ABC

Two New Hampshire Republican Debates In 13 Hours!

Ronald Leave a comment

With the Iowa Caucuses results starting to sink in, and with the New Hampshire Primary now about two and a half days away, the six remaining GOP candidates for President square off tonight at 9 pm EST, televised on ABC, and at 9 AM EST tomorrow morning on NBC and MSNBC as part of MEET THE PRESS.

To have two debates over a period of 13 hours is in itself amazing, and a real test of ability to hold one’s composure, answer in an appropriate way without obvious mistakes, and make an impression on New Hampshire and national voters.

Mitt Romney is heavily favored, but needs to keep his wide lead over the field, or else it will be considered a defeat by many media sources. He also needs to keep his calm demeanor, and not overreact temperamentally to any attacks by his opponents, of which there are likely to be many, particularly by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, his closest challengers in the long run.

Newt Gingrich needs to demonstrate that he can be strong, assertive, but not obnoxious or condescending against his opponents, never easy for him, and to stop being a “cry baby” about strong attacks by his opponents, since he was the master of such tactics in his years in the House of Representatives.

Rick Santorum needs to show that he is concerned about other issues than social conservatism, and that he has the ability to draw independent support, which seems unlikely.

Ron Paul is Ron Paul, and is not going to worry about any impressions he makes, as he goes by a different drummer, as the saying goes.

Rick Perry needs to prove he has any legitimacy left, and not stumble as he has so often done in earlier debates, and convince people that he is the better choice for social conservatives, than Gingrich or Santorum, not a likely scenario.

Finally, Jon Huntsman needs to win New Hampshire, or end up a competitive second, as he has built his campaign so much on New Hampshire, ignoring Iowa altogether. If he wins or end up a close second, he can move on to Florida and other states. Otherwise, he is done for 2012!

So that is the summary of what must be accomplished or perceived about each of the six finalists for the nomination, and there will be lots of analysis after the joint debates, with the primary just two days away by their end!

Newt Gingrich: Lover Of Chaos, Tumult, Turmoil, Divisiveness. And Rhetorical Bomb Thrower!

Ronald 1 Comment

The ABC debate in Iowa on Saturday night demonstrated clearly that Newt Gingrich has not changed, and has no desire to change!

He is reveling in being a “bad boy’, and it seems as if the Republican base is eager for such a candidate.

Gingrich revels in promoting chaos, tumult, turmoil, and divisiveness, and is a constant rhetorical bomb thrower!

Mitt Romney is a “nice guy” and even says that Barack Obama, while judged a failure by Romney, is also a “nice guy”, and that he will not attack the personality or character of the President, just his policies. Romney also says that attacking in a vicious way is no way to win the election, and that it will not succeed.

Romney is more than ever becoming the Nelson Rockefeller of this election against a combination of Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy in Newt Gingrich!

But even Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon were never as outrageous in their rhetoric as Gingrich is, so Gingrich is more like Joseph McCarthy, who had no limits to his willingness to DESTROY the opposition! Like McCarthy, he has no scruples at all in his lust for power!

So Newt Gingrich is displaying himself as a real danger to the American nation, and can be seen as more dangerous than any previous candidate for President, as he would destroy any sense of civility in his search for power!

And more than ever, the thought of a President Gingrich is terrifying, and guaranteed to lead to corruption and scandals and a country in much greater trouble in all respects than it is now, or has ever been, at least since the Great Depression and the Civil War!

Gingrich must be stopped at all costs for the survival of America as a country of freedom and justice, and to avoid warfare all over the globe!

The Amazing Recovery Of Gabrielle Giffords

Ronald Leave a comment

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head in an assassination attempt in Tucson on January 8, has made a miraculous recovery in the ten months since that tragedy.

Having to relearn language and how to walk, and so many other things that we all take for granted, Giffords has become one of the small ten percent of people shot in the brain to recover and function.

Giffords has gone through intense therapy, and with the support of her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, and her mother, and the blessings and good will of millions of people in Arizona and elsewhere, she is now on the road to an inspirational recovery.

A special on ABC’s 20-20 with Diane Sawyer traced her steps toward recovery, and brought tears to the author’s eyes, in thankfulness and, at the same time, wonderment, at how Giffords has survived.

Giffords will have to decide by May whether she chooses to run for another term as a Congresswoman, and the nation will be praying for greater recovery efforts that will convince her to continue her stellar public career!

George Will’s Criticism Of The Republican Party: Too Southernized!

Ronald 1 Comment

George Will, the respectable conservative voice on ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, was sharply critical of the Republican Party this past weekend, in a way the author can totally agree with.

He pointed out that the Republican Party, the party that the South hated for a century because of the Civil War, has become overwhelmingly Southern in the past five election cycles.

Imagine this: 79 percent of the electoral votes the GOP has gained from 1992 to 2008 were in the South! Between that and the Northwest (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah) , the Republican Party has managed to make itself a sectional party, which Will is concerned dooms it in the 2012 Presidential Election!

Will pointed out that Ohio has been the crux of whether the GOP wins or loses, and probably will be the same in 2012.

The author wishes to remind the reader that EVERY Republican Presidential winner since the inception of the party in the 1850s has won Ohio, so when Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and Barack Obama won that state in 1976, 1992, and 2008, it guaranteed a Democratic victory.

This statement of Will should be recalled when one feels gloomy about the electoral prospects of Barack Obama, and remember that the Democrats are strong in the Northeast, the upper Midwest, and the Pacific Coast, and it is still their election to lose in 2012!