Source: CVDaily Feed
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“I had therefore to remove knowledge in order to make room for belief.”
—Immanuel Kant
I am so glad I was wrong. Donald Trump did not turn the GOP presidential debate, held last week in Cleveland, into a circus. He decided to turn the entire week afterward into one! Surprisingly, August has many stories that I wish to cover. And this column will offer a few random thoughts on these subjects.
— I cannot say who “won” the GOP debate last week. Frankly, such a format with 10 people on stage did not allow for much jockeying. On the seven candidate “undercard” debate, which I did not watch, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina was pronounced the winner by many members of the media.
During the Main Event, I thought Jeb Bush sounded good, Chris Christie won the argument against Rand Paul about government surveillance, Ted Cruz broke away from just being a Tea Party darling and John Kasich won points by taking positions that too many GOP voters would consider liberal.
The real stars of the debates were the Fox News moderators. Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly delivered blistering salvos that I want lobbed at presidential candidates. To their credit, most of the candidates took the grilling in stride and replied with affirmation.
— Did I say most? Donald Trump showed how battle ready he is to deal with Vladimir Putin and a hostile Congress by going the entire week after the debate butt-hurt at questions asked of him by Megyn Kelly. Specifically, Kelly asked him about his long, documented history of misogynistic comments he has targeted at women he personally holds animus against.
In his response, he sounded offended that Kelly be so audacious to ask a candidate for the most powerful office on Earth if he has the temperament to hold that position. And then the whole week after was about Trump’s comments about Kelly—including a vague comment that I construed as Trump suggesting Kelly’s professionalism might have been compromised by her menstrual cycle.
And Trump held firm in the polls.
This circus must be closed down. Megyn Kelly, nor no member of the media, is a lackey for a megalomaniac with a thin skin and a sense of entitlement that is visible from outer space. Kelly was a right to ask questions that brought up Trump’s uncouth comments about women. And I believe that his obsession with this subject in the day that followed was because he subliminally thinks he is immune to such criticisms—especially from a woman.
— The GOP debate drew an estimated 24 million viewers. Simultaneously, the last show Jon Stewart appeared as host of “The Daily Show“ on Comedy Central drew 4 million viewers.
Huh? Jon Stewart, the man that liberal media outlets has pronounced as canon to be the most trusted source of news for Millennials was thoroughly trounced in the ratings by a debate for an office that will not be filled for another 15 months?
But….but…but it’s Jon Stewart! The man who morally stands above us, like Moses On High, and heralds political edicts that shames the insincere and brands the stupid irrevocably and forever.
Is it possible that six times more Americans wanted to hear from political candidates directly instead of the filtered moral prophylactic that is a Jon Stewart polemic rant?
Wow!
I do not have a bad opinion of Jon Stewart. He was quite successful at what he did. My problem is with the media making him into some sort of sage. He speaks, we all listen.
Did you ever read a news blurb the day after Stewart would criticize a story on “The Daily Show”? It used adjectives that suggested Stewart personally smote politicians from existence. Fact was, Stewart was just another liberal who only took shots at liberals from the left. He was the darling of people who disqualify Republicans by insulting their intelligence.
And if Stewart was proven wrong on a point, his escape clause was that he was only a comedian. He fostered a legacy and cultivated the hosannas thrown at him like laurels…but when called to accountability, he recused himself from serious consideration.
Jon Stewart was overrated. And his influence was debunked when on his last show when Americans decided to hear what politicians had to say instead of what Jon Stewart had to say about them.
— Hillary Clinton is 67 years old. Bernie sanders is 73. Joe Biden is 72. One of these three people will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2016. Old people can govern effectively. That is not my argument. What bothers me—and should bother Democrats—is that no young candidates can be found to run for the highest office after winning four of the past six presidential elections.
I understand that many younger Democrats grew up worshipping the Clintons. I grew up with an almost deist worship for Ronald Reagan. But Hillary is a loser. If Donald Trump is unsuccessful in his malevolent attempt to destroy the GOP, they will most likely have a solid candidate at the top of their ticket. With an unpopular president, a sagging economy and a general pessimism about government overreach, the Democrats are going to run out an older candidate with tons of baggage.
One more point: if the Democrats lose in 2016, who is their front runner for 2020?
Yeah. They have got a problem.
— During the debate, Bernie Sanders tweeted his reactions to the points raised. He sat on a couch with a legal pad and a pen and dictated Tweets to an assistant. What was Hillary doing? She was posting selfies of her with various members of the Kardashian-Jenner brood.
The insincerity and desperation of Hillary Clinton would be laughable if she was not so close to attaining the power she and Bill so lustily crave to regain.
— I registered my daughter to vote last week. My older son turns 18 in November and he plans only registering as well. They both plan on voting for Bernie Sanders in 2016. Where did I go wrong?
I am actually quite proud of my two elder children. They are not political junkies like their old man. They can listen to what is said and form intelligent opinions. That is good for now. I will convert them to liberal Republicanism as they get older.
August is usually a dead month for politics. The ever-expanding calendar for campaigns gave us quite a bit of news this summer. And people are paying attention. I would almost think that we are a more sagacious electorate than in previous years. Then I see that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are winning in the polls…and my heart sinks a little.