English as (if it were) a second language

The conservative faithful have suffered long enough. Every four years, the Republican Party nominates a guy who--in retail settings, anyway, and in debates--can't make a powerful case for his beliefs because he has limited facility with the spoken word. This was true of John McCain, George W. Bush, Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, and even the sainted Ronald Reagan.

Every four years, then, I find myself staring at my television set, shaking my head in disbelief, and saying, "God DAMN IT! Just say THIS, you ****ing moron! It's not that hard." Because they have not mastered the basic skill of turning thought into speech, these guys end up making themselves look stupid, making conservatives and conservatism look stupid, and making their opponents look smarter than they are.

No more. Not if I have anything to say about it, anyway.*

This means no Rick Perry. I'm voting for Mitt Romney.

Romney doesn't excite me AT ALL, but I cannot stand another election cycle in which my candidate is unable to construct logical, euphonious sentences and weave them into fully-formed paragraphs that constitute cogent nuggets of thought.

That makes things pretty simple--Mitt speaks the language fluidly and forcefully, and Perry does not. Because Mitt is the only first tier candidate who'll be able to hold the stage with a glib President Obama, he is going to get my vote. 

*which I don't, but let a man dream...

Footnote: It's worth noting that a handful of other factors come into play on the debate stage--preparation, ability to think quickly, demeanor, etc. But if you have a facility with words, you can fake your way through the rest. If, on the other hand, you speak the language poorly and/or haltingly, it doesn't matter how well prepared or quick-thinking you are; you will not come off well.

Comments

[VoxAZ]

For another perspective on that thought: http://is.gd/tzVDFK

[VoxAZ]

The previous comment should have had a smile in it, much like this one

:-)

[Special Agent Johnny Utah]

Yes, there's a seeming contradiction there, but there are really two different points.

One point is, "Hey, just cuz a guy can't speak doesn't mean he can't govern; and just cuz a guy is glib doesn't mean he CAN govern."

The other point is, "I can't stand to watch any more tongue-tied GOP candidates; it's too frustrating."