A Little Break from the Day to Day

So, instead of a life update (since you have to get tired of reading those eventually), I'm going to do a little political post.  If you're reading this, you probably know I would loosely consider myself a conservative and Republican.  I say loosely not because I don't know where I stand but because I honestly don't know exactly what those two words mean anymore.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm living in a (pretty well-run) socialist state or maybe it's just the distance from home but for some reason, I've been completely enthralled by catching up on the Republican Primary debates over the last few days.  This is especially weird given that I may or may not be around for Primary season, depending how that whole scene shapes up.  I just finished watching the debate from this evening.  Here are some very brief (mostly positive) comments about each candidate.

If you're going to comment, be civil.  Hatred and slander are at least as dangerous to a country as any other political problem, and healing a broken nation takes more casts and fewer clubs.

I'll go alphabetically:

Bachmann - I really do think you have a better understanding of Congressional issues than anyone in the race other than Newt.  I also respect your experience as a federal tax attorney, which I think has enabled you to concisely and correctly criticize the 9-9-9 plan.  If you want a serious chance at the nomination, you need to tone down the gimmicky phrases and undisguised appeals to emotional responses in your audience.  They're bringing out a Palin-esque side of you that, while valuable in quite a few areas, will absolutely crush your chances of winning the nomination and/or election.  We know you're a passionate mom.  Prove you can be a strong leader.

Cain - I like your boldness.  It takes guts to run a campaign on the underlying premise that you're not actually a politician.  Your position on the Fed is definitely your most concerning attribute in my opinion.  Your boldness is getting you into trouble on occasion; if you want to win this thing you have to be more careful about your first response and stop having to cover your tracks later.

Gingrich - Are you actually still running?  That's not an insult - I'm just confused.  If I had my druthers, you would drop out, win a VP nomination, and moderate the remainder of these debates.  You seem to be half cheerleader and half elderly advisor, which is fine by me.  Your comments are often insightful and useful, and to be honest I think you're already doing a better job of moderating them than have many of the official moderators.

Paul - More than anyone, I would love to see you debate Obama.  I think you're the most intelligent person in the race, but even more than that I respect your complete lack of partisanship.  You aren't bipartisan; you're nonpartisan if not anti-partisan (which would be even better).  Your allegiance lies with principles, not parties.  You honestly remind me of Yoda next to the rest of these candidates: you're old, wise, funny, (mentally) agile, and consistently screwed over by the man (by which I mean the moderators).  That said, your persona works better when you add a little boldness to your "frail little old man" image.  You have the vote of a lot of the deep thinkers in the party; work on your excitement and emotional appeal.  You have a near perfect track record and you're the only person in the race who seems unquestionably trustworthy, though Santorum also seems to shoot pretty straight.  Keep going.

Perry - I can't decide whether I want you to get out of the race or not.  On the one hand, you're a horrible debater.  I don't think I could, in good conscience, vote for a man who so poorly expresses himself, no matter how good the underlying ideas could possibly be.  They say Nixon lost because of the transition from radio to TV; you'd never have a shot with either.  You and Santorum also made yourselves look like fools in your dealings with Romney, but at least Santorum had a reasonable idea to express.  Telling the moderator ahead of time that you weren't actually going to answer his question and proceeding to hammer yet again on your only two points ("Obama is horrible" and "we need to use our untapped energy") embodied every negative stereotype your potential voters have of a lifetime politician from Texas.  You cannot win this nomination or election.  On the other hand, you are making the rest of the field look a heck of a lot better than they actually are, which may enable one of them to finally step (or in this case trampoline) into a real limelight and become a legitimate nominee.

Romney - You are the best rhetorician in the debate, particularly with your rebuttals.  While I would very much like to see Paul go up against Obama, I also believe you could beat him toe to toe.  You seem more comfortable thinking on your feet and rolling with the punches than any other candidate.  You have done a pretty good job of using Perry to springboard yourself forward by trying to maintain your opponent's integrity until he no longer allows you to do so and then separating yourself from him.  You will have to do this several more times, and I seriously doubt it will be that easy in the cases to come.  A lot of people like you but aren't sure they can trust you.  You have the most difficult track record for your potential voters; you're explaining yourself well, but you still have yet to earn that trust.

Santorum - While you get a bit whiny at times, I actually think you have some great ideas (particularly your emphasis in the reinstitution of the American family).  I appreciate your boldness and your obvious research; you depend more on principles and evidence than anyone in the field except Paul.  Your temper tantrum with Romney tonight was horrible and it made you look like a desperate outlier (which, statistically, you are).  I wish you were a bit higher in the polls, but I don't think you can outthink Paul, shout over Cain, or debate Romney and win.  On the bright side, you can definitely beat Perry.

I don't think I missed anyone.  Maybe that was worse than a normal post, but I feel better having gotten out those ideas.  Again, comments are welcome if well thought out and civil.

Cheers,
Jacob