If a neutral observer was watching the Republican Presidential debate in Ames, Iowa, last night, sponsored by Fox News Channel, he or she would likely come away with the thought: Are these eight people competing for the Presidential nomination of the party of Lincoln, TR, Eisenhower and Reagan the best they can find to run for the highest office in the land? Are these candidates NOT a tremendous embarrassment to themselves, as well as the nation? Even if one is dissatisfied with President Barack Obama, why is it that the opposition party cannot find a candidate who matches the level of past candidates, including losers like Charles Evans Hughes, Wendell Willkie, Thomas Dewey, Bob Dole and John McCain?
When one looks at the eight people in the debate, the conclusions are the following observations:
1. None of the candidates was willing to commit to ANY tax increase at all, even with the theoretical deal suggested of ten dollars of budget cuts for each additional dollar of tax increases on the wealthy and corporations, an unbelievable commentary on the lack of financial responsibility of the Republican candidates who wish to be President of the United States!
2. The number of factual errors and miscues by all of the candidates is mind boggling, and demonstrates just how ignorant of economics, foreign policy, and civil liberties these candidates are!
3. Michele Bachmann came across as totally loony and whacky in her presentation, far weaker than her performance in the last debate which brought her to prominence in June.
4. Herman Cain proved that he should go back to running a pizza corporation, as he has no understanding of any issues, displaying total stupidity in just about everything he enunciated.
5. Rick Santorum surprised when he seemed to defend the rights of gays in Iran, but not in America, but also showed stupidity when he referred to the people of Afghanistan as “Afghanistanis”, rather than Afghans.
6. Ron Paul did his usual ranting and raving like a crazy man, with a total isolationist view that has zero chance to be adopted by the party which has promoted overseas engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.
7. Newt Gingrich actually improved somewhat, but is already fatally flawed because of past blunders, statements, actions, and resignation of his staff members.
8. Tim Pawlenty also did a bit better, but still comes across as too weak, and often seeming more like a governor who had trouble defending his record against attacks by fellow Minnesotan Michele Bachmann.
9. Jon Huntsman disappointed tremendously, having an opportunity to stand out in the race as the one reasonable moderate centrist, and instead showed timidity, and even distorted what the Obama Administration has done in dealings with China, while he was Ambassador to China, contradicting positive statements about the President that he had made while working for him.
10. Mitt Romney, the theoretical front runner, at least until Rick Perry enters the race officially this weekend of the Iowa Ames Straw Poll, still can be considered the front runner, but he does not enthuse party members or the general public, and when one hears that he is worth $264 million, one has to say how in the world can he understand average Americans, and have the nerve to say that corporations are people, and joke that he is also unemployed!
What a sad commentary on the opposition to Barack Obama, and no matter how displeased many Americans may be with the President, it is very hard to conceptualize that they will vote him out in favor of any of these candidates, all of whom could rightly be condemned as LOSERS in every sense of the word!