates that claim to be Christian. Or, which is more likely, they'll scuttle his quest for the nomination either by supporting no-chance candidates like Sam Brownback or choosing to back someone like Giuliani who claims to be Catholic but whose faith does not inform his decision-making. Even the Pendragon remains uncertain of my course should Giuliani be nominated. Hillary of course would immediately unite the Republican Party and any right-leaning independents behind her opponent, whoever he would be. But what if John Edwards or Barack Obama were to run against Giuliani or McCain? The only basic difference between these candidates is the letter that would appear after their name on the ballot. Would the Pendragon vote Democrat? I am not willing to entirely rule it out. Or would I dare to split for a more conservative third-party candidate, knowing I could be helping to elect a Democrat? Well, I did that in 2002 for the governor's race--voting for an independent over so-called Republican George Pataki. All in all, the candidates assembled for next year's election are a rather lackluster group divided between the unthinkable (Hillary), the unworkable (Brownback, Obama), the stupid (Edwards), and the just plain blah (Giuliani, McCain). This is the reason above all for my endorsement of Romney--electability (if the Christians insist on substance rather than name) wedded to unimpeachable conservative credentials. Plus, of course, it is a way for Republicans to note themselves as the first party to nominate someone not claiming to belong to any Christian denomination without sacrificing their position on the issues. Will voters be smart enough to seize the day? Probably not.