Last night, attorney and NRO writer David French wrote a column indicating he would not become an independent candidate for President of the United States.
This wasn’t a surprising development since news of his potential candidacy went over like a lead balloon. Nevertheless, it is a shame that in the age of Donald Trump, there is little room for an honest conservative alternative.
Assuming that Bill Kristol is planning to go back to the drawing board, he will have to recruit someone that everyone knows who has stature. Putting Mitt Romney aside and Ben Sasse is simply not well known enough, apart from Condi Rice, Colin Powell and David Petraeus, the pickings are slim. I realize that Petraeus had an extramarital affair which would trigger his resignation from the CIA, but if we can overlook Trump’s infidelities while condemning Petraeus for his then there is something very wrong with this country. However, I would like to think that Petraeus is a sympathetic figure given the shabby treatment he has received at the hands of the Obama Administration. If the Obama Administration moves heaven and earth to prosecute Petraeus for mishandling of classified information while Hillary Clinton is allowed to get away with setting up a private server to handle classified information… well, something is very wrong with this country.
If Kristol and company are looking for someone who is known principally as a conservative their best bet is probably the talk radio arena. In which case, I would put Mark Levin at the top of that list where it concerns his stance against Trump.
Of course, it is probably the case that all the people I’ve mentioned have been approached before. Assuming Kristol and company aren’t content with the Johnson-Weld Libertarian ticket, they will have no choice but to approach them again.
