GOP Debate Analysis

I read the transcript of the debate yesterday and my impression was that McCain came across as dishonest, particularly in his mincing of the English language with respect to Romney's position on the surge. I can see why Bill Clinton says that McCain has much in common with Hillary, for who can forget the insane word games of the Clintons?

The best analysis I have seen of the debate was this by Hugh Hewitt. McCain comes across - I watched some clips on YouTube (and by far the best clips show McCain's obvious contempt for Romney and Paul) - as angry and un-Presidential. Far from being a viable candidate against either Obama or Clinton, he'll be vulnerable to attacks and that the MSM hasn't dished these up yet in his fight against Romney should be a large, flashing, neon "tell."

Go Right!

Courtesy of Reuters:

A road sign points the way to nearby towns Clinton and Prosperity in Newberry, South Carolina, January 25, 2008. US Democratic presidential candidates Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) have been criss-crossing South Carolina ahead of the state's Democratic primary election. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA)

Unprincipled or Brave?

Kathleen Parker accurately poses that question in her recent column about the Robertson endorsement of Rudy Giuliani. While I found this announcement interesting, I didn't put a whole lot of importance on it. Maybe I'm wrong in that regard.

The troubling thing about it is this: neither alternative is very good. If indeed one views his endorsement as a matter of bravery, it assumes that the conventional wisdom is correct: "Rudy is the only one who can beat Hillary." I think this talking point has been hammered so often that people haven't taken a really good look at the validity of it. Indeed, it seems to have gone straight from talking point to accepted fact by most pundits.

I think Rudy would have enormous difficulty differentiating himself from Hillary. While he is quick to point out how different they are, on social issues they are nearly identical (remember Hillary: "safe, legal and rare"?). Assuming Hillary makes it through the primary - and there's no reason to think she won't - she'll predictably move to the center on defense and taxes, thus minimizing the differences further. What's to inspire a conservative about a Rudy candidacy at that point? Hate of the Clintons?

The primaries are the time to slug it out over ideology, of course. Here's hoping that the eventual GOP nominee stands a chance of presenting a clear contrast to the Demo candidate. If it ends up Rudy, I think America's Mayor is going to go 0-for-2 against Hillary.

Put This One In The Books

And so we come to the close of another month. Time to flip the calendar, turn the page, cross off the old and look forward to the new.

May should be a good month. I have a couple of exciting things to look forward to in the coming month - more activism and even a homeschooling conference, all of which I'll share with you right here. Hopefully, my partners in this space will see their time free up and they can join in the fun.

I'll close out this last post of the month with an observation on the Democrat debate that happened last week (also known as the "Idiot Parade."). Hillary Clinton can raise all the money she wants, and her attack dogs and consultants can be as good as they are, but none of that changes the fact that she's a shrill, harsh, and personally unlikable candidate.

I'm no fan of him (you can read more here on the subject), but I think Obama is going to foil her grand plans. Most people outside of NY state don't realize this, but Hillary isn't all that experienced at much of anything, other than political survival. Barack is a better speaker and is personally much more appealing as a candidate, and I think this will bear itself out as we get closer to 2008. That said, these are Democrats we're talking about, so if I'm wrong, I'll attribute it to irrational people behaving, well, irrationally.

Big Shocker

So Hillary is going to run in 2008, have you heard?? I laughed at this headline this morning. According to the Laura Ingraham show, Team Billary has already taken a shot at Obama's muslim background, indicating/questioning that he was educated at a madrasa in Indonesia. Of course, had a conservative mentioned this, they'd be forced to resign... from whatever it is that they happen to be doing (Headline: "Dogcatcher Resigns Amid Backlash From 'Outing' Obama's Past").

I'd say that I'm psyched to see the two of them tear each other apart, except that this would be a little like watching the Green Bay Packers play the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC Championship. Isn't there a way where both of them can lose?