On Monday, it was Rich Lowry at the
National Review whining because the Republicans haven't fielded their "A-team" for the 2012 presidential contest. Now, William Kristol, the legacy heir of the godfather of neo-conservatism, has
joined in:
And it is a moment, as you prepare to cast your vote, for others to reflect on whether they don’t owe it to their country to step forward. As this is no time for voters to choose fecklessly, it is no time for leaders to duck responsibility. [...]
Now is not a time for leaders to engage in clever calculations of the odds of success, or to succumb to concerns about how they will look if they enter the fray and fall short. Now is a time to come to the aid of our country.
Most of the candidates have been at one time or another in the past four months at the top of the polls, only to see their stars fall as they opened their mouths in the 13! debates or as unpleasant details from their past have hit the media by design or (cough-cough) serendipity. Unappealing? When did you first notice, Bill?
To give weight to his call, Kristol quotes from Alexander Hamilton and even that bête noire of social conservatives Tom Paine, both of whom were in their time about as direct as can be imagined. He himself beats around the bush. At least Lowry posits a name, Bobby Jindal, while acknowledging the impossibility of that possibility because the Louisiana governor has hitched himself to the fallen star of Rick Perry. But Kristol seems to believe that throwing some chum over the side will attract the shark the party so desperately needs.
If Kristol really wants somebody else, why can't he tell us who? Sarah, Jeb, Paul Ryan? Michael Ledeen? He may not want to tell primary voters how to cast their ballots, but surely he could tell us who he would vote for in the Iowa caucuses or the primaries in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Florida if he had more than the choices who will actually be available. Don't be feckless, Bill, don't duck responsibility.