Lightning Round

Did you catch the Des Moines Register GOP debate yesterday? Didn't think so. I only survived the first hour, but here's a quick "lightning round" recap:

Fred Thompson: He's acting angry now. At least he's showing signs of being interested in the whole enterprise.

Mitt Romney: He reiterated that he is in favor of things being "strong". The "Weak" lobby must be devastated. This guy really takes generalities to a whole new level. If he ran against Hillary, I can just hear the debate:

Moderator: How would you fix Social Security for future generations?

Hillary: I believe this is an important issue, no question. I promise as your President to take a serious look at this issue. I think it is that important.

Mitt: I believe that a strong military and strong families is how you solve that crisis. And that's what I'll bring to this issue - strength.

American Public: Is Mike Bloomberg still available?

Ron Paul: In deference to his most rabid independent fundraisers, every issue for him is now related to the currency of the United States, and our need to return to the gold standard. His college supporters everywhere have to be scratching their heads, saying, "I wonder if it's too late to switch our support to that short Democrat who married the tall redhead..."

Tom Tancredo: I had the odd experience last night of realizing that he represents Colorado. I am pretty sure that I have referred to him in past entries as being from California. Is it possible that Tancredo is so obscure, that even someone like myself who is immersed in the process doesn't know what state he represents??? I think hell might be an endless lunch date with this guy. I'll let you know...

Alan Keyes: Ah, bet you didn't know he was running, did you? Keyes was selected as the GOP's sacrificial lamb in 2004 against the juggernaut that was Barack Obama in Illinois. Of course, Keyes was listed as being from Maryland. Seems he goes where the cameras are, regardless of state affiliation. He was quite the angry candidate last night, too, railing against the Republican machine at each opportunity instead of answering any questions. He reminded me of the fictitious news commentator, Marvin Disgruntled, who ended every commentary with his signature line, "I'm Marvin Disgruntled, and you can all go to hell."

Duncan Hunter: He received no questions on immigration, yet still managed to get in a line about his plans to finish the giant wall across our southern border. I am sure that in his view, that would prevent any more Mexicans coming into our country and attacking us again, like they did on September 11th.

John McCain: Does he have enough time left to make his move against such a weak field? The clock is ticking.

Rudy Giuliani: Low taxes will cure cancer. I especially liked his line that every great innovation in our country's history occurred when government got out of the way, and was not involved. Perhaps he didn't consider the space program to be a government program And the Internet? Government program. Has he ever heard of the military-industrial complex?

Mike Huckabee: On message, once again. The guy is smooth, perhaps the smoothest politician in the entire 6,000 year history of the planet.

21 more days til caucus.

JS

Potpourri

It's been 7 weeks since we left New Hampshire, and I've spent the majority of that time writing about our adventures while there. Time has not stopped, however, and much has happened in the campaigns during my hiatus from current events. I can't recapture all of it, but here's some catch up stuff:

Switching Parties: I have a new question for Giuliani: Is Joe Torre a flip-flopper?

Finding his O Spot: If Letterman did the introductions at an Obama event now, would he update his infamous joke from the Oscars several years back - "Oprah, Obama. Obama, Oprah."

Perhaps other candidates should seek out celebrity endorsements. Obama has Oprah, Huckabee has Chuck Norris. I'd love to see Phil Donahue stump with his body double, Chris Dodd. Fred Thompson might want to consider signing on with that talk show guy who talks to dead people. Maybe he'll listen to Fred.

Are You Talking to Me?: During the last Democratic debate, Hillary was speaking about inspiration on the campaign trail, and she mentioned the thrill of seeing "fathers who had driven hundreds of miles with their daughters to see me". Cherie is convinced that Hillary was referring to me and Marra. Of course she was. We had a sign.

The Plant People: Marra and I learned why Hillary didn't call o us during the 2 events we attended. Seems her campaign was caught in Iowa of planting people in the audience with specific questions. Don't we already have a President that does this stuff? Just because she plants Democrats to ask questions doesn't make it right.

Biden His Time: I have a suggestion for the Biden camp. Run an ad in Iowa and New Hampshire with quick cuts from the last Democratic debate. Everyone on that stage at one point or another said, "I agree with Joe", or "Senator Biden is right on this point", or "Sen. Biden has been a leader on this issue". He seems to be the consensus choice of every candidate running. He should capitalize on that. Could be a cool ad. "Instead of voting for someone who agrees with Joe, let's cut out the middle man. Vote for Joe."

I fear he won't survive past January 6th.

Richardson Open Veep Exploratory Committee: Why can't he just admit that he wants to be Hillary's running mate? It would free up some time during the debates for other candidates to speak.

Real Time Reality Check: Watching Bill Maher on Real Time after the trip, I heard him fillet Giuliani for telling a kid that he would protect us from alien invasion. Funny take, but we were in the room in Exeter, NH when that happened. Maher took the experience completely out of context. It was a harmless joke this time, but I wonder how often that happens every day during the 24 hour news cycle.

Hostage Crisis: If Hillary's campaign office in Rochester, NH had come under siege during Oprah's tour with Obama, how long would it take before someone would cry, "Conspiracy!" The woman inspires divisiveness. Will she ever be able to adequately overcome that?

Immigration Nation: The demagoguery on the GOP side is unrelenting. Romney and Giuliani both used to have balanced and reasonable points of view on the issue, and both have abandoned those positions in search of right wing support in the primaries. When will someone say that most illegal immigration is caused by people coming here legally, but overstaying their visa periods? It is not all landscapers and painters with dark skin and accents.

C-SPAN 2: Enough with these "Book TV" programs. Let's see more candidates shaking hands of regular folks for hours on end. Riveting stuff like that.

JS