As I watch the Republican presidential election I hear most of them happily confess their determination to defeat President Obama, repeal Obama-Care, and of course NEVER EVER raise taxes. Right now my biggest concern is what is going to be done with our deficit. None of them, that I heard, had an explanation as to how we will ever pay off the $14 Trillion that they and Obama have run up over the last 10 years. Do they sincerely believe we can ever take care of this deficit simply by cutting everything? They all even raised their hands when asked if they are offered an option where the cuts would be 10 times any raise in taxes that they would still not raise taxes. It's that kind of stubborn "herd" approach that really concerns me about this group of people. Never ? It doesn't make sense that we simply walk away from these debts we ran up in our recent history and I guess hope the whole thing will simply evaporate.
Something about these debates always makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't think its well done, always encouraging arguments between each of the candidates. That's not productive, all it does is display their ability to be get really nasty and but I'm not sure that's necessarily a skill imperative for a President. What are their ideas for solving America's problems? The press, as usual, encourages discourse in these elections and the political parties are only happy to oblige. It's the same old dog and pony show. Who can zing the other person the best. But this isn't a game, this is the process of selecting the most qualified person to lead our country.
I wish I had counted the number of times they have mentioned how much they want to remove President Obama from power. They all have said it at least once, (with one exception whom I will get to in a minute). Why do they say that? It's obvious they want to get rid of Pres. Obama or they wouldn't be there. To me, it's insulting.
Anyway, as an Independent I think what I often crave are the ideas that are most likely to work in reality, not the usual "blah, blah" against the opposing party. So, in my opinion Ms. Bachmann was by far the worst of all the candidates with her very predictable "boogie man" portrayal of President Obama and her continual announcements about "what Americans want", when what she really means is what the Tea Party wants. Mitt Romney did exactly what he needed to do to maintain his position as the leader of the pack; look presidential and don't say anything stupid. The only really honest person on the stage was Ron Paul. I found myself, like the audience., cheering him on. By far, the best part was his rebuttal to Pawlenty who mentioned we've been at war with Iran since 1979 when the Americans were taken hostage. Ron Paul rebutted that the war actually started in 1953 when the US government set up the Shah of Iran as its puppet government and that the US needs to bring its troops home, mind its own busines, and stop spending trillions of dollars on the problems of foreign governments. Right on, Ron Paul ! I really like Ron Paul, he says what he thinks and nevermind what Republican traditions are. Also, unless I missed it I didn't notice him running his mouth about how much he can't stand President Obama. Who would I vote for out of all them for President? At this point I'm looking at Romney and Ron Paul, but Huntsman caught my attention also. Not too much "blah, blah" from him and alhough rather stiff, he did seem to be speaking his mind. In the end, that's what I'm looking for, honesty and fresh ideas.
In My Humble Opinion,
Chuck Marshall
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