McCain against the Mormon: Comments on the Republican Debate

Last night I watched the Republican Debate on CNN. The first thing I was struck by is how smug John McCain appeared. I am actually surprised that McCain is getting so much support from Republicans. I'm not quite as surprised as the support that Giuliani got from Republicans with his pro-abortion, pro-illegal immigration, and his favor of gun control. Are Republicans that swayed by a candidate's charisma? McCain has been quoted as saying that he wouldn't have selected Justice Alito as a Supreme Court justice (Alito is notoriously conservative). McCain also has a pro-illegal immigration stance, which explains his huge support from Cubans in the Florida primary.


The topic that really heated up the debate was whether Mitt Romney actually supported the troop surge in Iraq and whether Romney ever supported a "timetable" for withdrawal from Iraq. McCain used old-school political tactics to take comments made by Romney in an interview out of context to make it seem as though Romney never supported the troop surge and wanted to set up a timetable for withdrawal. Romney pointed out that the next question in that interview was whether Romney supported a timetable for withdrawal and Romney said "No." To be honest, I think this exchange was bad for both McCain and Romney. Ron Paul pointed out the stupidity of their bickering by saying that both candidates were on the same side of the issue and that there are more pressing issues that need to be addressed than what one candidate said in an interview.



Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee also participated in the debate, although as underdogs they didn't get much face time. I wouldn't be surprised to see Huckabee take a few states on Super Tuesday. Huckabee seems much more at ease in these debates than either Romney or McCain and he speaks in a way that makes him very relatable. I think it's much too early to dismiss him as a viable candidate for the Republican Party. Many people, including Rush Limbaugh believe that Huckabee is not the right candidate. Most of his views are in line with conservatives, especially when it comes to abortion and gay rights. However, I don't believe that Huckabee would be the best leader in the economic department. His record on taxes has not been stellar.

I probably will not vote for Ron Paul, although I think that many of his ideas make sense. He never seems to say what the majority of Americans want him to say, but he is the true "straight talker," although McCain would like you to believe that he is. Ron Paul's view that government spending needs to be decreased if we ever want to lower taxes is a view that I have held for a long time. I don't believe I'm alone in thinking that our government shouldn't be in debt. As of now, the current National Debt is around $9,202,306,094,243.06. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that could buy a lot of hamburgers off the dollar menu.

As of now, I think that Romney is the only truly conservative candidate with the experience necessary to lead this country out of a recession. I realize that many people think that McCain will be a stronger leader when it comes to foreign military issues, but I think that the fact that McCain sees himself as a kind of General could be detrimental. I don't think that the fact that Romney didn't serve in the military will make him less tough in the military department. In fact, it will probably make him more likely to listen to the real leaders of the armed forces who know what they are talking about. McCain's been known to be quite hot-headed, which isn't the best quality to have in a leader. I've heard that Fidel Castro is known as a hot-head as well and you don't see me rushing to fill in "Castro" as my vote for President.