Here's a quick political exercise for you: To find the person who has the perfect political ideals, that one person whose views match yours to the utmost degree, go look in the mirror. Come back here when you're done.
Got that out of the way? Good. Now that you know where to find the perfect candidate for any given office, we can talk about other options, the less-than-perfect candidates.
If you're a card-carrying, dues-paying Libertarian (or a little-l libertarian like me), you have to understand that there is no such thing as a perfect libertarian. Well, other than that person you saw in the mirror. When it comes to promoting and defending liberty, we all have our own nuances that we put on the word "liberty" and so we all have different ideas of what a libertarian should believe in. Now, obviously, there's a limit to that. You can't think that the government should make every decision for you and still consider yourself a libertarian. But on the opposite end of the spectrum from "statist" there's still wiggle room. If you want "perfect" look in the mirror; otherwise, accept that you have to make compromises. Acceptable compromises, but compromises nonetheless.
With all that said, let me say that I consider myself the perfect Libertarian candidate for US President for the 2012 elections.
And no amount of wishful thinking will get my perfect candidate in office. So I'm not going to spend one thin dime on a "Whitmore in 2012" campaign, nor am I going to write in my name on the ballot. Instead, I will make acceptable compromises and support a candidate that I believe is the best option (not "perfect" but "best from the available choices").
Unfortunately, thanks to the de facto two-party system we're currently stuck with, no amount of wishful thinking will get a candidate for US President elected on a Libertarian ticket. Not in 2012. So I'm also not going to spend one thin dime on any presidential campaign for a Libertarian candidate, nor do I expect to select such a candidate on my ballot (although, given the electoral college and how presidents are actually selected, I might do that anyway, just to help with post-election statistics).
The "best from available choices" candidate, for someone like me (and probably you) who wants a libertarian president, seems pretty clear to me: Ron Paul. Undoubtedly, some libertarians will point out "flaws" in his views, and say Congressman Paul is "not libertarian enough." Yep, I'm sure he has his flaws. I'm sure there are things about his views that are "not libertarian enough" for you. Remember what I said about acceptable compromises? You're going to be making them anyway (unless you're running for the office yourself), so why not be realistic and make them in a way that supports a candidate who could possibly be elected?
Some people will say that no amount of wishful thinking, or campaign support, will lead us to a 2013 inauguration of President Ron Paul. I understand the odds are low, really low. But, I do not think the odds are zero, unlike a candidate who has neither "(D)" nor "(R)" after their name. Low odds can be discouraging, or they can be motivating. I can't see giving up, however, when the rest of the candidates are so unacceptable.
If you want a libertarian US President, support the Ron Paul 2012 campaign. It's really that simple.
It's up to the Republican party to make the final nomination of a candidate to represent them, and it's pretty obvious from their support of other candidates (and former President Bush when he was in office) that they're not too interested in non-statist answers to many issues. For that matter, they're not particularly interested in conservative, traditionally Republican answers to many issues. However, with enough long-term, persistent pressure, the low odds facing Ron Paul can be improved.
There's a lot of time left before the final decision is made about which Republican candidate will go up against President Obama. If you squander that time and your support on a candidate who will not get elected because they are a "better libertarian" than Ron Paul, you will throw away your chance to help improve the odds for someone who might be "less libertarian" in your eyes, but is a lot more libertarian than other Republican candidates currently campaigning.
As a side note, I sent a complimentary copy of my novel, Lesson One: Revolution!, to Congressman Paul last year, shortly after it was published. I also sent copies to some other influential people, and I mentioned the book to various other libertarian individuals and organizations. I did so, because the book presents libertarian concepts within a story that has been called "a real page turner." While the other people who received copies or information about the book did not respond, I was pleased to receive a personal note from Congressman Paul. I'm not sure if he ever got around to reading the book, but it was nice to hear back from him about it. If you would like to read Lesson One: Revolution! yourself, you can order the paperback or (for a much lower price) get it as an e-book for the Kindle. (It's also available from Barnes & Noble for the Nook.)
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