Repubs O Eight

So like a true political nerd I sat down and watched the whole republican presidential debate last night on MSNBC. I have to say that they one thing that really stood out in my mind was the amount of candidates that had their eyes on Iran. First of all Iran is probably a country to be worried about. However, they are a much more formidable foe than Iraq could ever be. Also I cannot understand how these candidates think that they will be elected when they are pushing for war in Iran and we are still fumbling in Iraq. Not to mention that the majority of the American people think that we are failing in Iraq.

Overall, I think that Romney, Giuliani, and McCain (all of whom already have the public's attention) did the best job at getting their positions accross and not stumbling when answering questions. Duncan Hunter scares me. During one of his responses, he completely avoided the question and went into a tirade about the Iran threat and how we must deal with them immediately. Jim Gilmore just comes off as a douche bag and Mike Huckabee seems alright, but he is also seems kinda soft. Tommy Thompson and Tom Tancredo did a fine job, but neither really blew my dress up. Lastly, Sam Brownback carried himself well and did a good job of getting his positions accross, but something about him just bothers me. Not to mention Ms. Brownback during a post-debate interview looked like she was a special bus regular.

The other element of the debate that engaged my brain was the Reagan ass kissing. Admittedly the debate took place in Reagan's library, but seriously. Every candidate on stage mentioned Reagan's name multiple times in an effort to associate themselves with the last uber popular conservative. I find it quite ironic because, for the voters, it is more of a question of what will you do to improve my life in the next four years and less about which past politicians you relate to. Also because many of the candidates tried to distance themselves from the current Bush administration and especially the decisions regarding the war in Iraq. As a whole the candidates are trying to distance themselves from the current negative sentiment towards the party and revive the overwhelming support for the great communicator.

As we are still a year and a half away from the 08 elections, anything is possible at this point. The one thing I know for sure is that it is very entertaining to watch candidates try and defend their positions while at the same time trying to appeal to the broadest base of the American voting population that they can.