Sunday, January 22, 2012

Newt!

Well, Newt came thru like gangbusters and the GOP nomination is still open. And we still haven't killed off Ron Paul or Rick Santorum. But it surely looks like a showdown between Newt and Mitt.
The real question is who has the best chance of beating Obama? Both Newt and Mitt have some baggage that doesn't help. Newt has a long history of supporting and defending damn near everything under the sun. So does Mitt. Newt has two exwives and two ugly divorces. Mitt is a rich man who pays capital gains rates.
In my estimation Mitt should have handled the Bain Capital attacks. He had his supporters, Chris Christy and the Wall St Journal step up with solid defenses, but Mitt said nothing. Mitt should have said "At Bain I invested money into [list of winner companies]. Those companies are doing well today and employ [pick a good defensible number] people, who would be on unemployment today except for my investments in their companies. "
Mitt never came forward with a tax overhaul plan. 9-9-9 might not be fiscally possible but it was clear and simple and we voters had no trouble figuring out what it would mean to us. I have no idea what a Romney administration would mean to my taxes. Mitt has learned the lesson of the media too well, don't say anything at all because whatever you say gains you enemies, never friends. He has been very adroit at coming out four square for motherhood and apple pie and never saying anything of substance. We voters notice. Particularly from a man who has stood on both sides of abortion, single payer health care, gun control, tax hikes, and many other things. If you look at Mitt's record, you can't tell where he is coming from, and waffling on the debate platform doesn't help him.
Gingrich sounds very good on the debate stage, and we love to hear him raking newsies over the coals. He figures the newsies will never give him any decent coverage so why not let 'em have it, right between the eyes? It's a good show, and there are enough obnoxious newsies out there to furnish a target rich environment right up to November. Gingrich sounds feisty and we voters want someone to go to Washington, take names and kick ass. Gingrich puts on a good show, although a thoughtful voter might think that trashing Congressmen the way he did poor Juan Williams could be counterproductive.
But, who can win against Obama? Up til last night, I would have said "Mitt". Now I am not so sure. I want a candidate who can win because four more years of Obama will wreck the country, even worse than it is now. I am not yet convinced that Newt is electable. And we have endless primaries yet to go.

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