- Mitt Romney looked like a president, sounded like a president, and acted like a president. Right or wrong, this is his race to lose.
- Michelle Bachmann did great but she's still only a congresswoman. I like her a lot and she did well but I hesitate to say that she could carry a general election. Like Sarah Palin, her faith and rock-ribbed conservatism may be more polarizing than her personality is likeable.
- Herman Cain also has a problem that Palin shares, his accent works against him and makes him sound less educated/intelligent than he really is. It's too bad; he's honest, interesting, and capable.
- Ron Paul doesn't mind a nuclear Iran?! Oh good grief; I guess we'll just cross our fingers. The libertarian deep down inside me wants to like this guy, and he says a lot of good things, but c'mon!!!
- Rick Santorum, a guy I generally like, just looked small and unimportant. I fear he's losing traction but if he gets out now before it gets ugly, he could make a great VP candidate.
- Newt Gingrich also seems completely unelectable. He may be the smartest person in the room but he doesn't come off as trustworthy to me. Last night he seemed temperamental.
- Tim Pawlenty looked terrible attacking the other candidates. Ugh. Surely, he's about done.
- Jon Huntsman is the RINO of the group and is running for the moderate John McCain role this time around. Even when he claims conservative positions, I'm hesitant to believe him.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Random GOP Debate Thoughts 8/12/11
I watched the Republican debate in Iowa last night (twice) and, in a nutshell, here's what I thought of the candidates ranked from best to worst:
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3 comments:
The big winner might just be Rick Perry. He seems to have the creds but stayed above the fray by not announcing until after the debate.
Side note: I'm a little put off by the fact that Iowa has so much influence in a presidential election - primary and general. Really? Iowa? I don't remember that being in the constitution.
Mike Kirby
Jared,
Good thoughts. For years, I have been a Ron Paul fan, but he has too many fringe positions on key issues that really makes him unelectable in the general election.
Like you said, it is Romney's race to lose. He does act presidential in all things, and has the skills economically that may align voters to him during our current crisis. Yet, like Mike said, Rick Perry is a formidable candidate who, like Obama, has the savvy to campaign by a whole new set of rules, using Facebook, etc. which is basically free marketing by an order of magnitude. But, the question is - did Perry enter too late? Or does New Hampshire, South Carolina really matter more than Iowa? So maybe his timing is spot on.
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