mycatharsis.com

I liked the job both Hillary and Barack did, although I think Obama won by putting himself on equal footing with Clinton and looking every bit as inevitable as Hillary wants to.  I liked Clinton’s answer on Iraq, it sounded the most well thought out of anybody’s in either party.  But Obama gave a great response himself and I was struck how conservative he sounded when he made the point that we have greater concerns than just Iraq, including Afghanistan and China. Obama’s answer that he just wouldn’t be ready, but “right on day one” was the line of the night, without a doubt.   He IS a pheonomenon, and I find his popularity, even among Republicans, very interesting.   A serious man concerned about the direction of the country, and not so concerned with political calculus, a pervasive force in our politics since 1992 at the very least.  He seems very genuine and more concerned with doing good than looking good. And, except for Ron Paul (a phrase I find myself using a TON lately), he seems to be the only candidate so concerned!  As president, he would be a welcome change from the ego-centric leaders we have had for the past twenty years or so, and I am getting increasingly excited about his candidacy. This despite my softening views toward Hillary Clinton, who is nonetheless an integral part of the ‘focus group’ mentality that I’ve been sick of, well, forever I guess.
Obama’s answer on immigration was similarly welcome to me.  I’ve contributed to Ron Paul’s campaign a couple times, and now seriously think I will contribute to Obama’s as well, despite their wildly divergent views.  Frankly, both Democrats sounded much better to me than the Republicans on the whole.  It used to be the Dems were the party of spin, focus groups, white lies, and misdirection.  Quite frankly, that seems to have changed the last few years, to the point that the GOP is now playing these games, and the Democrats seem to have stepped into the void left when Republicans abandoned truth for political expediency.  And I think the American people, while perhaps not all give enough thought to their vote, I do think we have overall a very good B.S. detector, and thus I think the Democrats are placing themselves in a very favorable position for the general election, where someone like Mitt Romney would have a very tough time, as he has had to embrace a very conservative platform, a platform that is seemingly falling out of favor.  McCain, ironically, would have enough problems of his own for NOT embracing that platform, at least in his job as Senator.

very weird,  what is this?

saw part of the debate last night,  but missed that highlight unfortunately! I do remember thinking, though, that the very first question,from Brian Williams to Romney, seemed like a total softball question.

And, Governor Romney, I thought we’d begin with you.  The
president just today signed off on this economic stimulus plan that
would send out 116 million checks to American homes.     The plan is somewhat contrary to yours, providing lots of short-
term stimulus to individuals.  Your plan, as you know, focuses as much
on the long term as the short term.

Are you disappointed that your recipe for the economy was not
embraced by the president?  And, as the follow-up, will you now
embrace this plan?

Not really saying it means anything, maybe it was just me, but it seemed really odd phrased and uttered…

Only caught a few minutes of it last night after grabbing some beer at the Great Dane.  Is it just me or is Fox News not even really trying to give a semblance of so-called ‘fair and balanced’?  It doesn’t seem that long ago I used to watch and really appreciate their network, but boy, either I’ve changed or they have, or, most likely, we both have.

There is NO way I believe that Luntz’s focus group was made up of undecided voters.  Of course, maybe it wasn’t, I didn’t catch the beginning, so I don’t know who Fox claimed these guys were.  But they usually claim it’s undecideds in the focus group, so I’m making an assumption.  No way in hell.  First question out of the chute, the group can’t do enough to praise Fred Thompson, using more political buzzwords than you’ll hear on a Chris Mathews show.   “He’s hit his stride”, he sounded “forceful”, basically all the useless stuff political wonks focus on when they’re not talking issues.  They sounded much more like campaign workers or a political junky like myself than undecideds.  Of course, being a fox show, they couldn’t talk to this group without getting them to chorus that Ron Paul was the worst of the night!

Paul’s exchange with Romney, I think, is a seminal point in this campaign so far.  Paul has rightly come down hard on the other Republicans for pushing us into war with Iran.  As he said, are we really so worried about a couple speedboats playing tag with U.S. Navy destroyers that we’re ready to go to war over it?  Romney tried what McCain, Giuliani, Thompson, and Romney himself have all tried before, using humor to dismiss Paul.   Usually humor that falls flat, too.  (McCain tonight tried it as well, and frankly, looked really bad smirking while Paul railed against the casualties that are piling up in the middle east. )  Either way, Romney then launched into his own speech on Iran, and proceeded to make Paul’s point by pushing that aggressive policy against Iran! The GOP now knows, they can’t say they weren’t warned …

Speaking of Paul, that newsletter business, with racist attacks in a newsletter bearing his name, was pretty depressing and revolting to read.  I definitely do not believe those were his words, for many reasons.  Didn’t sound like him stylistically (one paragraph called the LA race riots the most severe problem facing this country, something I just cannot see an economic-minded libertarian such as Paul saying), he had already run for President in 1988 on a semi-major ticket where you think those views would have been previously revealed, either by him or the media (and, I think, he was completely open-borders back then as well, which would not go over well with a racist crowd), and as much as I’ve heard him speak over the last year, what I read does not jive with this man at all.  Still,  if my names plastered on a newsletter, I’m going to make darn sure that what’s in it does not conflict with my beliefs.  If he could get himself to a point of being a serious candidate for the nomination, this scandal will come back and probably would be a fatal blow, unfortunately.  But Paul is still having a great impact on this race.  He is the face of the conflict within the Republican party among neo and paleo conservatives.  Even if he just stays at 5-10% throughout every state he competes in, he will show the GOP there is a significant contingent among their ranks that still care about small government, the Constitution, and personal freedom.

Among these guys, my thinking is I would definitely vote for Paul,  and would consider McCain and Huckabee.  Still, I think I’ll vote for Barack Obama over any of these guys, Paul excepted.  Frankly, those two sometimes seem to be the only adults running this year …

After sitting thru the entire debate last night, I have to admit to myself what a huge political geek I am!  That said, it WAS a lot of fun to watch.

A spirited and lively debate. The format is, I think, a big winner. I love a debate with tough questions, and Anderson Cooper was as effective as any moderator I’ve seen at keeping the candidates on topic and answering the questions they were asked. Mike Huckabee’s eloquence really impressed me. His answer regarding illegal immigration was excellent in turning away the nativist wing of the party. I’m slowly becoming comfortable enough with him to consider voting for him if he’s the nominee.

I really enjoyed watching Romney and Giuliani go after each other, if only to see them tear each other down. Romney seemed as slick as always to me, but not nearly as charming. His answer on his abortion flip-flop was quite good, but was also neutralized with me by his ineffective attempts at explaining another flip-flop on the issue of gays in the military.  By the way, the hullabaloo over the Brigadier General being a Hillary Clinton plant is a non-issue with me. The gay General who asked the question was quite clearly biased, and was the low point of the night for me, as he was obviously a shill pushing an agenda. I tuned out his post-answer rants, and figure most people watching this debate may have as well. And frankly, dedicating as much time as they did to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was ludicrous, with so many other important issues ignored, such as the plummeting dollar. Giuliani, on the other hand, did quite well, I think. I still am least comfortable with him above all others, but I respected his answers on abortion and New York as a ’sanctuary city’. He seemed to try to answer as honestly as possible, unlike Romney, who seemingly would not let a word escape his mouth that might possibly upset the far right. Giuliani even mentioned states rights a time or two, although unconvincing, it’s reassuring to know he’s at least aware of the concept.

Ron Paul was amazing, which was all the more impressive because of the ridiculous nature of the questions asked of him. The first had to do with the Council of Foreign Relations, and that tells you pretty much all you need to know. I am a huge fan of Paul and his views, but have long wondered if he is more of a policy wonk than an effective campaigner. But his answer to this attempt to portray him as a conspiracy nut was BRILLIANT, deftly turning away any insinuation that he has tinfoil hats in his closet, while directly answering the question that was asked, in an honest way, no less! For political and rhetorical skill, it was an amazingly effective answer. He also deftly turned away McCain’s attack, again having to repeat that simply because he doesn’t want to bomb everybody doesn’t make him an isolationist. McCain’s attack is a good sign for Paul, a sign that his views are finally being heard, even by deafest Republicans of all, many of whom, unfortunately, happen to be running for President. He also had the second or third to last question of the night, asking him to run as an independent. Again, his answer showed a skillful political touch, answering the question while also giving himself a chance to tout his fundraising prowess and the excitement building among his supporters, and doing it all in a humble manner, expressing simply that he’s lucky ‘to be a part of it’. A huge part, Mr. Paul!

McCain did quite well, I felt, although Paul did get the best of him on their exchange. I missed most of Romney’s hemming on torture, but McCain’s answer was quite good. I also liked his answer on the role of the Vice President, and got the feeling from him that, ever so slightly, he is trying to return to the agitator role he had in 2000. He seems like a natural fighter, politically speaking, and it’s a horse race between him and Huckabee for number two in my book (behind Mr. Paul).