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West Wing

Bush's Hopeless Heirs

By Gabor Steingart in Washington

The conservative age in America is coming to an end. The president is in a seriously weakened position, and the Republican candidates vying to take his place in the White House all look like minnows in comparison.

If you want to hit an American conservative where it hurts, just mention the names of the three great Republican presidents: Abraham Lincoln, the president who held America together despite the Civil War; Dwight D. Eisenhower, the World War II general who, as president, defied communism; and Ronald Reagan, the man who supposedly defeated the Soviet empire.

The men running for the Republican nomination for the most important political office in the Western world seem like political minnows by comparison. It would be no exaggeration to say that none of these men can even measure up to the current president, George W. Bush.

Not even their personal lives conform to the values they preach. With only one exception, the candidates currently leading the Republican pack have all been married more than once. The frontrunner, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, is on wife number three.

Giuliani, who seeks to market himself as being tough on terrorism, also has another problem: He has appeared in drag at a number of parties in the past, appearances that are naturally available for public viewing on the Internet. He campaigned in favor of abortion while running for New York mayor, because it was opportune in that race -- now he is seeking to reverse his stance on the issue.

Giuliani's children are very interested in politics -- just not their father's. His daughter, Caroline, 17, has said that she supports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who says derisive things about the Republicans on a daily basis. His son, Andrew, 21, has made it clear that he will not be available for joint campaign appearances with his father.

This aversion stems from their father's character deficits. Giuliani's second wife learned of their separation when he announced it at a press conference, and the children hold it against him to this day. His former political ally, legendary former New York Mayor Ed Koch, has called Giuliani a "nasty man" -- and hardly anyone seems to disagree.

Giuliani's political track record isn't nearly as impressive as members of his campaign team claim. They say that he left New York City with a budget surplus at the end of his term, but this was largely attributable to the booming years of the New Economy. After that, the city plunged into the red once again.

Giuliani's campaign also claims that he recognized and took steps to combat the dangers of radical Islamism early on. In reality, he consistently downplayed the threat, as evidenced by many statements he made in old interviews. As the mayor of all New Yorkers, Giuliani was hesitant to turn off any potential voters, and he was especially loath to foster animosity between Muslims and Christians.

The fact that Giuliani is currently the most promising of all Republican candidates says a lot about the quality of his fellow candidates. Wherever one looks, the right wing lacks even a single candidate of true presidential stature.

Giuliani's main rival, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (running under the campaign slogan: "Strong. New. Leadership.") suffers from a chronic cash flow problem, which has forced him to inject increasingly large sums of his own assets into the campaign to stay in the game. Arizona Senator John McCain, a former Bush rival and Vietnam veteran, once seen as the Republicans' shining hope, is slowly running out of steam, at least financially.

The words "No Surrender!" are emblazoned on the side of McCain's campaign bus. He is referring to the Iraq War, but the motto could almost be seen as the old warhorse's words of encouragement for himself. His thinning white hair and large belly don't exactly give voters a sense of future promise. Instead, McCain comes across as a well-fed spokesman for a retirement home who likes to speak passionately about the institution's food and its beautiful landscaping.