Thanks once again to The Other McCain for the Rule Five links!
Out of last week’s GOP debates (I use the term “debate” loosely) it seems Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina made the biggest gains. Excerpt:
“We certainly have seen an uptick in financial support. We’ve seen an uptick in support generally and so, it’s very exciting,” Fiorina told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. “We’re going to talk to as many people as we can through every medium there is. I will continue to do what I’ve done from day one. I will answer any question. I will talk to anyone. I’m not afraid to talk about anything.The more people get to know me, the more people support me. So, that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
NBC conducted an online survey that suggests Fiorina and Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) were the two candidates who gained the most support from their debate performances, although (Donald) Trump still led the field. “Twenty-two percent said Fiorina won or had the best performance in the debate, followed by 18 percent who said Trump had the best performance,” per MSNBC. “However, another 29 percent said Trump did the worst in the debate, clearly showing how polarizing he is. When the candidates’ negative performance percentages are subtracted from their positive percentages, Fiorina notched a positive 20, whereas Trump scored a negative 11.”
It’s still hard for me to take Donald Trump anything like seriously, although obviously plenty of people do. I suspect that the GOP will underestimate him at their peril, although his long-standing friendship with the former President Clinton – and documented “I’m thinking of running” phone call to Bill Clinton – make me suspicious of his true intentions. I think part of my suspicion is due to my estimation that the only way the eminently unelectable Queen Hillary I could win the election is if the GOP self-destructs.
Could Trump be just such a stalking horse?
Were I to pick my candidates right now, I think it would be some mix of Walker/Cruz/Fiorina. But we’ll see what we get.
The first caucuses and primaries are still a long ways off.
