The Perfect President

No more debate watching for me. I've seen and heard all I need from the two candidates, and as you probably can tell from prior blogs, there's no way I'm voting for Kerry.

That's not to say I'm a great lover of W. I kind of like him, or at least his down-to-earth and no-nonsense persona. But I've got some serious issues with some of the things he's done.

So, here's the profile of what I think is the perfect president:

• Pro-Life, but realistic enough to know he'll be hated if he's too aggressive about reversing Roe v. Wade. How about a pres who asks the American people to join with him in encouraging alternatives to abortion and removing all the reasons women seek them to make it irrelevant?
• Resolute and tough in the war on terror.
• Solving the Illegal Immigration problem. It's not just a problem of poor immigrants streaming over the Mexican border, but is also part of the war on terror to keep criminals and terrorists from sneaking into the country and creating havoc. He must stop the unholy alliance between businesses who rely on the government to look the other way while they hire illegals at low wages, and Democrats, who have traditionally pandered to the illegal immigrants by offering them amnesty in return for their votes.
• Committed to appointing real judges who interpret law instead of trying to make it up on their own.
• Friendly to business and free trade, but in a balanced way that does not cater to the corporate world or the workers. Trade that's free but fair, labor rules that protect workers from harmful corporate practices and permit unions, but not to the point that it hurts our ability to compete in the global marketplace.
• Committed to Education at all levels, making sure kids get the best education possible even in poor and troubled districts, and helping make college more affordable and reducing massive student loan debts.
• Getting real Tax Reform done, removing pork-barrel and wasteful spending, simplifying the tax code, and making sure nobody's exempt from paying taxes just because they contributed to the right candidates.
• Finding real solutions to Health Care problems, again with a balanced approach that is focused on reducing costs and increasing accessibility without favoring any one constituency over another (Doctors, Hospitals, Lawyers, Patients, Insurers, Drug Companies, Government Bureaucracy)
• A friend of Religious institutions, working to stop the secularists from removing all references to God from the public square. People have the right to believe what they choose and tell others about their beliefs, but it's not right that some wish to silence them because they are "offended" by their speech.
• Fiscally Responsible, refusing to sign any spending legislation until all the pork is cut, priorities are taken care of, stupid programs are discontinued, and income at least equals (if not exceeds) spending.
• Committed to a gradual conversion of Social Security to become actually what it was created to be; a retirement and disability insurance program. Let American workers actually fund their own Social Security account, allowing investments in income-producing instruments and insurance in their own accounts which become available to them and their families upon retirement, death, or disability.
• A Sensible Foreign Policy that helps countries who need it in return for their alliance and friendship, leads the world in rewarding countries who value freedom and human rights while sanctioning those who do not, and continues to engage the world in initiatives for peace and stamping out disease, famine, and civil strife.

OK, tell me I'm dreaming. But is it really so hard to get leadership in this country that actually will work to implement these common-sense policies and protect our values and freedoms?