Jethro's Wisdom, Our Folly

Now that we have looked at how the current administration stacks up to these requirements, we ought to compare the upcoming candidates, and see whether or not they measure up to the criteria laid out by Jethro. Now remember, one must meet all of these criteria. If a man does not meet one of the requirements, then he is disqualified, so with each candidate, when I reach one that disqualifies him, I will not continue examining that candidate further.
First, let's take a look at Rudy Giuliani. The first qualification is to be an able man. This is a man with competent moral power or qualifications. Does Giuliani have competent moral power? The man has been married numerous times, once to his own cousin, and has paraded down the streets of New York City dressed and acting like a transvestite. He also misappropriated funds, defended a priest who sexually molested two young girls, and supports torture.
So... Let's move on to Mitt Romney. Does Romney meet qualification number 1 of being an able man? Well, as much as is publicly known about Mr. Romney, he does seem to have this one down. So, let's look at requirement number 2, does he fear God? Well, Romney is an open and practicing Mormon. Mormon's do not believe that God is as he describes himself to be in the Bible. They deny the deity of Christ, the Trinity, and believe that God was once a man who was so good that he became a god, and that they can do likewise. By not accepting God's word, they thus make him a liar, and by claiming to be able to become equal to God, they blaspheme his name. Oh well, maybe McCain can do better.
John McCain, while married to his first wife, developed a relationship with another woman. He then abandoned his wife and children- who had stuck with him even through his time as a POW- to pursue a political career with the wealth and resources of his younger, more attractive new wife. After having 3 children by her, and adopting one, he then divorced her so that he could reconcile with his first wife. Biblically and morally, this would disqualify McCain from being a serious contender.
How about Fred Thompson then? Again, with the first qualification of being a morally able man, Thompson seems to fit the bill. The second, being a man who fears God is one that can't really be determined by viewing his public life, or by his own words. He says that he won't speak about his religion when politicking- a position which I respect. Number three is being a man of truth. While I believe that this would be a hard case to make for Thompson, that he's a man of truth, I'll even grant him this one. His 'official' position of being for the second amendment varies greatly from his voting record of various acts of legislation to ban or restrict guns. The final requirement though, is to hate covetousness. Thompson is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, a secretive group that seeks to consolidate power in the hands of the few, elite and worthy members of society, while increasing the gap between the wealthy and the middle class, and creating a one world government. This is covetousness to its extreme.
Well then, does pastor/ governor Mike Huckabee make it through the gauntlet? Huckabee, passed legislation making it more difficult for parents to home educate their children, said that the federal government needs to be bigger to 'legislate morality', set free a convicted rapist because the victim was a Clinton relative, who then went on to rape and murder another woman shortly thereafter, and tried to skirt laws that limited the size of gifts that could be made to politicians. I think the gauntlet has become too much for Mr. Huckabee.
So how about Ron Paul, how does he stack up? Paul is morally competent and able, having been married to the same woman for fifty years, raised his children to be productive without federal funds, and having a twenty year consistent voting record. He fears God as evidenced by his strict stance for upholding the oath he swore to God to uphold and defend the Constitution. Those who fear men rather than God think nothing of violating that oath. Something, by the way, that all of the above mentioned men have violated. Paul is a man of truth as, again, can be evidenced by his principled stand on every issue he has ever spoken or written about. His position never changes based upon what is politically expedient, but is always consistent. And, finally, Paul is the only one who hates covetousness. He desires LESS power rather than more, he uses LESS money than the federal government gives him for his job, he refuses to accept taxpayer money for his retirement, he worked for free oftentimes as a doctor to help those in need. In every one of these biblical qualifications, Ron Paul shines! And he is the only one who does so.
In the future, I will examine other biblical texts which talk about leaders and their qualifications and see how Ron Paul stands up to them.