Tonight, seven Republican candidates for President debated in New Hampshire. I believe President Obama can and probably will be defeated by whomever the Republican nominee ends up being, so electability is not the issue for me, the issue is who is the best candidate for the job of President. I watched the debate in its entirety with great interest, and here are some of my thoughts on each of the seven that participated tonight...
- Sen. Rick Santorum: I've always liked Santorum because of his courageous leadership on Right-to-Life and other important social and religious issues. But he comes off as a guy who doesn't have a Presidential temperament. He always seems kind of wired and it makes you wonder about him as a decision maker (he's always been as legislator not an executive, so there isn't a record to go on in that regard).
- Rep. Michele Bachmann. She blew a great opportunity to answer the first question by announcing she filed her paper work today and that a formal announcement is coming soon. Stupid mistake. Her answers overall were very good. She is clearly very smart, very solidly conservative and a leader. Her family story is remarkable (five kids and 23 foster kids).
- Speaker Newt Gingrich. Newt was impressive. He knows everything about everything and has specific solutions for it all. He was very aggressive and assertive tonight.
- Gov. Mitt Romney. Romney gave a strong performance in tonight's debate and answered everything well. His debate experience from 2008 clearly showed through. The problem is his record as Governor (government-run health care) and his recent comments on global warming.
- Rep. Ron Paul. He looks and sounds like a guy you would meet at the flea market. His libertarian stances on foreign policy are just too much for me, but he serves a very important role in this process by continually bringing up monetary policy and the role of the Federal Reserve, two very important and complicated issues that must be discussed but might not be if not for him.
- Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The media continues to try to make this a Romney/Pawlenty battle, but Pawlenty isn't going anywhere with primary voters. Some of his answers were just weak, specifically his trying to dodge a confrontation with Romney over health care, which he previously called "Obomney care".
- Herman Cain. Pretty solid performance, but it made me question his depth of knowledge on all the issues. I think he's smart and his leadership experience would lead him to correct decisions for the country.
It's refreshing to hear what these candidates collectively have to say. If I had to rank them tonight in order of how they did in this specific debate, I would go...
- Newt
- Romney
- Bachmann
- Paul
- Cain
- Santorum
- Pawlenty
Considering their records, experience, and positions, I would rate my CURRENT preference for the GOP nomination as follows...
- Newt
- Bachmann
- Cain
- Pawlenty
- Paul
- Santorum
- Romney
I have ruled out voting for Santorum and Romney. My interest in Paul and Pawlenty is only contingent on them becoming the only alternatives to Romney (which I don't believe will happen). I've narrowed it down to Newt, Bachmann, and Cain, and I switched Newt and Bachmann around several times while writing that list. There are a few other potential candidates out there that might get in the race (Huntsman, Giuliani, Palin), but they aren't considerations for me. Chris Christie would be, though, but I just don't believe he'll run. I will go on record tonight in saying that Michele Bachmann has a legitimate chance to be the first female President of the United States. I believe it is a real possibility. My concern is that the conservative vote will get so divided between several candidates that Romney ends up being the last man standing. I believe Romney's defense of his health care plan in Massachusettes and his recently stated global warming views are an effort to follow the path McCain took the nomination last time, allowing the media to propel him to victory. The 2010 elections demonstrate that things have changed in the Republican party, that the Republican base is anti-establishment and has no interest in business-as-usual Republican politics or what the media has to say about what they should do. It is going to be a fascinating seven months leading up to the primaries.
