Conservatives have reflected great diversity of opinion and angst over whom to support as the next President.  The candidates in the Republican field each have significant strengths and weaknesses.  The winner of the Repubican nominee will face a formidable challenge from the Democrat candidate whether that individual be HIllary Clinton or Barack Obama and dealing with a public frustrated over the protracted war against terrorism, frustrations over real or perceived Bush Administration policy failures,  and economic anxieties stemming from high energy prices and serious problems with the mortgage housing industry.

When this campaign season began, I was concerned over who would be the best individual to carry the conservative banner in 2008.  Over the summer  of 2007 and beyond, I have become increasingly convinced that Mitt Romney is the person best suited to assume the presidency and promote conservative governance.

Let's start with the issue of Romney's Mormon religion.  As a Protestant Reform Calvinist, I have serious problems with aspects of Mormon theology.  We need to remember, though, that we are electing a commander-in-chief instead of a theologian-in-chief.  We also need to examine the practical and moral impact of the policies a president will advocate and implement.  I believe that the policies a President Romney will advocate  and implement are Christian friendly and sound public policy.  It is better for a political leader to advocate and implement policies which are Christian compatible (even if that individual may not be to our overall theological liking) than to have a President who proclaims they are a Christian but supports abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, and other policies antagonistic to Christian morality and good quality governance.  Consequently, I would support a secularist conservative over a liberal Christian for public office due to the overall quality of their policies and, hopefully, because their personal lifestyle reflects Christian compatible standards of integrity.

Some Conservatives have criticized Romney for his purported "flip-flops" on abortion and same sex marriage.  Why are these critics upset because Romney has joined the right side of these issues?  His experience as Massachusetts Governor with court-mandated same-sex marriage had a profound effect on him and played a critical role in his move to our side.  We would do well to remember that new converts to a cause often bring greater energy and enthusiasm to a cause than those who have been walking the walk and talking the talk for serveral years.

Romney brings excellent business experience which will prove effective in managing the federal government, cutting waste, and seeking administrative reforms.  Even though Massachusetts is a heavily Democratic state, he used his intellectual firepower to convince legislators of the need to implement reforms to rectify the state's large budget deficit when he took power in 2003.  Romney is also a good listener who can incorporate intellectually credible viewpoints from diverse sources into his policymaking.  I believe Romney is the smartest fo the Republican candidates and will be able to make a strong and compelling case for restoring conservative principles of governance after the disappointing decline of some of these principles during the Bush Administration.  I also believe he is best-suited to holding together the Republican coalition of national security, economic policy, and social policy conservatives.  Romney will also be able to more than hold his own intellectually against Clinton and Obama.

Romney earned my enthusiastic support by saying we should expand Guantanamo Bay as a site for holding terrorist detainees.   He has a realistic understanding of the long-term nature of our struggle against Islamist terror.  I also believe he has the communication skills to bluntly tell Americans this reality and to explain  the reality of the protracted nature of this struggle in a way the Bush Administration has been reluctant to.  He also recognizes the abject failure of current immigration policy and would implement tough but fair immigration policies to enhance national security, promote societal cohesion, and retain our anglocentric cultural ethos.

Romney will bring his extensive managerial and executive administrative experience as governor to managing the federal government.  He will seek to eliminate waste and duplication in federal programs which, as we conservatives know, is rampant in areas of federal policymaking such as agriculture, intelligence, social assistance programs, health care, environmental policy, statistics, and so many other areas.  His proposal to effectively eliminate taxes on savings is also something true fiscal conservatives should enthusiastically embrace.  Conservatives should strongly support policymakers who favor governments, like individuals, living within their means and saving for a rainy day.  Those who save money should be rewarded instead of penalized by the federal tax code.  I also believe Romney will seek to enhance the efficiency and fairness of the tax code by moving toward a flat rate income tax.

I also believe Romney's judicial appointments will be of individuals whose constitutional philosophies are comparable to Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas.  A President Romney will appoint judges  who interpret the law as our constitutional framers intended, not interject faddish liberal interpretations, and resist the temptation to usurp the roles of elected legislators, governors, and the President.

Rudy Giuliani would be strong on defense which is a critically important value in my estimation.  He has serious problems with his immigration policy stances.  He also has trouble working effectively with people of different viewpoints.  His liberal positions on abortion and homosexual rights are extremely disappointing and his marital track record is also appalling.  I could see him as Secretary of Homeland Security or in a prominent criminal justice position but he is not presidential material.

John McCain has a distinguished military and public service record.  However, his campaign finance legislation is a blatant infringement on our First Amendment rights and his de facto support for illegal alien amnesty cannot be pardoned.  I am also concerned over his reluctance to support coercive interrogation techniques on terrorists which is abysmally ignorant given the fact that effective interrogation of such individuals to extract timely and actionable intelligence requires using unpleasant tactics.

Mike Huckabee has an appealing  and unpretentious personality and was a reasonably effective governor.  Unlike some conservatives, I'll give him a break on state tax increases because he had to work with a Democratic legislature and because there are some instances when state governments need to raise taxes because the services carried out by some state government programs cannot be done by local governments or the private sector.  I am opposed to his national sales tax which would disproportionately hit the poor and usurp states rights to impose  sales taxes.  Do you really want to be reminded ot federal taxes everytime you buy something at the store?  I also find Huckabee's permissive stance on illegal immigration troubling and his paroling a convicted rapist who went on to murder a woman reflects seriously flawed Michael Dukakis-like judgement.  I am also strongly opposed to his apparent embrace of protectionism as a way of coping with economic uncertainty.

We need a President who supports expanding U.S. access to the global economy instead of restricting the access of U.S. businesses and consumers to this economy.  Have we not learned anything from the Smoot-Hawley tariff of the great depression?  We need to have educational programs in this country promoting the essential value of expanded free trade from elementary school thru college.  Being able to spout evangelical Christian rhetoric like Huckabee does is not enough.  Sound policies and sound conservative  intellectual and ideological principles behind those policies must be the basis of a presidential candidate's campaign.

This election is ultimately about having the intellectual substance, communication skills, and the personal character necessary to be President and to fearlessly confront the domestic and international  challenges and opportunities facing our country.  Mitt Romney has the proper historical understanding of our governing principles, professional experience, personal temperament, principled leadership, and moral character necessary, as today's  Texas A&M speech demonstrated, to represent our country on the domestic and international stages.  His communication skills give him the ability to persuasively promote conservative policies to moderates and independents.  He has the ability to intellectually demolish Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's fatally flawed visions and policies to win the general election.  I firmly believe that Mitt Romney is the man capable of providing the quality conservative leadership and vision our country needs at this time in its history and call on conservatives to support him.