Moderation

Interesting to watch the political campaign season on the Republican side as the contenders vie for the Republican nomination for the right to make their case in the next election versus President Obama. Lately, Newt Gingrich has been calling Mitt Romney a "Massachusetts Moderate" as if this is an epithet or a badge of dishonor. Even more recently, Gingrich has been calling Romney a "liberal". Words of course do have meaning and "conservative, liberal, moderate, radical,neo-con, socialist," all have different connotations and different politicians try to define themselves and their contenders with labels that they best feel help themselves as being portrayed as a "good guy" and labeling their opponents as the less desirable"bad guys".

Followers of the Buddhist philosophy learn that the Buddha advocated a lifestyle of moderation and to follow "the middle path" which means one should not try to get too attached to anything as far as personal possessions, emotions, everyday human dramas, as existence is temporary and transitory in nature. For the Buddha, moderation is a goal and an admirable attitude not a negative lifestyle.

I believe either Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich would be preferable as the next president over four more years of President Obama. The question to be answered between Ronmey and Gingrich is whether at this juncture America needs a competent turn around expert with both private sector and public sector experience or a bright "big idea" person who is supremely confident in his own abilities but has some personal "baggage" in his past.

 Personally, I think America currently needs a "fixer" like Harvey Keitel in the movie "Pulp Fiction" where his character was called in after John Travolta's character accidentally shot someone in a car and splattered blood and brains all over the back seat. Harvey's character came in, took charge of the situation, and fixed the bloody mess. Mitt Romney can come in and attempt to fix the "bloody mess" that Obama has left with the fifteen TRILLION and counting national debt and try to get the government back on a more sound financial path.

Newt Gingrich, with his grandiose ideas and visions for change would be great IF we didn't have a government that is WAY out of control and there was money available for space stations on the Moon . A space station on the Moon would be "far out" but not what we currently need. Similar to a patient in the hospital under intensive care; first you have to stabilize the vital signs before you can consider whether this patient can start training for a triathlon.

As far as being a "Massachusetts moderate", Mitt Romney has roots in Michigan and homes in New Hampshire and California. Massachusetts was the birthplace of the American revolutionary patriots who started the cause of liberty from England. Newt Gingrich has his roots in Georgia and is now a Washington D.C. insider, a "Georgia Government Guy".

Mitt Romney currently has the most "independent support" and will not be labeled as a  " neo-con far right extremist" by the Democrats to the extent that Newt Gingrich will. Yes, Mitt Romney has voted as a Democrat in his past but so did another person admired by most Republicans; Ronald Reagan. America is said to be a "center-right" country as far as the majority political philosophy. To me, Mitt Ronmey seems to have the "moderate" temperament and the business experience to fix the current bloody mess which is the federal government.