A war president in the making?

Regular members of Joshua's army have heard me mention Congressman Duncan Hunter(R-CA), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee before. Most recently, he called for CNN's imbedded reporters to be booted out of Iraq because of CNN's airing of an undated jihad snuff video they got from Islamic terrorists showing our troops being shot by snipers as `news'.

Famously, he asked CNN's Wolf Blitzer `Does CNN want us to win this thing?' without getting a clear answer.

Hunter, of course has a proprietary interest - his son is deployed in Iraq as a marine.

Other issues Hunter has surfaced on include illegal immigration - he was a key force in pushing President Bush to sign the bill authorizing the new border fence - and his outspoken opposition to the Dubai Ports deal.

Today, in a surprise move, he announced his intention to run for president in 2008.

Hunter is something of a maverick among Republicans, a fairly staunch, pro victory conservative. He's a decorated Vietnam Marine, who's made his mark in Congress by advocating for a strong military and border security.

Interestingly, in an era of globalists, he's a `fair trader' rather than a free trader, who voted against GATT and NAFTA.

Hunter, 58, is a formera former San Diego trial lawyer and a Reagan conservative. He told supporters that he would make "a strong national defense" a hallmark of his candidacy.

"This is going to be a long road,'' he said. ``It's going to be a challenging road. There's lots of rough and tumble. But I think it's the right thing to do for our country."

Pundits point out that he while he's well known in Congress, he has little name value outside of it.

But given how events might shape up in the next two years, Congressman Hunter bears watching. The qualities of leadership and outspoken courage he's exibited in the past are in short supply. A crusty, no nonsense ex-Marine might just prove very attractive to American voters in the future as part of the `08 Republican ticket.