How is it that right after debates all of the media reacts to the same points and all ignores so much that was left out, avoided by candidates? Lets get right to it because too much is being missed or left unsaid.
The first stage does not factor in; if they want to matter theyve got it to do. Rand took his ball and ran home; maybe hell start earning the $3346/week we are paying him, Cruz, Rubio and Graham to be Senators like they promised.
We begin where they did. Nikki Haley, the mascot of all that is wrong with the GOP. I have trouble just watching her. If we found out tomorrow she is a cyborg I would not be surprised. The odd beady stare as she forces a smile all the way through a discussion has an insincere creepy sense to it that is uncomfortable. If that is the face of the new GOP then I have another reason to give up on them. She should be a right wing Dem, if they still permitted that.
Carson was at his best, he is obviously just a great guy and no one doubts his integrity or sincerity. He was wise to show more of his tax, foreign policy and defense positions, he is good on those points but good is not enough when one must separate themselves and climb over competitors. Id love to see him as Surgeon General. He wont win the WH but has much to offer.
Jeb. He still seems like a snarky teenager hollering at the tough kids while backed up by his mom on the porch behind him. I just cant feel any strength from him at all. Listen carefully when he talks about security or defense. He illustrates a troubling attitude several of the lower tier candidates sharethey insist all of our policy be designed to conform to what other nations want. We cant block immigrants because this nation will get upset, we cant do that because we need a coalition, we cant do a darn thing unless we do it the way everyone else wants us to. Well, too bad Jeb. America must be returned to the power and respect the blood of our soldiers and charity of our goodness has earned us. We can be strong, considerate global leaders without continuing to put the demands and concerns of every other country ahead of our best interests. The job of our President is do what is best for us in a way that encourages others to stand with us, not tailor our policies to appease a world of increasing demands on our weakened leadership.
Kasich. He convinced me he is a great Governor; we should force California to allow him a couple of terms. He is one of them that I feel does not understand the muslim problem among other things. That is enough said for now as he does not appear to be likely yet. Well see how he does after New Hampshire where he is very strong; dont count him out like Jeb yet.
Christie. The guy is strong, no doubt and he projects real strength. He truly does have broad executive experience and wont back down when pushed. I do not sense that he can be bought and Ive never seen evidence of it. Not my guy but America could do worse. I have problems with some of what I have seen in the past.
Rubio. Isnt he a hoot? Wind that little guy up and he can rattle on for days without stopping to breathe! I would love to hire him to argue with my wife for me, shed never get a word in edgewise. Marco would make an outstanding White House spokesman. I cannot watch him without being impressed with his confident and well spoken delivery of his message. Hes one of the best Ive seen. The downside is I do not trust him a bit on immigration or dealing with our global security. There is a lot wrong there and many deal killers for me. He is another that Ill set aside unless or until he gains more traction.
Cruz. The drop he is beginning to feel in poll numbers reflect voters taking a closer look and realizing this syndicated talk radio created Messiah is just a typical big donor crony stage act. For a guy that was sold as a brilliant lawyer and superb debater he sure looks more like a drama major with poor acting talent. He is sabotaging himself and bleeding from self-inflicted wounds, all from clumsy comments from the guy who was supposed to be the best at presenting a case. First he stood in the CNN debate blurting he Would carpet bomb ISIS into oblivion! The whole world said, WTF??? Immediately the next day he had to run from the comment, someone must have told him ISIS is not camping in the center of a desert but spread out infesting heavily populated areas filled with innocent civilians. ISIS has been represented in San Bernardino, Philly, Paris, Germany, Belgium and countless other places. That is a lot of carpet bombing Ted.
Last night he shook his tiny fist saying he has been defending the Constitution in court his whole life! No he hasnt. Why hasnt he been called out on that? He had a stint during his career as a lawyer turned crony appointee where he managed to hand pick a couple of slam dunk cases to the Supreme Ct as career builders. Does he think we dont know? I tire of him getting away with the constitutionalist charade when he constantly picks and chooses which parts to tout and which to ignore. Obama has committed treason by releasing enemy Generals during conflict and completing the Iran Nuke Deal giving aid and comfort to an enemy. Why wont Cruz utter the words, This President is guilty of treason! Im sick of GOP grandstanders giving crime and corruption a pass because they put their own career aspirations first and Ted is the worst among them.
He wanted to debate Chinese business relations with Trump? Seriously? Cruz has never had any experience with any kind of foreign trade policy. His only dealings with Chinese business are buying cell phones and TVs. Of all candidates on that stage Cruz makes the most clumsy comments, has the least executive experience and the least experience managing multiple departments of anything anywhere. That has much to do with his recent decrease in polling. People are looking too close.
The single most dangerous aspect of a Cruz win is extremely obvious. In every debate, every major speech he shouts about how he will bomb this bunch, send troops into this land or use the military to crush this or that enemy. For a guy that oozes pansy and probably never got in a single fight in his entire life he sure is in a hurry to send our troops into bullets and bombs. He cant wait to turn an army loose on somebody somewhere and he cant stop talking about it. Yet he has no military background, no defense policy experience, obviously does not grasp world affairs or the location of enemies and he has no experience bringing leaders together to form coalitions needed for international affairs. He proved that when he took over the Senate for a marathon show without rallying support from other Senators first. All he did was force the GOP into an uncomfortable cave-in the rest of them tried to avoid. Where has he shown a skill to create a consensus uniting strong people behind his leadership? He never has. I dont want a lone cowboy who cant wait to send other peoples sons and daughters into war running our military. America is starting to see through him and that is good. Any candidate for national office clumsy enough to insult the millions of voters who are the 40% of all New Yorkers at the polls is not someone who thinks things through. Now he just created a huge army of ground workers who know he insulted them and will actively work for his defeat at every opportunity. Death by a series of self-inflicted wounds.
His tactic of dodging debate by attacking the messenger and saying it is all from liberals instead of disproving the facts has gotten old. Every GOP candidate is attacked by lib media and Cruz needs to answer questions instead of playing liberal media victim. Everyone else does.
Trump. Well he is still there and no one has hurt him. People believe him and think he will do as he says. I have my own problems with him but no one can deny he walked away from business to run because he is tired of failure. He has a lot to lose if decline continues. I am not young but I have never seen a candidate willingly lose overseas contracts worth millions just to stand his ground and make statements he believes in during a race he has no guarantee of winning. He may not be spending on campaign ads but the personal wealth he has jeopardized by putting Americas best interests ahead of his dealings with muslim nations is a huge sum. There isnt much point in saying more about Trump. As I write this he is on every channel. That is hard for the others to beat. Trump is tapping into frustrations a huge silent majority of Americans have lived with for too long and that is why his strength cannot be gauged. People who have not voted or have quit may show up for him but only time will tell.
Now, are these debates and the campaign discussions touching enough bases? I dont think so. I still have the feeling they choose issues they feel safe with instead of those we keep saying are at the top of our lists. I am disappointed that Trump burst into the game slamming the corruption of the crony/donor/lobbyist/government for sale scams but has severely reduced that after signing the GOP Soviet Party Loyalty Pledge. Have you noticed that? I wish hed kept hammering it because all of us still are.
Kasich and others speak of bringing back jobs, blue collar manufacturing etc. Trump does a lot of that too. Cruz, well he never worked in any private business, has no experience dealing with it or the issues involved so he lays low on this one. I have extensive experience in manufacturing and the issues involved, from shifts to imports, outsourcing and automation to regulatory nightmares due to OSHA, the EPA and much more. The old days of huge companies spreading great jobs across the nation are gone and not coming back. We did not have the foreign competition then that we do now. We stood alone after WW2 and the world was our market as Europe rebuilt. China and India were nothing then, now they are. The world caught up and they are doing so with wages far below what we can survive on and without the expensive regulations we are stuck with. We are in uncharted waters and it isnt just us.
The entire western world struggles with the same shift in market and production dynamics we do. We cannot expect a return to familiar old models, what we need is a new structure that positions America to provide trade and jobs in a world market where others can do our old work cheaper. That is a tall order and no candidate is talking about how. Reducing taxes and regulations is no longer enough to help us compete against nations where workers have a low standard of living and can survive on $200/month or less. They talk of punishing corporations or coaxing them back here to resume production but never mention how the cost of those products would skyrocket from production here. That will never be acceptable to consumers already trimming budgets and moving adult kids into their basements.
The world has changed, grown up. America must adapt because that is what leaders do, they get ahead of problems, find solutions and lead. Our nominee will face that reality and the issues we will be driven by in November are not those we live with today. Turmoil exists and war drums beat as enemies gather. We have been infiltrated and we do not know how badly or what will come of it. We will learn as 2016 rolls out. Stock markets are in trouble across the world as our enormous population of baby boomers prepares to retire on investments while putting increasing demands on our health care and elderly care industries. We face challenges of a new age with no precedent and the next President is not one to envy, no matter who it is. It will not be easy to do well with all they will face.
Choose wisely and most of all, demand experience. Some on stage have it and the types of proven records in action vary so your choice will reflect how you prioritize problems of our future. The debate was interesting, the battles entertaining but how close did the questions and answers come to the reality we face? We seem to need answers that do not exist. We better have the President most likely to discover them and strong enough to make it happen.
