This week saw the first Republican debate with the field being limited to 8 hopefuls vying for the nomination against the elephant in the room, Donald Trump. Trump, with a commanding 40 point lead sat this one out, and while arguments can be made for and against this strategy, he enjoys success as a matter of routine when the odds are stacked against him. Rather than suggest a winner and loser, I thought I would take a different approach and drive over to Lightning Ridge and see what old Uncle Remus thought about the debate. Here is how he saw it from his porch with his dog, Biscuit, laying by his chair.
1. Gov. DeSantis had a good outing. He was as keyed up in the beginning as cousin Ed was the day he got caught by the missus on the back porch of Ms. Sally’s gentleman’s club. He has solid conservative creds, was definitive in his standing on several key issues, and wiggled a bit when pinned by the moderators. He conveyed strength and is now raising more money than Hunter at an art sale.
2. Gov. Burgum, standing on a freshly torn Achilles tendon, looked and sounded like he was standing on a torn Achilles tendon. He appears to be a good guy but failed to branch out much from the obvious safe conservative talking points. He will likely not generate enough cash to stay in the hunt. Sad as it is, folks in Chicago don’t care much for what a Governor from Dakota says.
3. Gov. Chris Christie is a good debater, but is snarky and mean spirited. His experience in this forum shows, but he hit a wall castigating Trump. This was not the place to bash the Donald, there will be plenty of time to do that later. He did however do a good job on the asinine question about UFO’s. He’ll be around for awhile, but needs to chart a different course in terms of strategy. His pomposity about New Jersey and his success there is laughable. The state is, was and always will be a train wreck. Remus doesn’t trust him……..
4. Gov, Nikki Haley played well. She is experienced and was reasonably tough on a stage full of testosterone. She has solid foreign policy creds, was thoughtful and articulate, but her snarky, condescending tone with Mr. Ramaswamy hurt her, probably an attempt to show how high she can pee on a post with the guys. She’s in it for awhile……time will tell.
5. Gov. Hutchinson will be able to tell the grands and great grands he ran. He is low key, was considerate and shot himself in the foot lambasting Trump prematurely. When you are in a scrap, DeSantis will have your back, old Hutch will hurry like hell to find someone else to have your back. Not an enviable place to be in todays violent political environment. Remus remembered that a fella named Clinton was from Arkansas………
6. VP Pence is filled with self admiration. Had Brett Baier not all but threatened him, he would still be talking. He learned a lot of things from Trump, pomposity was one of them. He also learned to attack when threatened and all but slapped poor Ramaswamy from the stage. How dare a successful businessman hold forth on a political stage. Pence forgot from whence his old boss came. He will hang around for awhile, but is going to run out of gas (and cash) soon enough. He came across as self righteous……….enough said. (Remus didn’t like his haircut….says it tells you a lot about a man…and ole Biscuit growled)
7. Sen. Scott is a MUCH more capable version of Jimmy Carter. He has a keen understanding of America and it’s needs, is considerate and should make it to the final stages. I am afraid his admirable demeanor is going to get him in trouble. Reagan was capable of eliciting a warm response while going behind the curtain to get the job done (can Scott?) Remus thinks he has more ability than of any of them to reach across the aisle, unfortunately Congress doesn’t play that way today. He is absolutely perfect Vice presidential material, but then again, a setting hen would make a better VP than the old chrone in there now.
8. Mr. Vivek Ramaswamy is whip smart, articulate and able to mix it up in the Boardroom. He didn’t amass a fortune by not understanding folks, motivations and realities. He has already loaned his committee 15 million dollars and is not a politician……endearing qualities to everyone but politicians who, unfortunately, don’t make outsiders welcome. He is a new rooster who needs to be damned careful around the old roosters in the barnyard. Old roosters are hell to pay when you step onto their barnyard says old Remus. Biscuit liked him…….
Uncle Remus sees it this way. Change is coming, unless the 30% of Americans who allegedly think Joey and his Cabal are on the right track, suddenly morph into a majority at the polls next year. I’ll check in with old Remus from time to time, when he is not busy thinking about fishin’ or delivering a fresh watermelon to Miss Sally’s Gentleman’s Club. He’ll know….and is hard to fool!
Have a great week!
SR
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