John Stossel‘s latest column at Human Events offers his assessments of the presidential field. After ranking each candidate (Republican Rand Paul, Libertarian Gary Johnson, and Republican Carly Fiorina top his list), Stossel offers this analysis.
OK, my list isn’t very scientific. It’s also probably unfair that I give demerits to candidates such as Huckabee, Christie and others who explicitly and cluelessly denounce libertarians.
But basically, I rank presidential candidates on how much they want to micro-manage our lives, or involve us in dubious foreign wars. Those who recognize the harm done by state control and government overreach gain points. …
… What I’d like to hear from presidential candidates is the message that liberty is good for everyone, not something that divides people. I like Marco Rubio’s speech about his parents leaving Cuba to seek opportunity in the U.S.
I want an America that trades with the world and brings the message of free markets and liberty to every subset of the population, not just angry white guys.
For a change, I’d like to see a president who’s humble, something Trump and Clinton are definitely not.
Sen. Rand Paul and ex-governor Gary Johnson lead my list because they are the only candidates who consistently talk about what I consider the most important issue: limiting the destructive power of the state.