What I Want from the President

I am far more comfortable than many of my like-minded conservative friends are with a President who is less than perfect ideologically. Reagan was the last President who I think had a coherent political philosophy, yet he was not the last President who did some good things (Bush Sr. gave us Clarence Thomas, Clinton passed NAFTA and welfare reform and capital gain tax reduction, Bush Jr. gave us Roberts and Alito and passed marginal income tax and investment tax reduction, etc.). The ultimate changes I want for this country are not coming in November of 2012, but a President can be elected who is flawed from head to toe, and yet manages to do (or not do) a few things that I think will improve the national situation. So here is my list of what I want from my President. You should note that missing from the list (purposely) are the grandiose things that purists constantly "demand", yet can not possibly be produced by any President.- Cut taxes, meaning, push meaningful tax reduction legislation through Congress- Appoint Supreme Court justices who will follow the Constitution- Maintain a robust American military defense, and implement a philosophy of foreign policy that does not assume moral neutrality in those who hate us and want to kill us- Pursue, implement, and support free trade policies and practices- Set a national tone for the country in rhetoric and demeanor that doesn't demean American exceptionalism and values- Give an annual state of the union speech where promises are not made to college students that IF they work for the government instead of a for-profit business, the taxpayers will forgive their student debt- Avoid press conferences called for the purpose of hating on rich and productive people- Veto some bills if need be- Appoint cabinet heads and confidants that share a concern for American safety from foreign threatsSo, this seems like a pretty benign list to me. And it is do-able from all but one of the current candidates in the GOP field. No, I don't think Mitt or Newt will rid America of her atrocious public education system, and or cause every man, woman, and child to fall in love with federalism. But I do believe that the needle can be moved in the next four years if these basic agenda items come to fruition. To ask for a lot more from a President at this point in time strikes me as, well, statist. I thought my fellow fans of limited government opposed statism?