Day: January 23, 2012

Some Observations On The Tampa NBC Republican Presidential Debate

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Tonight’s Republican debate in Tampa, sponsored by NBC, was very uneventful, probably the least of any of the last few debates.

Mitt Romney came out swinging against Newt Gingrich, but Gingrich handled it quite well, and avoided dramatics, deciding to operate as if he was the leader, which in a way he is at this point of the battle for the GOP nomination.

Gingrich and Ron Paul seemed to become almost chummy with each other, in agreeing on the issue of the Federal Reserve.

Rick Santorum seemed, again, very strong in his repudiation of Gingrich and Romney, and if there was a “winner” of the debate, it might have been him, but it is doubtful that he can compete in Florida and make any major headway.

The most notable thing about the debate, hosted by Brian Williams of NBC, with the assistance of two Tampa area journalists, was the very proper and orderly audience, a welcome relief from the rude, obnoxious behavior of earlier debates, which upon further thought, occurred primarily at debates sponsored by Fox News Channel.

A Gingrich spokesman complained about the lack of involvement by the audience, but a debate should be that–a debate–and not an opportunity for an audience to act like they are at a sports event or a concert. So kudos to this audience and to NBC News for conducting such a dignified debate!

Florida: A Complex State Politically, And Hard To Predict Its Impact

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With the Florida Republican Primary just eight days away, and with many Republican voters having already engaged in early voting or absentee mail ballots, the question arises as to what one can expect to happen on January 31.

Mitt Romney has the most money and is seen as the moderate in the race, although he professes to be conservative.

Newt Gingrich, flush off his victory in South Carolina, would seem to have an edge, although Florida is not quite the same as South Carolina electorally, being much more unpredictable.

Florida is really multiple states in electoral behavior, as the Panhandle, particularly west of Tallahassee, the state capital, is very much like South Carolina or “southern Alabama”, strongly evangelical Christian and Tea Party oriented. But central Florida, including Tampa and Orlando, tends to be made up of people from the Midwest, while South Florida has large concentrations of Cubans, but also Northeasterners, including Jews in large numbers. And Puerto Ricans are found in Orlando in large numbers, and liberal strongholds exist in Tallahassee due to Florida State University’s presence, and in Gainesville, home of the University of Florida.

So if Florida comes across in the GOP Primary as too conservative, that can affect the balance among Hispanics, African Americans, and Jews, heavily concentrated in South Florida and portions of Central Florida, when it comes to the Presidential election in November.

Florida has a “split personality”, and being a megastate, more representative of the nation than Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, it could turn out to be very unpredictable in its impact on the Republican Presidential battle, and in the fall campaign against Barack Obama.

Gabrielle Giffords Leaving Congress: Hopefully Temporary Exit

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Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, victim of an assassination attempt in Tucson just over a year ago, has made a miraculous recovery, and has been an inspiration to everyone of every political persuasion.

Absent for the past year while recovering, and only returning to vote once, the Congresswoman has now decided that she needs more time to recover from her wounds, so she is resigning from her seat to allow her district to have a full time member representing them.

This is a courageous and principled stand, but it causes sadness among fans of Giffords, who wonder if she will ever return to Congress.

While no one can truly know the future, the odds seem excellent that in a few years, being more fully recovered in every way, that Giffords will come back and run for public office again. A key event to consider will be Senator John McCain’s seat in 2016, when McCain will be 80 years old, and supposedly, will decide to retire, making for an open Senate seat.

But meanwhile, full recovery is the emphasis, and the future will come on its own. Meanwhile, only the best can be wished for this wonderful woman, the best example of what we should wish for in American politics and its future!

The Transportation Security Administration, Elderly Ladies, And Senator Rand Paul Of Kentucky

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One of the most despised federal agencies is the Transportation Security Administration, created after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

A part of the Department of Homeland Security under Janet Napolitano, the TSA has shown total rigidity and a lack of common sense in its mission to prevent any chance of another September 11.

In theory, one cannot complain about the federal government doing everything it can to protect all of us who travel by air. But there is also such a thing as using one’s brains and recognizing preposterous situations.

Even going through a full body scan is seen by many people as dangerous healthwise and an invasion of privacy. But to demand a full body patdown for elderly ladies with equipment to allow them to travel without embarrassment of problems with their bodily functions, or for a United States Senator known to be a public figure, who shows he has no metal on his right leg, to be detained and prevented from flying is totally preposterous and is a policy totally insane.

One does not need to be a libertarian as Rand Paul is, to agree with him that invasion of privacy is out of control when it comes to flying. The TSA should be reformed to be flexible enough as to avoid ridiculous situations such as these examples.

This situation which has occurred with Rand Paul will probably promote his future political career on the national level, and indirectly, assist his father, Presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul, to gain notice with the issues he believes in, particularly getting the government out of one’s personal and private life as much as possible!