Random Ramblings on the GOP Candidates' So-Called Debate

Like Pam, I'm intensely interested in the field of GOP candidates shaping up for next year's presidential election.  Why?  Well, partly for the entertainment value . . . and partly because, as an Independent, I can flippy-flop around on a whim, if I want to.

Audience:  One left-leaning, registered-Independent voter, former-First Lady Nancy Reagan, and a whole bunch of other people.

Moderators:  Brian Williams (NBC News), John Harris (Politico), and some guy with a vague accent who walked on to pose a singular question about immigration reform.  Can anyone enlighten me as to his identity?

Candidates:  Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman.

Here are some off-the-cuff impressions.

Candidate who avoided answering most questions, yet used up their allotted time nattering on about other stuff, over the barely-discernable tune, "If I Were King of the Forest":  Michele Bachmann

Candidate who was the most consistently bizarre and single-minded:  Ron Paul

Candidate about whom I will probably never alter my low opinion and who I perceive as a giant windbag with an enormous ego:  Newt Gingrich

Candidate who may or may not have had something profound to utter, yet seemed unable to capture and form the words swirling around in his brain:  Rick Santorum

Candidate who was most predictable:  Mitt Romney

Candidate who reminded me the most of Ronald Reagan during the Iran-Contra Affair, when the signs of Alzheimer's Disease were becoming more pronounced:  Rick Perry

Candidate with whom I would like to sit down and seriously pick their brain about how they would fix all that is ailing this country:  A tie.  Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman

Interesting moments included Rick Perry's statement about Social Security being a Ponzi scheme and his inability to accept the science of global warming, on its own merits and at the expense of The Economy.

Ron Paul seemed to convey that government regulation of the nation's airways and auto industry were unnecessary, implying that the free market would determine what was safe and leaving me to understand that once I was killed while driving an unsafe car, I would certainly never buy another!

And, while Michele Bachmann criticized the Obama administration for U.S. involvement in Libya because there are no American interests at stake there, she conveyed that more should be done to ensure that Iran is not developing nucular . . . I mean nuclear . . . weapons.  The line of "American interests" is ever-shifting, it seems.

My major beef about this debate was the moderators' focus on frontrunners Romney and Perry, at the expense of the others.  I found myself wanting to hear more from Jon Huntsman, in particular.  But not Bachmann or Paul.  No, not them. 

Up next, the CNN tea party debate on Monday.

Comments

[Margaret]

You are a brave and worthy soul to listen to anything most those people have to say. They lost me a LONG time ago and my blood pressure just can't handle the workout.

[Pam Jones]

That was a fun read! Yes, I do follow this nonsense pretty closely and I also admit I do it mostly for the entertainment value. A few friends have pointed out that it's a pretty serious thing to be entertained by. l DO believe it makes some difference which party controls the White House so maybe I should be ashamed to be entertained by it all. But I'm not.

I watched the "debate" and agree pretty much with all of your quick assessments, especially about Santorum -- who seems to be growing younger in body and intellect as the years pass by -- and Ron Paul, who strikes me as a perfect obstetrician but a disaster as a potential president. What in the world was he trying to say about a strong border between the US and Mexico being unfair to Americans who won't be free to flee over the border into Mexico???

And excuse me but what's that shit from Rick Perry about how the problems with illegal immigration can't be solved until the federal government gets cracking and seals that Mexican border? This is the same guy who says we should lower taxes on the wealthy and at the same time de-fund much of the Federal government -- the same government he wants to seal up a 1,600-mile border. There's something seriously wrong in that argument.

I'm growing fonder of Mitt Romney as the campaign goes on. I wouldn't be scared if he were elected, the way I'd be if Perry were elected. And I think the Repubs would be smart to nominate him. But everyone keeps saying that since the religious right doesn't accept him as a Christian that will kill his chances. Oh for the good old days when we had separation of church and state. Think those days will return?

[Pam Jones]

I forgot the single most annoying thing about the debate: Rick Perry's shirt collar! What is it with those big cardboard-like shirt collars he sports? Do they keep his neck flesh in place?