First Impressions

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned from the school of hard knocks is that it is absolutely crucial not to rely on first impressions.  How many times have you been wrong about someone?

This is important to remember as one reads and hears more and more commentary, from both the left and the right, about the lack of pizazz that describes the current field of GOP presidential hopefuls.

The short answer to this criticism is, of course, "So?"  One of the great advantages of being a conservative, at least when our minds are right, is that we don't pine for saviors, political or otherwise, among men.  No "well-creased pants", no "thrills going up my leg" will convince us that this is the right guy or gal.  It's a sure sign of immaturity if it does.

I remember counseling my daughter after her very first date.  It was, she reported, a disaster.  She, like most women, teenage or not, wanted desperately for the young fellow to be like Cary Grant.  You know, handsome, self-assured, experienced, smooth, etc.  I told her that no teenage boy especially, no grown man either, not even Cary Grant himself, could ever live up to that expectation.  But, and this is important, he may well be a good guy, a great guy even, nevertheless.  (She learned the lesson, by the way, and she and that first date remain good friends.  He was, and still is, a fine young man.)

So, let's wait and see what happens, shall we?  Don't exclude anyone from the current roster for a simple gaff or two.  Aside from their all-too-obvious desire to dispirit Republicans, the media, by hyperventilating over it, will skew your judgement anyway.  Instead, think long term.  Discipline yourself to focus on the substance more than the style.  Remember that the overwhelming majority of Americans at the time never once heard Abraham Lincoln speak, and yet he was soon judged one of, if not the, most eloquent of our presidents. 

By the way, we have one other huge advantage as well:  Nothing could be worse than another term by this incumbent.