i have a dream....,

[Lord Jim]

Part of what's going on with the "Trump phenomena" that's taking place now, is that there is a portion of the electorate that has come to confuse being rude, childish, coarse and obnoxious with "straight talk" and "telling it like it is"....

Donald Trump doesn't "tell it like is"...

Trump is an egotistical know-nothing bloviating blowhard, who wouldn't know an actual fact about anything related to US domestic or foreign policy if it fell out of the sky, landed on his face and proceeded to wiggle...

And ate his wig...

He makes shit up and just talks completely out his ass...(much like one person we have around here....)

What Trump is good at, is making shit up and talking completely out his ass in a sincere and authoritative sounding way...

Which is a talent any good con artist hones; and which explains his success in business...

[wesw]

why are you so worried about trump?

just let him do his thing. geez, its a free country......

vote john Kasich!!!!!!

[Lord Jim]

Wes, I have to say that I'm a little concerned that you and I have reached the same conclusion about who the strongest candidate the GOP could run is...

It makes me wonder if I haven't made a mistake somewhere in my analysis...

[wesw]

doesn t surprise me.....

i think that over 50% will agree with us.....

i won t support or vote for bush.

[Big RR]

/sounds like you're writing about Christie.

[Lord Jim]

Christie's biggest problem at this point is that there's nothing that he has to offer that isn't better provided by some other candidate...

You want a brash, shoot from the lip type who doesn't talk like a politician? Train Wreck makes Christie look downright Amish on the politeness scale by comparison...

You want a governor with a proven track record for attracting independent voters? Kasich and Walker both offer that, and both of them are also currently popular in their home states, (which Christie isn't) and neither of them have former senior subordinates under indictment (which Christie does)

I don't see the predicate for Christie's candidacy any more. He should have taken the shot in 2012.

[Big RR]

I think the biggest difference between Trump and Christie on the brashness scales is that Trump always comes off looking like a buffoon, while Christie comes off more like a jerk and a bully (kind of like Rush). And there does appear to be more of a market for a jerks/bullies than buffoons, which is why Christie gets votes in his home state and has nationwide supporters, though not enough to win the nomination I'd bet. I would agree that his candidacy has very little chance of going anywhere (and if he could manage to be elected president, that his jerk/bully persona would result in him getting his ass kicked by real politicians in Congress, who wouldn't put up with it).

[RayThom]

Christie... should have taken the shot in 2012.

Christie wasn't in any shape to "run" four years ago. Besides, he knew it would be near impossible to beat a popular incumbent so he never got serious. Had he received the nom he knew he'd be viewed as a patsy and sacrificial lamb thereby ruining any chances for another shot. The outcome was inevitable. Look what happened to Romney. Pfft!

Christie is less morbidly obese this time around with a better chance to control his various physical and psychological health issues. Looking at this current Repub motley crew, and knowing there is still a very long 462 days and 12 hours to go, I think anyone is as good as the next.

So, who do you think Biden will chose as his running mate?

[Lord Jim]

Kasich makes the cut...

Fox News announces GOP debate field

John Kasich and Chris Christie are in — Rick Perry is out.

Kasich and Christie clinched the last two spots for this week's 10-candidate debate, Fox News announced Tuesday, joining Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.

The debate will be 9 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland.

Perry finished 11th in the aggregate of polls Fox used to determine the field. That relegated the former Texas governor to a debate at 5 p.m. Thursday with other candidates outside the top 10: Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki and Jim Gilmore.

"Our field is the biggest and most diverse of any party in history and I am glad to see that every one of those extremely qualified candidates will have the opportunity to participate on Thursday evening," said Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus. "Republicans across the country will be able to choose which candidate has earned their support after hearing them talk through the issues."

Perry's absence from the prime-time debate eliminates one of the party's most outspoken critics of Trump, the brash billionaire who leads Republican preference polls.

Taking the rejection in stride, Perry tweeted that he is looking forward to the 5 p.m. debate "for what will be a serious exchange of ideas & positive solutions to get America back on track."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /31118133/

Those who want to dismiss Kasich as "this year's John Hunstman," do so at their peril...

He is not a "liberal Republican"....

He's a likeable, pragmatic conservative in the Reagan mold...(laying aside the fact that he's easily the most qualified candidate, both politically and in terms of experience)

And he understands the process quite well...

He understands it well enough to realize that given his starting point, it would be in his best interest to be the last man in...

[Lord Jim]

doesn t surprise me.....

i think that over 50% will agree with us.....

i won t support or vote for bush.

Wes, That you would prefer Hillary Clinton over Jeb Bush, is well, a little on the nut side...

[wesw]

that is not what I said at all.

Hillary is the worst option of all.

if it is bush-Clinton I will not vote for either.

if that happens I will either stay home or go for trump or some other third party..., or fourth party...., or fifth....

[Crackpot]

At least Hillary is competent which is more than you can say about Cruz, Trump and a few other of the republican candidates. (And that don't count the batshit insane ones).

[wesw]

well, I find cruz very un appealing, but I don t see him as incompetent. he is a skilled demagogue.

trump is certainly competent. running a multi national empire isn t bean bag....

even his bankruptcies speak well of his common sense. not throwing good money after bad is smart. our govt could benefit from that if politicians could just admit that a policy wasn t working out sometimes, and change it.

Clinton s claim to competency rests on the Russian "reset" and the Libyan fiasco...
...and secrets, always secrets......

[Big RR]

trump is certainly competent. running a multi national empire isn t bean bag....

If he is indeed running it; he seems much more interested in self promotion and fame than running a business. We've all had bosses like him, guys who get good people around them and then take all the credit while doing little to nothing. Face it, his comments alone show that he has a big problem with reality and indicate he may not work well with others, let alone be an effective politician in dealing with congress.

As for Hillary, I think her time in the senate showed she has enough sense to navigate the political world. You may not like her politics, but she is competent enough to understand the game. I'm not Hillary's biggest fan (she kind of strikes me as a smarter retread of Bill, who I didn't care for either), but we could do a lot worse than her as president.

[Lord Jim]

Ted Cruz is a very bright fellow, (he's a Harvard law school graduate who won nine cases before the Supreme Court as Solicitor General of Texas) but completely amoral and lacking in any and all principles...(he may well be a psychopath; I could never vote for him...)

Rand Paul is also a very bright fellow, and he has principles...

But his principles are crazy, and would do great harm to this nation, so I could never vote for him....

Donald Trump...

Don't even get me started on Donald Trump....

He's completely unqualified for the job; he's an embarrassment, his presence in the nominating process is toxic...

Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, (yeah CP, I know you disagree with me about Scott Walker; but that's what makes horse races) could all win the election against Hillary and make decent Presidents...

(Our strongest ticket unquestionably would be Kasich-Rubio...The two most popular political figures in Ohio and Florida.... what's not to like? )

[Big RR]

Jim--out of curiosity, what makes you view of Walker's chances so optimistic; do you really think some of his social policies would really play well with the national electorate?

I can't argue about Bush, Rubio, and Kasich; all of them have a chance and I agree about Cruz. As for Paul, I do agree that some of his principles are crazy and would not be good for the US, but I imagine we differ on what those crazy principles are.

[wesw]

"unquestionably"?

hardly....

Rubio, might be a viable candidate 8 yrs from now, but not now. he not only looks about 30, he comes across as naïve and unsophisticated, still wet behind the ears. he is not presidential yet, and I would be skeptical of any candidate who chose him. it would be seen as pandering, similar to McCain s choice of palin.

Kasich and perhaps Romney? maybe. Kasich and Jason chaffetz... maybe.

Kasich and someone other than the current crop of wannabes...? 50-50...

[Lord Jim]

what makes you view of Walker's chances so optimistic

Big RR, Walker would not be my first choice, but The Left tried to take him down three times in the purple state of Wisconsin, (in his first election, in a recall, and in his re-election)...

And he beat them every time...

Whether you like him or not, dude's got to have some skills to do that...

[Big RR]

True, but that's Wisconsin, not the entire US.

[Sue U]

Please oh please make Scott Walker the GOP nominee! The dysfunction and paralysis he brought to Wisconsin government will play GREAT in the election ads! And it would guarantee an incredible mobilization of organized labor in support of the Democratic nominee.