Fox Debate...No Single Winner
After a day of listening to some very good commentary about the Fox Debate from this one and that one on social media, etc.; I finally had a chance to sit down and listen to the debate “cover to cover.”
The following, in no real order, are my thoughts on what I considered are important points and some color commentary where I felt the need.
First of all, there is no way for me to give any single individual the “win.” I liked some of the comments from all of them, but for my money, only a few really shined.
Before I get into the candidates though, I need to briefly discuss the panel. I definitely understand having Megyn Kelly on the panel; like her or not, she is an extraordinarily intelligent and gifted individual; and Brett Baier is also a good fit; but Chris Wallace...?! I think there are lots of better, fair minded choices. Anyway, here’s hoping the next such debate will have some people like Greg Gutfeld, Jeanine Pirro, and David DiCrescenzo on the panel.
Okay, onto the candidates and responses:
1. The opener was intended to discredit Donald Trump, (DT), which failed since he restated his strong case very clearly. As he said, loosely paraphrased, we need a WALL to keep Mexico’s trash out, and the reply by Marco Rubio, (MR) included the word “FENCE” which is hardly the same thing as a wall.
2. While I enjoyed the back and forth by Chris Christie, (CC) and Rand Paul, (RP) concerning terrorism and the NSA collecting data, I would have asked CC if he has reconsidered his position on naming a muslim to the highest court in New Jersey. When RP brought up the hug with potus, CC went on the defensive. I did get the sense that they don’t like each other.
3. When Ted Cruz, (TC) chimed in on this, he crushed it, as did most where it concerns dealing with our enemies.
4. Jeb Bush, (JB) was very wishy/washy concerning how potus handled the isis takeover of Iraq and our part in it. I did like the comment by Ben Carson, (BC) concerning “enhanced interrogation;” basically saying it is none of anyone’s business how we extract information. Spot on.
5. JB on jobs….blah, blah, blah. When confronted with not meeting his expectations for jobs, Scott Walker, (SW) concurred stating basically he was aiming for the stars and delivered the moon, (i.e., things were still much better than when he started). I agree.
6. When CC was asked about how to save Social Security, his idea that essentially high earners/savers didn’t need it, Mike Huckabee, (MH) explained that it was broken because it was robbed by politicians and the answer was to refund it with a consumption tax, not hold back from those that put it in. Have to agree with MH on that; the politicians stole it for handouts; it is not fair to steal more from high earners.
7. Chris Wallace decided to hammer DT on bankruptcies and DT explained very clearly that he simply, like many businesses, used the laws of the land and did what he had to do to protect his company’s interests.
8. Generally speaking, it seemed to me that Marco Rubio, (MR) was tossed a lot of softballs. I don’t think he gets it that our days of being blessed are past us, although I did like his comment concerning being blessed with lots of great candidates, while the democrats can’t even find one. Not that I think all of the GOP guys are great, but the other side is just horrific.
9. When questioned about his stand on Planned Parenthood and the Bloomberg connection, JB was just not believable. Cannot have it both ways JB.
10. I liked what RP said about Christians not being forced to comply with laws that go against their faith.
11. TC is very well versed on our enemies and was spot on concerning the Iranian General responsible for the murder of so many of our troops and his visit to Russia.
12. DT reiterated very well how most thinking Americans feel about the trade off in the Bergdahl case.
13. Talking about the “social issues,” I found John Kasich, (JK) understands that some are merely meant to divide us. However I do find him rather dismissive over all.
14. I was also left cold by his stated order of Family, Faith, and Friends because I put God ahead of all. I.E., God, Family, Country. On the other hand, TC was spot on for me when he talked about finding answers coming from God through His Word.
15. I absolutely loved what MH had to say regarding the military not being a “social experiment.” He was spot on in that assessment.
16. I completely agree with RP concerning us only helping other countries out of a surplus…borrowing to do so is insane.
As for the closing comments, four of them were awesome: TC described day one in office and undoing every wrongful act of potus, investigating and prosecuting PP, call off DOJ and IRS from religious and other groups, etc. BC brought the house down with the “half a brain removed” comment. MH made a brilliant joke about Hillary Clinton. And finally DT masterfully detailed what is wrong and what he would do to make things right.
I liked what SW had to close with; he’s just a regular guy that has proven he governs well.
While I’m still not convinced as to his qualifications to be POTUS, I find the intellect of BC truly amazing.
The rest were just blah, blah, blah to me.
CC reminds me of the guy that owns the pizza joint who gets really angry if you show up wanting a pizza 5 minutes before he closes; JK leaves me cold as does RP; MR and his contribution to the “gang of eight” speaks for itself and I’ve just never been a fan of his.
As far as JB is concerned, I find him about as trustworthy and believable as Hillary Clinton who I might add; he’s just a little too cozy with for my taste.
While I’d offer some improvements, overall I think this first debate was okay. I came away with renewed respect for MH…he was strong. I think SW is a stand-up guy who knows how to govern and should be taken very seriously. Without a doubt TC was one of the strongest candidates on the platform…very knowledgeable, believable, and focused. Finally DT is still a man that comes across as no nonsense, get out of the way, let’s take the bull by the horns and get down to the business of fixing America.
For my money, the new front runners as of now in the GOP are DT and TC, (dead heat) followed by SW and MH.
Now it’s time to start the culling. There should be no reason to have more than one show again. With the exception of Carly Fiorina, none of the candidates in the early show will gain any traction from this point and should either throw their support behind someone or just go away. Except Lindsay Graham, (he should just go away). It’s time for JK, CC, and RP from the big show to exit stage left as well.
Anyway, that’s my take. Let’s see how things develop over the coming weeks before the next show.