One of my good friends, Stephen, called me yesterday to really chew me out over supporting Rick Perry for President over Michele Bachmann.
Stephen made the very good point that Michele Bachmann is 100% Conservative and should be my choice.
I agreed with him that Texas Governor Rick Perry had made some mistakes during his ten years as the leader of Texas, but I said that overall, I felt I could trust him.
I told Stephen that leadership isn't all about policies. Sometimes you look a person in the eye and decide in your gut if you trust them. Leadership also has some qualities that can't really be defined on paper.
Sure, Michele Bachmann has the right ideologies... but that alone is not enough.
She has never been an elected executive and it is unclear how she would govern....although I feel that I could trust her.
People like Sarah Palin and Rick Perry have already had every attack in the world thrown at them. There will be no more surprises. Bachmann, on the other hand, is an unknown quantity....with a bit of an oddball husband... and that worries me.
There are only three potential candidates that I feel can mobilize a national "army" of supporters to get them elected: Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Chris Christie. None of the three are running yet, but I think Perry and Palin both will go for it in 2012.
Stephen made a good point that ideologically, I should be with Bachmann. And don't get me wrong, I do love her. But the biggest factor is... Who can beat Obama in 2012?
I am extremely confident that Rick Perry can win.
I am not so sure Michele Bachmann could do the same.
