Cara

Does anyone have any opinions on who is looking good for the Republican nomination?

I missed the second debate, & while I know it's super early to choose any one candidate to throw your support behind, I am dying to talk politics with someone. My husband & family don't pay attention to current events.

Personally, I would love to be able to vote Ron Paul into the White House, but I don't think he will make it this time either. I'm not loving any of the others though.

As long as Obama gets the boot I think I can support whomever the GOP puts up, but if Ron Paul runs third party I will vote for him. I voted for Obama last time around & I've been kicking myself ever since.

Thoughts?

BigToe

I think the republican candidate field right now is exciting and almost any of them would make a good choice for president.

My personal favorite at the moment is Santorum. I like what he says and how it says it. I find myself agreeing with almost everything he has said at both debates thusfar.

I cannot vote for Ron Paul because he is too libertarian. I like the "less government" message, but he tends to take it to an extreme. He is in many ways an isolationist and I don't think any country can survive these days by isolating themselves.

I like Cain but I think his lack of political experience shows and he won't be able to keep up with the others because of it. We need experience in the white house because mistakes at that level are costly. I'd love to see him in a cabinet position.

Pawlenty is ok. No feeling for or against him at this point.

Bachmann....'eh. What she says, she says with conviction but I need to hear a lot more from her before I would be able to give her my vote. I just don't know enough about her. The CNN debate format did not allow any candidate much time to give a thorough answer to questions. I was surprised to hear that Bachmann was considered a "winner" of the debate. First, she didn't contribute THAT much, and the event was anything but a "debate". I do see some promise with her but I'm being cautious until I hear more from her.

Romney was predictable. I do not believe he can beat Obama in the general election. His Achilles Heal is the state health care he approved for Massachusetts. It bit him in the a$$ the last time he ran for President and it probably will do it again. He has "preset" answers for everything and not able to dynamically think on his feet. I imagine him memorizing an answer to every possible question he thinks he might be asked. And when questions he hasn't thought about are asked of him, he fumbles and sounds stupid.

Newt Gingrich is 180 degrees from Romney. He can think on his feet in an instant and knows what he's talking about. That's what experience provides. He did a good job of calling John King to task during the CNN sponsored debate when King tried to restate questions from the audience and put a "got-cha" spin on them. I really like most of what Gingrich says, but he sometimes sleeps with the enemy and that's unacceptable.

Cara

I agree with you on Romney, his healthcare record will really hurt him. I also think all of the other candidates tend to out shine him whenever they are all in the same place.

Pawlenty choked when he coulda scored some points off Romney, I don't think he has the balls to make the hard decisions to get our country back on track.

I think "the great Gingrich defection of 2011" may have sunk his chances to get the nom. If his staff has such little faith in him, how can the voters get behind him? He has a lot of work to do if he wants to regain his relevence.

Bachman gave a very good speech today at that big GOP thingy inNew Orleans. The more I hear her speak, though, the more she seems robotic, like she is just reciting her talking points rather than really communicating what she would do as Prez to fix the problems.

As for Santorum, I still think of the whole Dan Savage feud from a few years ago whenever I see or hear him. I know it shouldn't have anything to do with what sort of a Prez he would be, but I have some sort of a logic block there.

I see Paul as not isolationist but as trying to get our country to mind our own business. His railing against our many open-ended wars has really struck a chord with Americans. Also people are really becoming aware of just how intrusive & restrictive of our Constitutional liberty the gov is & many are furious about it. Paul just wants our gov to resopect & follow the laws of our Republic & for the gov to return to treating Americans as adults, not morons who need to be monitored at all times. Paul may seem extreme, but that is because our gov has not adhered to the Constitution in many decaded. People today have never been truly "free". It feels strange to think we could live our lives withoug being under the gov's thumb. Personally, I think it sounds like heaven.

BigToe

I didn't interpret Pawlenty's response about Romney as "choking". John King from CNN was deliberately trying to pit both candidates against each other and I felt Pawlenty cleverly sidestepped Kings' attempt. King was an annoyance throughout the entire debate.

Gingrich's staff defection wasn't due to policy but the fact that Gingrich was not making himself available for the campaign (vacationing with his wife) when the staff felt he needed to be getting serious.

Cara

King could have done a lot of things better as mod, so I've heard while trying to catch up this week, but I really think Pawlenty could have just claimed it & it would have been over.

I know it is not technically his quote, but he used it as ammo on national TV against Romney. Now he has people like me talking not about how he is against socialized med but how he hemed & hawed during the debate.

I know it is a trivial matter, but so many people vote with their hearts instead of their heads, I worry about Obama's charisma eclipsing the GOP candidate so effectivly again.

Poor McCain, he hardly stood a chance against "that one".

BigToe

I don't think Obama will be able to rely on his charisma this time around. The incumbent is always at a disadvantage because so much of the campaign revolves around their record of the previous 3+ years.