Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Jon Huntsman for president

Let’s get one thing straight right now: Jon Huntsman hasn’t merely invited a comparison to Ronald Reagan, he has demanded it.

By launching his presidential campaign today in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty at Liberty State Park, in Jersey City, New Jersey — the very same spot from which Reagan himself launched his historic general election campaign of 1980 — Huntsman has wasted no time with subtlety. He has forced the political world to consider whether or not he is a worthy successor to the Gipper.

Okay, Jon, here it is, right between the eyes: You are no Ronald Reagan.

Even Reagan said that without his ideas and philosophy, he would be just another former actor.

And Reagan certainly wouldn’t have arranged a photo-op with and publicly praised Henry Kissinger just days before announcing his candidacy. In fact, a large part of Reagan’s 1976 campaign for president was spent smacking Kissinger and his policies as hard as he could. And the 1980 campaign was based on a complete refutation of Kissinger’s policy of détente.

Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have released a vapid advertisement featuring himself on a popcorn popper motorcycle. Reagan preferred to evoke the imagery of the West the old-fashioned, manly way — with a horse.

The mere fact that some in the elite have wet their pants with excitement about these commercials should speak volumes.

And Reagan never gave a speech without content, as Huntsman did at Liberty State Park.

Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have begun a campaign for president without a team of trusted conservative advisers who had been with him since his earliest campaigns. He knew that “personnel is policy,” and from the very beginning, he travelled in the company of serious conservatives.

Ronald Reagan did not launch his campaigns trying to get favorable press for his “Mr. Nice Guy” approach to campaigns. To the Great Communicator, the purpose of a speech was to communicate great ideas. Consider his Labor Day 1980 speech at Liberty State Park, where he threw uppercut after uppercut at Jimmy Carter. Some fiction writers of the national media seem to have forgotten that Reagan was a rough customer who knew how to throw elbows when necessary.

Marty Anderson, Reagan’s old policy advisor, said the Gipper was “warmly ruthless.” How succinct and how true.

Most importantly, Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have based his campaign on his personality. He knew the American people deserved better than that. Instead, he based his campaigns on the values and virtues of his conservative philosophy — values and virtues he knew he shared with the American people.

Read more:http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/21/jon-huntsman-is-no-ronald-reagan/#ixzz1PzdcPx8l

No comments:

Post a Comment