Choosing candidates

Jerry Pournelle has some observations about the process of choosing presidential candidates that are typically Pournelle: thoughtful, infused with some wisdom (not just "smarts") and mostly on-target, IMO. While I disagree with him as to his characterization of Bush for my own reasons (while mostly agreeing—with a few differences—with him about the Iraq War), his observations about the process and its implications for the Republic (as opposed simply to any single political party) are serious and worth some discussion.