Debate reactions

Not that this really matters (because this is another non-primary debate), but I figured I'd share some thoughts about the candidates last night.

Rudy and Mitt:

This is really what this race is about. Even though Mitt can't seem to gain any serious traction in the polls, he's making a decent amount of money in the race (provided he quits loaning his campaign some of the dough). But these two are the only ones making a decent amount of sense, and are seemingly "trustworthy." See, that's the key for us -- can we trust them? We can't seem to shake the appearance of Mitt Romney of being too prepared, too polished, and too rehearsed. Rudy, we believe, had a much better night than Mitt did, but the race right now is coming down to these two.

Fred!!:

With all due respect, we were excited to see him jump in the race (FINALLY!) and in his first outing last night he looked tired. Can he smile, or show some sort of excitement? With all due respect to readers of this blog, and supporters of Fred Thompson, we'll give him a pass for last night's unimpressive performance. We were expecting more, and he didn't deliver. Why are we giving him a pass? It was his first debate, and he might have been a little unfamiliar with the forum so we'll give him a pass this time. We do hope that his next outing will be better. If not, he might want to reconsider his decision. You need to show that you want this job, and he just seems to be bored of the whole thing.

McCain:

Like Fred, he looks tired. Unlike the aforementioned three, he lacks funds. Time for him to bow out, and get off the stage. He may have had a chance at the beginning of the campaign, but the old "maverick" is lacking in lot of areas.

The rest:

I was on Hugh's show last night, and I mentioned something that took him down memory lane. Remember the foam rubber bricks that were a hot item when Howard Cosell used to do Monday Night Football? The ones that people could throw at their TVs when Howard was on? (I frankly don't understand why anyone really disliked Howard Cosell. I actually thought it was pretty cool he could recall the highlights of the first half without any notes.) Everytime I see the also-rans in these debates, I want a foam rubber brick. These guys don't stand a chance -- even on an Independent ticket -- of winning the nomination. A couple may be maneuvering for a veep slot (like Mike Huckabee), but even if the frontrunners went down in a plane crash tomorrow, the also-rans still wouldn't stand a chance at the nomination. They have no real issues (aside from the one-note wonders in Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo), and they sound so damned bored being up on stage.

Publius II