Presidential Pragmatism or Principle?

Today we are a year away from what could be a momentous day for us as a country. One year from today, we will be waking up the "morning after" the 2012 election. That means the possibility of a new President and new congressional members. If the polls are any indication we are in for a tight and hard fought race. If the press is any indication, it will be a dirty and scandal driven race as well, but when has politics every been pretty or nice? So the next year should be interesting...

Looking to 2012

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Unfortunately, we have found ourselves once again in a dilemma as Catholics. We do this every four years. We look for the "perfect" candidate, only to come to the realization that no one is perfect. But we already knew that didn't we? No one is perfect. We are a fallen people, we are sinners, so why do we continually try to find and annoint someone as "perfect"? Over the last 15-20 years conservatives have been searching for the "next Reagan", and dont get me wrong I have a picture of Dutch framed, but he wasn't perfect either? So what are we doing, who exactly are we looking for?

Joshua Mercer, one of the preeminent Catholic political analysts out there, wrote today about a "Newt Temptation."

Like voting for Reagan in 1980 or McCain in 2008, I might be disappointed in the divorce, I would not consider it a deal breaker. But Newt’s second marriage to Marianne didn’t last until death do us part either. In fact, he cheated on her. And the “other woman” became Newt’s third wife.

But wait! Didn’t Newt convert to Catholicism? Doesn’t that mean that he’s performed an Act of Contrition and has been absolved of his sins? Yes, that’s very true. And Americans are a very forgiving people.

But does that mean we should promote him to be the leader of our country?

Right now we are in the middle of a national debate on what the nature of marriage is. The Republican Party’s platform calls for keeping marriage solely as a union of one man and one woman. President Obama, by stark contrast, has refused to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act and he has strongly opposed state marriage amendments.

Imagine what supporters of same-sex marriage will say if Newt Gingrich becomes the GOP nominee? “Newt Gingrich has been married three times, but he won’t let gays get married once.”

Is that fair? Maybe not. Does it matter if it’s fair? No.

His point is a good one. It dove-tails with mine, and it is that politics isn't about fair, and it isn't about what a person is today. It is about the total package. When we elect a president we are electing something more than just policy and politics. What did they say about McCain - he would be one missed heartbeat away from making Sarah Palin president. Age was a huge factor in the 2008 race for some folks, even it wasn't a deciding one, it still came into play.

So why are we looking for the perfect person, and what is close enough? Why are we treating our presidential politics like canned goods? We want the perfect can, because it makes us feel better about what's inside, don't we? Why can't we pick a president and not a pastor? Shouldn't we look at this whole thing a little more... oh I don't know, dare I say: pragmatically?

Principle and Not Pragmatism

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No.
No we shouldn't.
This is about principle. This is about picking the best person for the job. Maybe better written, this is about picking the best person, for the job.

Great minds can be great advisors, but at the end of the day I want the person pulling the trigger, pushing the button, signing their name to be someone I trust. Someone that I believe in at the end of the day, full stop. I fear that we might not have that person in this group of candidates, because I want the perfect person. Which takes us right back to the start of this conversation. How do we vote? What do we need to see in a person, to vote for them as president. Is this a lesser of two evils decision? Because those don't generally sit well with most Catholics.

Many say it doesn't matter who is in office. The only difference between one or the other is where they get their money from, and then who they give a bulk of the money to. They might be right on some account, but I do believe at the end of the day it is important who sits in the Oval Office. I really do.

So we need to realize that picking who we support for President isn't going to be easy, but that doesn't mean we should cash in and give up. That means we can't succumb to pragmatism or polemic abstention. We need to do the hard and dirty work of trying to see which puzzle piece most closely resembles the picture we have carved out as Catholics as to what our next President should look like.

Don't get me wrong. I think the list of current candidates on the Republican side give me a cause for concern. They certainly make me pause. I think this conversation would be a lot different is names like Pence, Christie, and Palin were involved. Not that those people are closer to perfect, but because we would be talking about much different issues.

But they aren't so we have to continue working to figure out who it is that can lead this country back into a place of principled belief and economic stability. It isn't solely on their backs, but they play an important part. Our society and culture are being shaped on a daily basis by political decisions. We need someone as President that leads the effort to defining aspects of those elements that are reflective of the morality that a majority of Americans espouse. That is why the office of President is important. Because even if they aren't the penultimate determinative factor, they are symbolic of the direction and efforts that our political system is heading. We need to take this country in a direction, where our values are reflective of our virtues. Where what we do as a people stands on the principles of Life, Family, and Freedom.

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