A GOP Primer: Don't Hate Huckabee

Media Tries to Blow Down Straw Poll Paul

Plymouth, NH -

Ron Paul puts his pants on just like the rest of the GOP candidates - one leg at a time. Except, once his pants are on, he wins straw polls. This time he dominated in Virginia. I think this is something like the 12th straw poll he has won now. I know they don't mean much, but at some point they have to mean something.

Paul - 38%
Thompson - 23% (whose surrogate was VA GOP's favorite son George Allen)
Huckabee - 11%
Giuliani - 9%

Which bring me to my other point, why was the MSM afraid to give Ron Paul any propers for his debate performance Wednesday?

Although his speaking time, 7:11, put him in the middle of the pack and very near Mike Huckabee (9:47) and the drawling Fred Thompson (10:25), Paul was widely ignored in most debate reviews.

The New York Times' sole mention of Paul had to do with his quip about fundraising.

And Representative Ron Paul of Texas, whose libertarian, anti-war candidacy has made him a surprise fund-raising sensation on the Internet, allowed that he was “struggling to figure out how to spend the money.”

In The Fix, Chris Cilizza gave Paul only passing mention as the object of a motion by John McCain.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) challenged Rep. Ron Paul over the idea of whether American troops should be removed from Iraq immediately. "That kind of isolationism, sir, is what caused World War II," McCain said to a mixture of cheering and booing from the crowd. "We allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of attitude and appeasement." Paul responded that he had more campaign donations from active military men and women than any other Republican candidate.

Yet he completely failed to include a key component of that back-and-forth, when Paul told McCain he didn't understand the difference between isolationism and non-interventionism, and furthermore that the crowd wildly cheered Paul as he gave his anti-war answer that led McCain to go after him.

Furthermore, there was absolutely no mention of the exchange that drew McCain's real ire in the first place. The Arizona Senator is fond of repeating a line, which he has been saying for years, about the Republicans going to Washington to change it, but how Washington changed them. Well, Ron Paul went out of his way with his first chance to say "I don't think that applies to me. Washington didn't change me." You could see McCain bristle while Paul exposed McCain's establishment credentials.

There was another tete-a-tete between the two white hairs later on when McCain interrupted once again to point out that America never lost a battle in Vietnam. Paul instantly hit back with the point that the Vietnamese Colonel Tu said in a meeting with the American Colonoel Summers, who made the same point, "yes, but that is irrelevant." Again, the crowd cheered on Ron Paul's sentiment.

Over at First Read, the editorial crew gave Paul some credit for sounding rational in the face of irrationality.

Paul does a pretty good job of sounding rational when posed with somewhat irrational questions. His trilateral commission answer didn't sound conspiratorial even though the whole premise of the question is just that: conspiratorial.

In other words, a backhanded compliment. They're saying he is an articulate coot. It is oddly reminiscent of the Kucinich UFO question.

My initial reaction to the debate was the Huckabee put in a great performance, Romney was all over the place mostly due to his overtly visceral pandering instinct, and Giuliani stunk up the joint. The MSM picked up on this loud and clear. But the thing they didn't notice is that Ron Paul bitch slapped John McCain left and right with sound reasoning in the face of patriotistic jingoism. Its not about the troops winning. Its about life and death, human dignity and Iraqi freedom, and the honor of American values. Ron Paul understands this, and if you watch the video again, so did the voters in the crowd. MSM - don't be afraid.

You Guessed It...

Frank Stallone!

Just kidding. But my own personal Norm McDonald running commentary still holds true. No, not that German tourists love David Hasselhoff.

Straw poll voters love Ron Paul. This time, fresh off his Guy Fawkes Day money massacre, he won in New York F'in City, beating Giuliani on his home turf (where I hear they really don't like him much).

Just like all the other Republicans Ron Paul puts his pants on one leg at a time. The only difference is he wins straw polls.

Pimpin' All Over the World Wide Web

Snow Pond, NH -

We are expanding our audience here at 3Q!

Starting today, you will begin to see some of my work at Huffington Post Off the Bus. I plan on writing one or two articles each week for them, so be sure to check me out on the big stage and tell your friends! Right now they are featuring my latest post on the climate convention from last weekend.

I have also recently collaborated with one of today's most brilliant satirical minds, Noah Berkowitz, to produce a piece about Ron Paul for his Noah Lot More blog. Please check it out, and spread the word! The link to the article is here: Ron Paul Event Leaves Thousands of College Students Confused.


You know how we do, with the fancy cars, the women and the caviar.


All over the Granite State,
BTB

Straw Poll Paul

Snow Pond, NH -

Reports are in that Ron Paul has won yet another straw poll, this time at Nevada's Conservative Leadership Conference.

Paul - 32%
McCain - 17%
Hunter - 15%

Not only does this lend credence to the Ron Paul relevance theory, as evidenced by his straw poll dominance, but it carries some importance because it is one of the first times that Duncan Hunter has scored above the margin of error. He obviously has no shot at the nomination, but will a 10%+ showing in the Western states play a spoiler role in a divided primary?

Moreover, I want to weigh in on the screed caused by Romney's "Republican wing of the Republican party" comment. CNN stole my thunder when they juxtaposed that story with the one about Leo and Clooney set to work on a Howard Dean movie. Let's be honest, can you honestly tell me that Hollywood Mitt wasn't having visions of Matt Damon playing him in a high profile 2012 movie about an early front-running candidate who represents the ____ wing of the ____ party? Seriously. Mitt would love to be President, but I bet he would be content with the consolation prize of a movie about his life and candidacy, maybe called Blowin' in the Wind or something like that.

Ron Paul: Humility and Diversity

Manchester, NH -

The last time I was in Veteran's Park in Manchester it was for a Barack Obama rally on Labor Day, complete with Secret Service and a $75M campaign operation. This time it was merely Ron Paul, with his single digit million dollar payroll and service coming only in the way of volunteers and hardcore supporters, of which there were fewer than for Barack. This isn't a knock on either candidate, just a noted difference.

The next thing I noticed was the sweet smell of cigar smoke. Yes, a Ron Paul rally is possibly the last place you will see in the politically correct world of the campaign trail where you will see smoking allowed. It turned out to be a common thread of the day. Before I left I counted at least four people smoking some form of tobacco, be it cigar, pipe or cigarette. As is the case with the perpetual nature of smoke, it made a much bigger imprint than just the four people. I smelled it, sweet from the pipe or sour from the butt, all morning long.

It wasn't just the smoke that set Paul's event apart, it was the attire. At a Ron Paul rally, there is a good chance that whoever you look at will be wearing some kind of Ron Paul t-shirt, whether it is homemade, campaign endorsed or otherwise.

Homeschoolers for Ron Paul whose back says vote Ron Paul, win a free Republic. Blaze orange Gun Owners for Ron Paul. And my personal favorite, One Nation Under Surveillance.

Next thing I knew, as I was looking around for new t-shirts, there was Ron Paul freely mingling among the people signing shirts and posing for pictures. He made his way toward the stage where the introductions took place. The campaign manager announced that there was a food drive being held at the back of the park, since "private charities are superior to government." He then introduced two of Paul's grandkids to sing the national anthem, which they performed followed by a family-written song called The Ballad of Ron Paul with lines like, "Uncle Sam you're just too fat/you've got to lose some weight." It was a folksy start to things, to say the least.

Speaking of songs, the intro music was entirely composed of songs by a fellow named Steve Dore, who is in the process of writing an entire album of tracks about Ron Paul with names like President Man, Hope for America and Message of Freedom. They can all be heard on the website. And by the way, Dore sounds like a mix between Kenny Rogers and Randy Newman.

Singing aside, Paul came on stage after an introduction from his son, Rand, whose remarks included rough digs at Giuliani for the cell phone thing and, more pointedly, a claim that "he doesn't have any family members who will volunteer for his campaign." The remark was especially prescient because thirty members of Paul's extended family were on hand to support their patriarch and canvass the streets afterward. None too interested in politics, most of the youngsters could be found playing tag in the back of the park throughout the speech.

Paul's speech was very bullet pointed. He touched on most of the tenets of his campaign, each one to great applause from the crowd of two or three hundred. Adding to the rowdy atmosphere, a bugler tooted his horn at the end of each stanza.

"Freedom is popular," Paul said, and in front of this crowd of anxious supporters it certainly was.
Dr. Paul, a gynecologist by trade, discussed the removal of the IRS, and consistently railed against what he said was "a standing army of bureaucrats" in the US government. At one point he claimed there were 100,000 federal agents with guns whose sole purpose was to harass citizens. "It should be the other way around," Paul quipped to thunderous applause.

He also spoke of the dangers of universal health care due to the potential for excessive health regulations by an interested government, and praised the few remaining states (New Hampshire included) that don't have mandatory seat belt laws. There were also rants against the Federal reserve system, and in praise of a gold standard. Unfortunately, he lost me on those but luckily he also spoke about America's role in the world.

Dr. Paul exasperatedly pointed out the folly of our path in Iraq, and the absurd amount of spending on the military today. He touched on the military-industrial complex and even the health insurance-industrial complex. Better still, he poked holes in the argument that we are making the world safer for democracy by fighting abroad, calling it "nonsense" and predicting that the more we intervene abroad the more that proud citizens of other nations will feel the need to come and attack us here.

"Maybe there are some imperfections in this country."

Those were the words that Paul spoke halfway through his stump speech as he was discussing the pitiful state of diplomatic relations today, and how they are hurting trade. The words particularly struck me because of their humility. It wasn't just that point, either. Paul finished his speech by spending a few minutes thanking everyone who was involved, implying that he had been invited to New Hampshire by a group of supporters who had done all of the organization not forced to go andby a know-it-all consulting group. He also thanked the people in the audience for "inviting me to this revolution."

It was as if he was downplaying his own role in the campaign in spite of the massive presence of signs displaying his name all over the crowd. He sounded like a simple country doctor, knowledgeable in all sorts of remedies, but not one to go boasting around the town. He had mentioned on numerous occasions the non-judgmental views held by his campaign toward such a diverse group of supporters - gun nuts, free staters, potheads, econ students. I kid about the demographics, but its true. Nowhere else will you find such an eclectic group of Republican supporters. They lead the league in facial hair and ponytails, at the very least.

And here I am, nearly a week removed from the rally, and it was the unpretentious nature of the event that still strikes me. They were organizing carpools, selling t-shirts, and gathering food not necessarily in the name of a candidate, but in the name of an ideology. They were there for the revolution and Ron was just the mouthpiece, and potentially a reluctant one at that. After eight years of an arrogant Bush administration, this country could use a dose of humility. Maybe Dr. Paul is the right physician to administer it.

The Paul Poll Predicament

Concord, NH -

With the Obama campaign making the claim that their poll numbers don't register as high as they should because a relatively high proportion of their supporters are young people whose cell phones aren't used for research, I got to thinking about an alternate scenario on the other side.

In the latest CNN/WMUR poll from September 26, Ron Paul came in at 4%, good for a distant fifth in the Republican field, yet one point ahead of the darling/enigma Mike Huckabee. Given that 4% is essentially the high end of fringe candidacy, it is easy to dismiss Paul as the man for the vocal internet minority. After all, some 44% of voters polled don't even know him. After all, who is Ron Paul?

Yet he has repeatedly won county GOP straw polls, including the two in New Hampshire with over 65% of the vote, and has repeatedly eclipsed fundraising expectations. So what gives?

My theory is that, like Obama's claim that young people don't count in polls because of cell phones, Paul supporters aren't counted for two reasons. First of all, he is also popular among young people with cell phones. Second, his supporters are people who are angry with government intrusion in their lives. In New Hampshire, home of Ed and Elaine Brown, that population is especially high.

These people might have house phones, but if they get a call from a pestering pollster they sure don't answer them. You think that someone who bristles at the notion of a gun permit is going to waste five minute their time answering questions from someone reading off a script? I don't. Watch for the Ron Paul phone poll bounce this January. I'm not saying he's going to win, but if his support remains static I won't be surprised if he doubles his polling numbers at the ballot.

Hot for Ron

Quabbin Qountry Queries: now with more sleaze!

I know, its below me. But fear not, it is safe for work!

The problem is that Ron Paul girl isn't getting nearly as much press as Obama Girl and Clinton Girl and Giuliani Girl so I figured it was only fair to try to create equal time.


Ron Paul Girl - The funniest videos clips are here

Plus, she's the hottest one! Well, maybe 2nd place behind Hill's, but still. Okay, back to non-misogyny.

Guest Blogger: Chris Templeton

Dr. No Visits Seattle, Friday September 14, 2007

By Chris Templeton

Boneyard notified me of Congressman Ron Paul's (R-TX) Seattle visit late last week, and luckily I was able to sneak out of work and go to the Seattle University Law School for his speech regarding the US Constitution. Upon arriving, I was impressed to see a crowd of 600+ and the lights and cameras surrounding the podium. After my initial scan of the conference room, I heard someone standing against the wall cry, "I still can't believe there is a politician in America who thinks like I do!" Well my friend, emphasis on the "a".

And Ron Paul makes this blatantly clear. After his introduction as Dr. No, Ron Paul declared that in Washington, if you want to follow the only oath required before entering office, to obey the US Constitution, then unfortunately that usually means you vote a lot of No's. Well as his wife tells him, "No starts with a 'K' " – and I suspect she's right.

Ron Paul sped through each topic and gets right to the point. To begin, many today argue that the US Constitution should be interpreted broadly to change with the times, but Ron Paul does not agree. He explained that this document was the first and most important document in the history of any society to restrain government, and not to restrain the people. This caused a raucous applause. He continued that the greatest threats to Americans are not foreign, but domestic. As the 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee would argue, government in the United States was never intended to cause a nanny state, to fund a large bureaucracy, or to give certain groups more freedom than others, but this is exactly what has happened he says. The founding fathers knew full well what the power of government can do, and therefore inserted the 9 ^th and 10^th amendments to curb its growth. He continued by noting that American citizens love to argue in favor of their civil rights, but says how their property and economic rights are just as important and that "this puzzle needs to be reconnected." This also led to a large amount of shouting and applause.

For someone who has pictures of Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek on his office wall and has authored books on the subject, I expected a point or two about reverting back to the gold standard from our current 'fiat' money system, and I got it. I won't go into what he said since the average American/Seattle Law School student has zero knowledge on the subject (and the crowd reaction showed), but I thought it interesting considering my economics background. Besides, a politician who can comment on it in the first place? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, as Bad Religion once sang….

The remainder of his speech was very much in perspective on the magnitude of his campaign. Ron Paul is very popular with the technically savvy; recent college graduates, and of course, the economics/business-educated crowd, but that's about it. He summed up his speech declaring that America will not change until a real economic crisis happens and that his goal is to spread the ideas of liberty and freedom, to educate people about true free-markets – not the business handout/protectionist type – and help change philosophical ideas now so future generations will have the knowledge to fix it.

My only real disappointment of his speech was that he didn't mention anything regarding healthcare. This is certainly more relevant than the gold standard in today's media circus, and for someone who is an O-B-G-Y-N, I was relishing the chance to see him trash nationalizing healthcare in both an economic sense and an ethical sense. As Ron Paul said in response to a separate question from the audience, "once handouts are given to the needy, the more people that become needy, and the less everyone gets." But Ron Paul's current fame is driven by his stance against the war (he is the only Republican candidate to vote against the invasion of Iraq) and so he spent a large part of his time discrediting the government's ability to continue waging war without the support of both congress and the people. Holler!

Contrary to what you might have seen , I should mention that Ron Paul is hilarious. He has some humorous followers as well. T-shirt slogans I saw that made my day: "Who is Ron Paul?" "Ron Paul is the shit" "Who is this man? And why is he trying to save my country?" "Legalize the Constitution and Marijuana" and "Don't vote for sloppy seconds" (including a picture of HRC). Click here to see Part 1 of the speech.

About the Author:

Chris Templeton is a financial analyst for Peter W. Wong Associates, a commercial real estate mortgage company. He met Bryan in 6^th grade at Meeker Middle School, despite the fact he was wearing a Dallas Cowboys Starter jacket at the time.

Alma Mater: Santa Clara University '04 (Economics and History)

Hometown: The Tac, Washington

Career Highs: Second Place, 2^nd Annual Wasteland Beirut Tournament, April 2005.

Tentative 3Q Schedule

Because I know you lovvvve to keep tabs on me.

Thursday, August 16 - Dennis Kucinich, Dover, NH 2pm
Friday, August 17 - Rudy Giuliani, Merrimack, NH 9am
Saturday, August 18 - Londonderry Old Home Days 10am
Sunday, August 19 - Mike Huckabee, Concord, NH 11am
Sunday, August 19 - Ron Paul, Hollis, NH ?
Tuesday, August 21-Saturday, August 25 - Men's Retreat, Pemi River, New Hampshire, a lot of beer a lot of girls and a lot of cursin'. Plus swimming in the healing waters of the Pemi river and maybe even a visit from John Edwards. I guarantee this, if he dares come to Lincoln, Campton or North Woodstock I will invite him out for a run on the trails behind Sam's Tire Barn, a swim at the town beach and a Pemi Pale Ale afterward. That's the One America I'm talkin' about. This doesn't just go for Edwards, who will be doing a biodiesel bus tour that week. Nay, I will submit the same challenge to any candidate who has the sound judgment and vivacity to come to the North Country and potentially dip in the Pemi.

Honestly, I might not make it up to Giuliani. 9am? What a d-bag.
Same goes for Ron Paul whose event, in concert with the Hillsborough Country Republicans annual picnic, requires an $18 dollar donation to the party. F that. We'll see about some guerrilla tactics. Now as Ali G would say, bring on the "loose hippie bitches" and the GOP. But either way, "dis is da earliest I's ever been up!" Get EXCITED. Get PUMPED. Tell ya' friends. Get your Read on!

Bold initiatives. Bold leadership. Bold blogging. Welcome to Flava Qountry.

Ahoy,
BTB

P.S. as schedules become updated, my schedule changes. Looks like I won't have to wake up at 7 to see Giuli on Saturday, but I don't want to change it so that I can keep my Ali G joke in here. Booyakasha!

Ames Straw Poll

Read all about it! Results are on pretty much any of my Quabbinlinks, and otherwise here.

1. Romney: 4516 (31.5)
2. Huckabee: 2587 (18.1)
3. Brownback: 2192 (15.3)
4. Tancredo: 1961 (13.7)
5. Paul: 1305 (9.1)
6. T. Thompson: 1039 (7.3)
7. F. Thompson: 203 (1.4)
8. Giuliani: 183 (1.3)
9. Hunter: 174 (1.2)
10. McCain: 101 (1)
11. Cox: 41 (.1)

14,302 ballots cast

Keeping in mind F. Thompson, Giuliani and McCain didn't participate (Quitters).

The results of the Ames Straw Poll tell me two main things:
1. Brownback doesn't hold a candle to Huckabee.
In spite of all the time and money he spent relative to Huckabee, Sam Brownback got con-served by the conservative base. Huckabee is so much funnier, smarter and more articulate. He doesn't have a chance.
2. Republicans hate immigrants.
Wow. Tom Tancredo nearly pulls off a second place showing entirely on the issue of immigration. Let me tell you folks, this issue is a barn-burner for a lot of people, and will have a sizable impact on the polls all next year by ginning up fervor in fence-mongers and other such unrealists.

Dr. K & Dr. No

Just wanted to post this excerpt from Sunday's Times Magazine story on Ron Paul:

The result was a heavily funded effort by the National Republican Congressional Committee to defeat Paul in the primary. The National Rifle Association made an independent expenditure against him. Former President George H.W. Bush, Gov. George W. Bush and both Republican senators endorsed Laughlin. Paul had only two prominent backers: the tax activist Steve Forbes and the pitcher Nolan Ryan, Paul's constituent and old friend, who cut a number of ads for him. They were enough. Paul edged Laughlin in a runoff and won an equally narrow general election.

Wow, I wish youtube was around back in '96. Imagine a campaign commercial with Nolan Ryan and Teve Torbes.

Everybody's Rockin'

There has been some rough chatter on Iraq lately, what with the new authorization bill coming up. As John Kerry puts it, "I’m voting no on this bill. I’m tired of the false choices of Republicans and all the recycled spin of old battles and the political calculations that do nothing for our troops who bear the real costs of this war. Bottom line: we support the troops by getting the policy right, and this bill doesn’t do that." Giuliani, who doesn't vote, put it to another non-voter, saying that John Edwards (like many other Dems) is in denial. But certainly the most prescient attack came at the hands of Ron Paul, who held a press conference to educate Mr. Mayor himself on 9/11 policy. Paul suggested that Giuli read the following books:
“Blowback” by Chalmers Johnston, “Dying to Win” by Robert A. Pape, “Imperial Hubris” by Michael Sheuer (former head of the C.I.A.’s Osama bin Laden Unit), and of course The 9/11 Commission Report.
Best of all is that he called out Rudy for claiming not to have heard of Paul's assessments. As I mentioned earlier this week, that's a bunch of hooey. Witness the following youtube video from the Domenation series for some more background.



"I don't think he's qualified to be president," Paul said of Giuliani. "If he was to read the book and report back to me and say, 'I've changed my mind,' I would reconsider."

Back on the Trail

Welcome back to Quabbin Qountry. Before we begin, I would like to thank the Toshiba Corporation. They sent me an AC adapter, still under warranty, to replace my broken one in under 24 hours. Literally, I placed the call Wednesday at 3pm and had a box on my porch, even way the hell out at the qabin, when I arrived home from track practice on Thursday. My joy was immeasurable. I missed the internet, and I missed the blog. Without further ado, back to the show.

Paul Krugman made a good point in yesterday's Times that maybe Bush isn't so bad relative to the rest of his party-goers. The scene from last week's debate where almost all of the gang of ten would-be nominees were falling all over themselves to be the one to say that they would inflict the most torture on terrorist bad guys was chilling, indeed. It wasn't just what the candidates had to say that was disturbing, it was the audience's reaction. It was the kind of feeding frenzy where the more blood the speaker could invoke, the hungrier the audience grew as they loudly growled with lusty approval over lines like the following
Giuliani: "And I would -- well, I'd say every method they could think of"
Romney: "Some people have said, we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo."
Hunter: "One sentence: Get the information. Have it back within an hour, and let's act on it."
At least Duncan had the respect to close his statement by saying "and I will take full responsibility" for the backlash of any torturous activity. Does that mean he would do a retaliatory self-waterboarding? Probably not, but if we take him at his word he would at least admit to it and say that he believed in it, and let history judge him as such.

There was one bright spot to the whole torture exchange, when Brit Hume gave John McCain the last word, having been the only one to go against the hard party line. He responded with this: "Yes, and the interesting thing about that aspect is that during the debate, when we had the detainee treatment act, there was a sharp division between those who had served in the military and those who hadn't." Virtually every senior officer, retired or active- duty, starting with Colin Powell, General Vessey and everyone else, agreed with my position that we should not torture people. . .So yes, literally every retired military person and active duty military person who has actually been in battle and served for extended times in the military supported my position, and I'm glad of it." I am glad, too.

Here are a few thoughts on some of the candidates. The Fix gave it's grades, but here we go from the 3Q perspective.

Tommy Thompson: Let's start with the former Wisconsin governor by treating like a cube of sharp, yellow cheddar - Stick a fork in him. This man was frightening to watch, purely from a physical standpoint. He has no discernible neck. It didn't help that he sounded vague and desperate every time he opened his mouth.

Sam Brownback: The highlight of his day for me was watching him pretend to be compassionate when asked about a rape victim being forced to carry the child of the ruthless criminal who violated her. He gives a half grimace and a reassuring nod as he begins by saying, "hat would be a very difficult situation, and it is a very difficult situation," before proceeding to completely ignore the situation and saying "will that (abortion) make the woman in a better situation if that's what takes place? And I don't think so." Of course not. Of course this woman's life will be better if she gives birth to God's rape child. I'm sorry, Sam, but your so-called "pro-life, whole-life" motto is thoroughly de-bunked every time you say "I will do it. I'll move aggressively forward on it" in reference to "deliberately and methodically" attacking other countries. Aren't confused, poor Africans God's children just as much as the rapist's bastard child? What a crock.

Mike Huckabee: Huckabee scored the most points of any of the middle-tier candidates, if only because he appears articulate and can handle the conservative banner better than any of the front-runners. There have been numerous articles saying the same thing and wondering why he hasn't taken off, and why he has raised so little money. So it seems likely that he will be the candidate that could have been, but at least he got off the most memorable zinger of the night when he said, "We've had Congress that's spent money like Edwards at a beauty shop." Hey-o! Even better, he mentioned it in reference to incurring a "fair tax" that would potentially get a lot of the IRS BS out of the way. He also seemed very even-keeled when he stood up for his tax increases to build roads and protect schools. Let's hope for the Red-State-blooded Americans out there that he will pick up some momentum. Plus, he lost a hundred pounds and ran a marathon. Props to that.

Tom Tancredo, Jim Gilmore: Meh. Not really worth a recap.

Ron Paul: Paul certainly did himself a disservice to goal of achieving the Republican nomination down at USC, but at least he went down guns blazin'. Even though he is a Libertarian, he didn't flout the notion that tax cuts alone will save our economy. He continually referred to fiscal discipline being a two-way street of reducing spending before we reduce our income. Certainly not cutting taxes while starting a war. He called out 9/11 a few times, initially saying, "we were spending $40 billion on security prior to 9/11, and they had all the information they needed there to deal with the threat." Damn. He proceeded to get himself into some trouble when he took the path of honesty and humility, admitting that American foreign policy necessarily impacts the views of hostile forces in the Middle East, a bad idea in the face of 9/11 bulldog/opportunist Rudy Giuliani, who then called him out by saying "I don't think I've heard that before." Really, Rudy? You've never heard that explanation before? What a sham. Don't bring that false exasperation to Quabbin Qountry any time soon. It belongs in one place and one place only - the Vlad Squad bench. Keep it real. I digress.

At any rate, Mr. Paul stood up to Rudy, but the damage was done. The crusty old Southerners in the audience were eating up Giuli's rabid terrorist-bating, and Ronnie was done. But not for me, as his best line was yet to come. After the debate's torture debacle (Paul was not questioned) he went out of his way to say, "but you know, I think it's interesting talking about torture here in that it's become enhanced interrogation technique. It sounds like Newspeak." Word. Second only to my horror at the crowd's reaction was my incredulous wonder at why the candidates were pussyfooting around the word torture in their defenses of it, calling it enhanced techniques and never readily admit to the direct question about waterboarding. Paul knew, though, and he dropped it like it was hot.

After that I couldn't really go on, and I ended up flipping more and more frequently to AMC where they were showing The Karate Kid. In other words, I got tired of watching the real Cobra Kai, and opted instead for the fictionalized version, where at the end even Johnny shows some mercy. Much the same today, I lack the strength to summarize the Big 3 other than to say that they were seemingly the strongest candidates. McCain kicked Romney's ass in the tete-a-tete and was honorable on torture, but was far from a sure winner. Giuli creeped me out with the red meat routine, and Romney is articulate but too easily damaged with the flip-flop attack. But hey, only EIGHT MORE MONTHS 'til New Hampshire!!! Time is a-wastin'!

. . .

The Sunshine Boy, unfazed by Huckabee's zinger, wrote a pre-emptive op-ed in the Huffington Post today, calling on Americans to take seriously their task on Memorial Day to remember the great sacrifices of American soldiers not by slapping a "Support Our Troops" magnet on their car, but by making a real effort to get the troops sent home from the current debacle in Iraq. I applaud him for the gesture. It is my belief that too often these days, in a world of instant leisure and long work days for so many, we have forgotten the purpose of national holidays. We see them as a free day to go to the beach or to be able to drink three nights in a row instead of actually pondering the meaning of the event. I think it is important for politicians to sincerely advocate their true celebration, and better yet to lead by example. Full disclosure: I will probably use it as an opportunity to drink three days in a row, but will accept any and all thoughts of good will to do the right thing. We're in this together, after all.


Sipping a Smuttynose from the banks of the Sawmill River,
BTB