Let me start by saying, once again, that I will never understand the way that Republicans think. It is possible that I also do not understand the way that media political analysts think.

The consensus seems to be that the two front runners going into the debate are the winners coming out of the debate. There isn’t much difference among the candidates in terms of content:  lower taxes, get rid of regulations, Drill Baby Drill. My impressions therefore are on the way the candidates came across to me, a progressive, who is never going to vote for any of them.

Mitt Romney reminds me of a used car salesman. Strategically he positioned himself well when he took on Perry about Social Security. My problem with him is that he always sounds so hesitant when he speaks—like he just can’t get his mouth to wrap around the words. Superficial, I know, but if he wins the nomination he will be up against a silver tongued devil, and the contrast will be stark.

Rick Perry reminds me of the high school quarterback. He is affable, and won’t back down even when the entire opposition team tries to sack him and pile on to make matters worse. I can’t take anyone seriously who is failing science and needs a tutor just to stay on the team. I can hardly wait for the seniors in Florida to ask him about his Ponzi scheme comment.

Michelle Bachmann’s star has been eclipsed by Perry. She reminds me of the prom queen, who is more concerned with her looks than getting the highest grade on the SAT tests. She sticks to message, but the message is shallow. I might have the prom queen analagy wrong, since nobody seems to have told her that women look powerful in red. Had she not dressed as a little brown sparrow, maybe more questions might have been directed in her direction. Nancy Regan understood that. She was in her trademark red.

I seem to be in a minority when I think that Jon Huntsman is the most appealing candidate. In one way he scares me—I believe he could be the candidate that could attract enough independent voters to take the White House away from Democrats. In another way he isn’t as scary as the other candidates—he actually believes in science, and knows about foreign policy—which is the job of a president. I liked his comments about getting out of Afghanistan. The MSNBC pundits think he is ho-hum.

The rest of the line-up just bored me, with the possible exception of Ron Paul. Paul seems like the crazy uncle who comes for Thanksgiving, and has all kinds of crazy ideas, none of which he is able to clearly articulate. 

Tom Harkin has served the people of Iowa since 1975, first as a Representative and since 1985 as a Senator. Yesterday he wrote an op-ed for a newspaper in Iowa that managed to find its way into my in-box. I wish more Senators would lay out the argument to invest in America as well as Senator Harkin did. Considering the Republican Primary Circus in Iowa, it is especially refreshing to see that Iowa actually sends adults like Harkin to Washington, and has done so for at least 36 years.

Harkin began his piece by recognizing that this is Labor Day week-end, but said he won’t be celebrating because there are 29 million unemployed or underemployed Americans with nothing to celebrate. For some reason the Politicos in Washington have gotten so distracted by Wall Street’s worries about the national debt, that they have forgotten that most of America lives closer to Main Street than to Wall Street. There is a huge sector of the American economy, made up of small businesses, that is not listed on any national stock exchange.

Certainly long term debt is a problem. But it is a problem that can be solved over time, and shouldn’t be used as an excuse to allow Main Street to crumble while the fat cats on Wall Street worry that they might have to actually give up their tax free investments and yachts and luxury cars and mansions in gated communities staffed with immigrant domestic slaves. 

In another interesting OpEd, the Wall Street Journal endorsed the economic plan of Jon Huntsman—apparently the only adult Republican seeking the presidency. The Huntsman plan is bold, but not likely to ever be implemented because it gores too many sacred oxen. The biggest fight would probably be about eliminating the mortgage deduction. For most Americans, especially those living on Main Street, the mortgage deduction is the only tax break they get while filing income taxes. I know that for years it was the only deduction I was able to claim. Of course Huntsman also plays to his base by advocating for the repeal of “ObamaCare” and the regulations put into place after the Enron Scandal and the recent Wall Street crash and any environmental regulations that might impede the philosophy of Drill Baby Drill.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the two political parties have two completely different visions of America. Democrats see America as a place where every family feels secure; workers have dignity; children have access to world-class educations; and taxes are used to fund things like the Hoover Dam, and the Eisenhower system of inter-state highways and universal health care. Republicans see America as a place where greed trumps compassion, and the only reasonable investment is in things that get blown up or pollute the environment.

Do yourself a favor; click on the link to Harkin’s OpEd and read it. Harkin is a real American Patriot. And when you see Huntsman rising in the polls, remember that you read about Huntsman in this blog long before the Wall Street Journal fell in love with him.

Homework:

Des Moins Register OpEd by Tom Harkin

CBO Says Expiration of Bush Tax Cuts Would Cut Deficits by 50% Over Ten Years

Wall Street Journal Opines About Huntsman's Jobs Plan

Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Accounting Regulations Enacted After Enron

As a Democrat, I’ve been watching the field of Republican presidential candidates with amusement. Clearly we were in the middle of silly season. We had the Donald, with the fox on his head, trumping his NBC TV show. We had Sister Sarah tweeting herself into oblivion. We had the Huckster pretending that he was going to leave the most lucrative job he’s ever held after signing a really big long-term mortgage on a really big house. And we had the Newt bashing the darling of the House and killer of Medicare as we know it. Lots and lots of fun.

But we also had Romney raising $10,000,000 in one day—or at least telling the press that he did. It seems we have dueling Mormons. While some TV pundits are saying that Tim Pawlenty will end up being the Republican candidate, my money is on Jon Huntsman. Of course, since I’ve never been able to think like a Republican, there won’t be much money in the pot. The rift inside the GOP means that primary contests are going to depend on get-out-the-vote efforts of the various factions. If reasonable Republicans come out in huge numbers, we’ll get a nominee with a living brain cell, and that will be someone like Huntsman. I’m thinking that the Tea Party may have a bit more passion in getting out the vote, so we could be looking at Michelle Bachmann, a candidate who obviously flunked American History.

The biggest negative Huntsman has is that he worked for the Obama administration. The biggest positive that Huntsman has is that, while working for Obama, he was stationed in China—America’s biggest financial threat. He has real world experience in international affairs, which if you remember the Constitution, is the one area of U.S. Government controlled by the presidency, with the only limits imposed by Congress being financial limits.

Now, I’m not saying that I’m going to vote for Huntsman, I’m just saying that if Obama is going to be a one term president, running Michelle Bachmann isn’t going to get the job done.

Homework

Huntsman in New Hampshire

Huntsman Interview

Mormons Worry Huntsman Isn't Morman Enough

What Huntsman Has to Say About Himself

Michelle Bachmann Quotes