You have to wonder

Michael Novak at the Intersection of Passion of the Christ Street & Bomb Iraq Avenue discusses his preferred Papal Candidates:

I think swiftly of several men I would enthusiastically support as our next Pope, men that I have met over the years: the young Cardinal Scola of Venice, Cardinal Schoenborn of Vienna (architect of the new Catechism, specialist in Islamic-Christian relations, wise and brilliant), Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria (wise, conservative, great sense of humor and vivacity, steady and solid), for instance.

Then there are three whom those I respect praise a great deal: Cardinals Bergoglio of Argentina (takes public transportation around Buenes Aires to attend to his duties), and Diaz of India (uncommonly thoughtful, and steeped in the special place of Jesus Christ among the world religions). Maybe most impressive of all is the strong executive, Camillo Ruini, favored by Pope John Paul II as his vicar actually to run the diocese of Rome, in which vocations are up, as is mass attendance. Ruini ran the Italian Bishops Conference during the Iraq period, and called attention to human rights abuses in Iraq and the just causes behind Italy's modest military support for the Coalition that ousted Saddam Hussein's brutal regime. For this, he won the gratitude of the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq, who also came personally to thank Ambassador James Nicholson, the US ambassador to the Vatican, for saving his people, one of the oldest of all Christian communities, and in danger of extinction. If the bishops are looking for real leadership--a doer, and a very smart and pastoral one--Ruini may be their man. John Paul II thought a lot of him.

I have heard others put Cardinal Pell of Australia on the list, and he's a great candidate, too, in my book, another doer and good thinker, tall and straight and candid. Australia is in the South, after all. (Unless by "South" people don't really mean geography... Japan is in the South, too.)

One wonders what Mr. Novak would think of the following individual:

"Okay, first off he's a little too Jewish. Second, sure he has ample construction experience, but little to none in the proper dogma. His knowledge of the curia is limited. He also has made prominant pronouncements supporting the duty of individuals to pay taxes to the state, while at the same time condemned the prominant capitalist practice of interest on capital. Further, he has been remarkably silent on important issues such as birth control, abortion, and homosexuality. I am very concerned about his too strong inclinations toward feminine, as opposed to masculine, virtues. In short, I cannot think of a worse choice to be the leader of the Church."