Recently, the daughter of former Republican presidential nominee John McCain wrote an editorial discouraging her fellow party members from nominating the ultra conservative Rick Perry to run for president in 2012. Meghan McCain is a contributor to The Daily Beast and considered by many to be a very moderate republican, similar to her father. Perry, who stormed into the Republican race this past August, has become a clear GOP frontrunner going into the 2012 primary elections, due largely to his extremely right wing views. In McCain’s appeal to fellow conservatives, she attempted to remind the voters that although Perry’s platform is practically opposite that of President Obama’s, most experts believe that based on Perry’s current campaign, he would stand little to no chance in a general election against the incumbent president. Victory against Obama will certainly require a plethora of moderate and independent votes, a demographic in which Perry is not favored.

I consider myself a moderate liberal. I volunteered during the 2008 presidential elections in support of President Obama; however, like many others I am not afraid to say that so far I have been disappointed by his performance in office. In saying that though, I can already guarantee you that if the 2012 ballot reads Rick Perry and Barack Obama, I will not hesitate to cast my vote for Obama. Moderates do not want to elect an ultra conservative right wing individual who supports reckless notions such as completely discarding of our nation’s current social security system and repealing many of our environmental regulatory laws. Perry has also been quoted as saying “anyone that doesn’t accept Jesus as their savior is going to hell”, a statement which will definitely not sit well with voters of any political affiliation who do not identify with Christianity.

I would have no problem voting for someone other than Obama come November of 2012, but that individual must be someone with real ideas on how to improve and progress our country. That person is not Rick Perry. As I look at the GOP candidates for office, the only person who I believe currently I would seriously consider voting for is Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Paul’s libertarian viewpoints on many issues are a refreshing change for many moderates and are also appealing to many tea party voters. Paul definitely possesses the potential to defeat Obama in 2012 due to his non-regulatory approach, in regards to both fiscal and social issues. Unlike many other conservative candidates, Ron Paul believes that the federal government should not play a role in many private issues and also supports both gay marriage and stem-cell research. Generally he believes that these more controversial issues should be handled at the state level. Regardless, if the republicans are going to unseat Obama in 2012, they will definitely need to nominate a more middle of the road candidate, not George Bush 2.0.