A Good Year for the Outlaw

I watched the Democratic You Tube Debate a couple of months ago on CNN, and was much happier with the questions asked by normal citizens than those that are usually asked at debates by the TV talking heads.

Same goes for the Republican You Tube Debate on CNN this past week. I watched the whole thing, then I watched the re-run. So as not to distort what I felt I heard and saw, I immediately switched it off upon completion, not wanting to hear John King and Anderson Cooper break the whole thing down. I’d do the very same thing if I watched a debate on Fox (which I won’t, because I won’t watch Faux News). I don’t want the reporters telling me who “won” the debate and who “scored points”. I watched the damn thing, I can decide for myself.

And from what I saw and heard on the CNN You Tube Debate, Ron Paul is clearly the candidate from the GOP side that I’d have to consider voting for. His feeling echoes mine on the “war” in Iraq, and he has the guts to say it in front of a flag-waving, hyper-jingoistic crowd (save for his supporters who were there in Florida that night). But I don’t necessarily think he “won” the You Tube debate. I’d have to give it to Mike Huckabee, who had all the right answers for the conservatives who are looking for someone to back. Of course, what he believes in is a far cry from what I believe in, but that’s not the point. He is the best candidate if the GOP is looking for the true “conservative” to run for Prez in ‘08. Huckabee appeals to the scary Evangelicals, he’s been a governor (anymore, we elect Governors to President, not Senators and Congressmen), and most of his policies fit the GOP agenda. He did, however, lose some points from hardliners when the discussion turned to immigration, as some of the rivals tried to take shots at a couple of his policies.

My other thoughts:

Romney – Too slick. Can’t stand him. Probably spent more time looking in the mirror than preparing for the debate. But that’s catty of me. Quite frankly, if the GOP-tinged press was honest, fair and balanced (they’re not) and if the GOP party bigwigs who chewed up and spit out John Kerry were honest, fair and balanced (they’re not), they’d call Romney exactly what they called Kerry in ‘04: A flip-flopper. Period. Don’t EVEN try to argue with me. The guy flops more than a salmon.

Guiliani - All of the shady stuff is coming out about Ol’ Rudy and it will only snowball for him. He’s NOT going to get the nomination, I can guarantee you. And if I’m wrong and he DOES get it, he’ll lose big to every Democrat that could oppose him except Hillary, but that’s only because ANY GOP candidate has a chance against Hillary. Hillary is the only Dem candidate who will bring out the extreme wacko righties to vote against her. They certainly don’t have a candidate of their own to support in this election, now that Sam “19th Century” Brownback is out.

McCain – I like John McCain. Always have. Met him. He’s a personable guy. But I also THOUGHT he was genuine until the last year or so, when he started to pander to the Bush crowd. I have a hunch that John McCain cannot stand George Bush and Dick Cheney. But he’s swallowed his tongue – and pride – on this issue. I wish he wouldn’t. The man should have sued Karl Rove for what Rove did to him in South Carolina in 2000. But he didn’t. I did like McCain’s ripping of Romney on the torture issue. Romney looked like the prick he is on that issue.

Thompson – Boy, does this guy need a script. He might be a fine character actor…because he knows his lines in advance. But off the cuff he’s not very good. Kind of a waffler, too. I know some jock-sniffing conservatives had high hopes for him, and this in one case where I am NOT sorry to say “I told you so.” This guy is a loser.

The field – Tancredo is entertaining in a Dennis Kucinich-sort of way, but he’s not going to go anywhere. Neither is the guy who kept calling Anderson Cooper “Cooper” when he answered questions. I think he honestly thought the guy’s name was “Cooper Anderson”. Shows you what he watches daily: Fox. So I’m not going to honor that Senator with mentioning his name. He’s done.

Other comments – I liked the fact that the people in the audience actually booed some things, although WHAT they booed just shows me how far out of touch the right is anymore. They booed Guiliani when he, a supporter of the second amendment, was honest enough (the other candidates weren’t) to say that the system needs fixing where gun ownership is concerned. Guess what? The audience was wrong, Rudy was right. Same goes for those who booed Ron Paul. Guess what? He’s right, they’re wrong.

The other ironic moment for me was the bandwagon comments from the candidates about “buying American” and “keeping jobs right here at home”, when THEY are the party of Wal-Mart, corporate greed, overseas cheap labor, and tax-free offshore mailboxes. I agree with the rhetoric from those candidates, but I highly doubt it was anything more than simply politics, and saying the right thing. Same goes for the assholes in the crowd who cheered that statement. I’m sure they then all retreated to their Benz, Lexus, Infiniti, and Jaguar automobiles for the ride home.