Curmudgeon's Corner

What Did You Make of the Iowa Debates?

Posted by Al Campbell on Aug. 12, 2011

Political, U.S., Quality of Life, Economy

What did you make of it all…the Republican Debate, that is?

I did watch the Iowa debate last evening and emerged from that experience with thoughts about whom I liked and whom I hoped would disappear quickly, and about the one who is about to get into this race.

I cannot get the “too slick by half” feeling about Mitt Romney out of my head.  He is very poised, I guess to a fault from my position.  I thought Tim Pawlenty did himself no big favors.  He had responses to questions but just didn’t seem terribly impassioned.  He took out after Michelle Bachmann since she was polling ahead of him for the Iowa caucus votes this Saturday.  I didn’t think she did a particularly good job last night, either, but she was very determined in her defense of her positions.  The rest of the people do not, at this point, seem to me to have much of a chance.  If one or two do succeed in overcoming what I see as being trapped in the ‘also ran’ category, I doubt they’ll last for long as the race gets into high gear.

The elephant in the room, of course, was Rick Perry, who let it be known that he would enter the race officially when he speaks this week-end.  He timed his soon-to-be-announced candidacy to cause some second guessing during the Iowa debates.

I don’t know about you, but I found myself comparing each of the debate ‘bunch’ to Perry all through the evening.  He brings his own baggage with him, but he seems to me to be a real contender immediately.  The talking heads tell us it will be Romney in first and Perry in second place with everyone else trying to be third. 

There will be some relatively quick sorting out as there should be since money will dry up for those who are deemed to have no real chance.

Governors, former or sitting, are the best qualified for the presidency since they have “executive” experience.  They have run states and made the kinds of decisions that heads of state need to be prepared to make.  They also have executive experience ‘records’ that trail along with them, and not every decision by every governor is one they’d like to be tagged with in a contest.

I am not comfortable with a single state having the power that Iowa has in its caucus process.  There are state-based wants and needs that the candidates play to or avoid completely.  We don’t get a clear picture of everyone before they become doomed to the scrap pile.  I will give the Iowans this: they are really into their caucus system and into the true “retail” politics that most of us know nothing about.  They get the opportunity to shake hands and look directly into the eye of many potential candidates in living rooms and on backyard decks all across Iowa.

Given our country’s current situation, Republicans need to get their nomination process right so that we conservatives have a very supportable candidate; a candidate for whom we can vote, rather than for whom we have to vote simply as an alternative to our present situation.

Not asking for much am I?