Newt Gingrich has to have a pair of sore nuts this morning because Michele Bachmann was kicking them all night long. I thought that Newt weathered the storm pretty well though. He came off as a bit arrogant at times but overall he did a good job. I thought he answered all the questions very directly and with intelligent and well thought out responses. One problem that I have had with Newt in the past is that it seemed as though there were no filter between his brain and his mouth. If it came to mind he said it, no matter how crazy or outrageous it sounded. He seems to have addressed that to a greater degree. His plan to call judges before congress over rulings that disregard the Constitution might be a little over the top. There have been time that all of us would like to throw judges out on their ass, especially those on the 9th circuit court of appeals, but I think issuing subpoenas would open Republicans up to retaliatory strikes should a democrat majority come about. It would have to be a bi-partisan effort and that almost never happens.
Jon Huntsman, holy crap, this guy can rattle on and on and not even start to answer the question. I bet he can sell the hell out of a used car though. I have no idea what kind of job he did for the State of Utah, but he would be an absolute disaster as president. He's not a conservative no matter what he would like us to believe. He wants to coddle china while they continue to play currency games and prepare for another cold war type situation.
Mitt Romney didn't look bad last night. He answered most of the question in a fairly direct manner. He still isn't a conservative, but he's still trying hard to make us think he is. I thought Newt's attack on his time at Bain Capital was unfair. Mitt made some good points about it. No matter how hard you try, not all businesses are going to succeed. And when businesses fail, people lose their jobs. I am willing to bet though, that through it's investments, Bain Capital put far more people to work than it laid off. On the other hand, Mitt's attack on Newt for the money he made from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are more fair. Newt was paid with TAX DOLLARS. His role, whether it was as a lobbyist or consultant isn't as important as the fact that he was paid with tax dollars by a government entity.
Rick Santorum looked good too. He was far less arrogant and dismissive than in some of the previous debates. He answered all the questions he was given in a very direct manner. I'm still surprised that he hasn't done better in the polls. I think his lack of any type of executive experience is hurting him. I very much respect his stance on family values and the role of family in putting our Country back on the right track.
Rick Perry had his best debate to date last night. He isn't always the smoothest speaker and may stumble over a word or two, but he has ACTUAL executive experience. And not just experience, successful experience. He has led a HUGE State that has had a great deal of success in attracting new business and creating jobs. He has had to deal with the border issue. It's too bad that we put so much attention on a persons ability to speak well in a debate and not so much in their real life accomplishments. Rick Perry is qualified for the job of President but he won't be the nominee because he doesn't speak well in a debate format.
Michele Bachmann was all over everyone last night. She beat the hell out of Newt. And she gave Ron Paul a few shots to the junk also. I think she is trying to show a more aggressive side of herself. While that is well and good, it's not going to help at this point. I have to say that I agree 100% with her criticism of Ron Paul on the Iran issue. She made some good points and those were reinforced by Rick Santorum. Iran's mission is to spread their radical form of islam across the globe. You can't talk them out of that. And it's not going to go away if you ignore it.
Ron Paul, you know, some of my readers are Ron Paul supporters and I can respect that. He also has a cult following, like Night of the Living Dead or The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But I have to say, it must be a sunny, rose filled world he lives in. If he thinks we can deal with Iran by simply allowing them to do whatever the hell they want to do, he is dead wrong. And a policy like that would be the death of Israel. I understand that he doesn't care about Israel, so their destruction wouldn't be any reason to deter Iran from actively seeking a nuclear weapon. I do care about Israel. They have been a friend and an ally for a long time. I care about all of our Allies. I think they deserve better treatment from our Country than they have received from obama and what the would get from Ron Paul. We can't just retreat inside our borders and expect the rest of the world to do the same. There truly are bad people in this world that want to do us harm.
Overall the debate was a good one. I think Newt and Romney came out on top. Michele Bachmann was probably tied with Rick Santorum for third, then Rick Perry and Ron Paul. With Huntsman dragging up the rear with his inability to answer even the most simple of questions...
