We need better options

Herman Cain is staying in the race despite another woman coming forward to accuse him of being a hound dog.  Apparently this is the straw that breaks the camel's back for several supporters, including crucial people in Iowa and New Hampshire.

I'm disappointed.  I was beginning to like Cain. He's a real person, not a career politician.  He's held jobs and led companies.  If anyone could look at the balance sheet in Washington and take to it with an Exacto knife, it was him.

But even if I can look past personal foibles and vote for him, I may not get the chance, or it might not matter.  Cain has probably been mortally wounded, either by his own inability to keep his zipper up, or by personal attacks from his opponents, or both. 

So who's left? 

First we have Rick Perry, who I'm more and more convinced is an empty suit.  No, it's not because he vapor locked and couldn't remember all of the government agencies he would cut.  I have the memory of a frog, so I'll forgive someone else for the same malady.  He just reminds me of the executive that reads the first few pages of a report then moves on.  He can recognize the subject, but doesn't have a lot of depth of knowledge.

Michelle Bachmann?  Yeah, not gonna happen.  I like her Tea Party leanings, but she has begun using the crisis of the day as a campaign topic.  Her raving about Gardasyl causing retardation, even after being told the facts, just put me off.

Romney?  I think I've made my opinion of him quite clear, so I won't bore you with a repetition.

Gingrich?  Sorry, but I lived through the 1990's and I remember just how screwed up the government was when he was 3rd in line for the presidency.  Love his books, would love to take a history class he's teaching, but not convinced he ought to be president.

I have to admit that I like Ron Paul, if for no other reason than that he knows what he believes, is honest about it, and doesn't change because of the political winds.  Problem is, even if I agree with a lot of what he says, what I don't agree with is too far out of my comfort zone.

I heard an interview with John Huntsman the other day, and to be honest, I was impressed.  He's a conservative, he seems honest, and he's consistent from one week to the next.  The problem is that most people don't know he's running.  If he's going to have a shot at the candidacy, he needs to get out and start getting people to notice him.

As for the rest, I don't really give them much thought, which I guess speaks for itself.

Here are the traits I'm looking for.  A candidate doesn't have to have all of them, but they ought to be have most of them.

• Fiscal conservative, to the point of being willing to hold a budget bloodbath to bring spending down.
• Veteran. If the president is going to be dealing with a war, I'd prefer that he or she at least have some personal experience to draw from.
• Not a lifelong politician.  I don't think your first elected position should be the presidency, but if you've spent most of your adult life running for office, you're going to have a hard time knowing what your decisions do to the rest of us who work and pay your salary.
• Squeaky clean personal life, or the ability to be open and honest about your failings.  Hey, I'm as human as the next guy, and everyone's got a skeleton or two in their closet.  But if you're a serial adulterer, or you have a problem with alcohol, you need to be honest about it.  Having a problem isn't necessarily a problem, but lying about it is a game stopper.
• Be consistent in your core beliefs, and actually have something we can look at to figure out what they are.  If you change your mind as often as you do your socks, move along.  And I'm not going to support a blank slate like we got in 2008.  Obama got elected because no-one knew what he stood for.  He got that way because he told everyone what they wanted to hear, and everyone projected their own values on him.  I'm not going down that road again.

That's it.  Honestly, it doesn't sound like too much.  If someone can satisfy 4 out of 5, he or she will probably get my vote.  Be able to know what your decisions are doing to those that are impacted by them, be careful with my money and the money my children and grandchildren will earn, don't lie to me about scandalous behavior, and don't change your mind because you think it'll help you get elected.

If anyone knows of such a person, please speak up.  We desperately need this person to run, because the current slate isn't impressing me.