Stannis Baratheon would make a better ruler of Westeros than Daenerys Targaryen

Stannis, younger brother of Robert Baratheon, is shown throughout the series to be a strong and pragmatic leader. Spending a good portion of his days as lord of Dragonstone, he has an unquestioned experience in governance, a fact which should reflect greatly on his ability to rule the seven kingdoms as the one true king. Thus, I advocate that Stannis Baratheon would make a better ruler than Dany in all aforementioned ruling parameters. I will spend this round of the debate in going through the parameters and explaining how Stannis would do well in each and every one of them. As to why Dany would do worse than him, this I reserve to a later stage of the debate. A) Financial Prosperity - It is shown that during the war of the usurper (the civil war in which Robert Baratheon ascended to the throne), Dragonstone, under Stannis, was besieged. This siege was a test of merit, in which Stannis had to manage siege economy - ration food supplies and keep moral high. He must have been good at it, since it is explained he lasted very long during that siege. Thus we are able to tell that Stannis either understands economics well enough to avoid starvation in a time of dire crisis, or is humble enough to listen to professional advisers in regards to rationing resources. His experiences also indicate that he will not see to manners of finance and economics lightly, as to avoid similar results in a grander scale. It is a given that thriving in a time of crisis is not the same as thriving in a time of peace, yet this still serves as a good indicator that Stannis will be capable of managing a healthy economy as a ruler, as he did in Dragonstone during both times of peace and war. B) Enforcement and Dictation of the Law - In this regard no one can deny that Stannis is a supreme believer in the upholding of the law. Such is his original claim to the Iron Throne - justified by law, and law alone. His will to uphold the rule of law is greatly revealed when facing his traitor brother who had a superior army, even then he would not sacrifice rule of law in the face of oblivion. Stannis only claims the Iron Throne because it is his right by law to rule, and it is suggested that he wishes to rule not for the sake of ruling, but because it his is duty. His sense of justice is also very evolved by Westrosi standards. Davos, his closest friend and adviser, was a smuggler, who helped feed the starving population during the siege of Dragonstone. Stannis pardoned him for his days as a smuggler instead of executing him, only chopping off the tip of his fingers as a reminder of his past crimes. For his help during the siege Stannis then knighted Davos and made him a trusted counselor. This would seem fair even by modern earth dweller standards, and suggests that on top of his strict belief in rule of law, Stannis' sense of justice would also guide him to make new laws which would in turn benefit his citizens, and allow for a stable rule. C) Political Stability - While unverifiable by the material shown in the series, Stannis seems impartial. which is a positive trait to have when you try to rule seven different factions in conjunction - if you unjustly favor one of the factions during any arbitration, the other may resent it. If your judgement when dealing with them is generally fair, they should not develop feelings of resentment and thus may not be inclined to revolt. He has a spiritual adviser (Mellisendre) who seems to be following a true god (in the sense that it exists and actually performs miracles) and who could hence deal with the clergy class of the realm. To top that, he also has a pragmatic adviser/hand of the king in the form of Davos, who has been shown time and time again to be capable of doing anything from commanding legions to dealing with finances and is also a good runner up for the most morally sound character in the entire Game of Thrones universe. D) Security - Stannis is a well established military commander, as is implied by the attitude of other characters towards him, and explicitly demonstrated in his managing of a siege during the war of the usurper , and most recently crushing an army of 100,000 wildlings in the north. Internal security would be a non-issue to him as it would be a consequence of the financial prosperity, political stability and most notably, his uncompromising attitude towards the rule of law. In short, Stannis is an overall strong leader, shown to put his people first - during the civil war, in which he ate vile things and not preserve the good food rations to himself, and again when coming to defend the kingdom from a wildling invasion in the north. His pragmatism, mannerism, good counsel and sense of justice deem him a leader not only worthy to rule Westeros, but worthy to rule, period. I am anxious to hear the arguments that support Dany's rule as better than that of Stannis as well as rebuttals to the facts I have provided here. Stannis admitting to eating vile things during the siege: Stannis and Davos in a description of Stannis' claim to the throne and why he would be a good ruler (as well as a showing of Davos' finger tips):