And in the Right-Hand Corner...

I watched a big chunk of the Republican debates the other night. I felt a little like an interloper from the other side of the street.

Still there were some cool things said. I was a bit put off at first by Ron Paul. He just came across and angry and ornery. And, frankly, the things he was suggesting overall weren’t very republican! The next day, and the suggestion of a friend here at work, I checked out his website. It’s interesting, because he seems to be the only candidate that really “gets” why the rest of the world seems to hate us. Very interesting, but my money says he hasn’t got a prayer.

Rudy did pretty well. He came off as authoritative and knowledgeable. I honestly think McCain did well, too. As much as I wanted him to do well, I wasn’t that impressed with Mitt’s performance. I guess it seemed a bit too much like a performance, and not so substantial as a few of the others. That was a bit of a bummer. I kinda felt like I’d come to the game to root for my home team, but they just didn’t play that well. When he was asked about some of his flip-flop policies, he handles it by saying, “I was wrong back then”. It’s nice that he steps up to that, but it does make me wonder if he will sometime say the same thing about his promises now…

Oh, well…

Then there were a lot of other comments by a lot of other people in suits that were pretty much optional and inconsequential.

One moment that was kind of interesting was when someone asked about gays in the military. Some said, “Don’t ask, don’t tell is working now, let’s not change it in the middle of a war.” Others just sort of avoided the issue. After all that, the moderator/questioner asked, “Is there anyone on among the candidates that would support those that are openly gay serving in the armed forces?”

Dead silence.

I mean, you could hear the crickets chirping and see the tumbleweeds roll across the stage.

Another thing that was interesting is that there were lots of questions about the state of the Republican Party. What made me chuckle is the way those questions were phrased. There were no questions like, “What is the future of the GOP?” or “How would you lead the party into the next four years?” Oh, no. The questions were more like, “What would you do to salvage the party?” and “Why is the party in such disarray?” or “Are we seeing the end of the Republicans?” It’s like it was a given that it’s broken, so let’s not ask if you feel that way, just cut to the chase and ask if you think you can fix it.

And everyone was trying to distance themselves from Dubya. It’s like he’s poison right now. Kinda makes me chuckle.

Anyway, I love watching the political game. It really is the best show in town.

MRKH
Mark Hansen
http://markhansenmusic.com