Nevada Debate

With the debate Tuesday I think I would share my thoughts on the candidates performance. This was definitely the most heated of the debates so far. There were many heated exchanges, most of them coming between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. I think Perry did alright to make sure he was not forgotten, but Romney also made him look foolish by shutting down his attacks. Perry also failed to hit Romney a couple times because he would interrupt Romney. Cain really struggled with all of the other candidates targeting his 9-9-9 plan, with the fact that a study came out saying that 84% of Americans would end up paying more taxes. Cain also showed his weakness in foreign affairs when he was forced to admit he made a mistake in an earlier interview about negotiating with terrorists. Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum all needed big nights to have a chance at winning the election, and while all of them had good nights, it was nothing close to what they needed. I feel Romney did the best, showing his experience in debates and being able defend most of the attacks his rivals made against him. It was telling of the candidates opinion of Cain winning the nomination, when him and Romney are virtually tied in the polls, but outside the first fifteen minutes Romney was targeted the most. I see Perry moving up slightly, Cain falling so they are about tied. Romney will stay about the same and maybe rise a little. The other candidates will remain about the same. It will be interesting to see if anybody drops out in the next month before the next debate.

Recent Debate

Wow it has been a while since I have updated this blog. After the recent GOP debate I thought I would share my opinion on some of the candidates. The first is Mitt Romney. He is obviously the front runner, and has been the entire race so far. In the debate it was obvious why. It was obvious he knew what he was talking about and looked the most presidential of the candidates. He has experience as both a businessman and a politician, which should help him in the election. Also prior to the debate he gained a key endorsement from new Jersey Governor Chris Christie. With this will come all of the money that many were holding onto in hopes that Christie would run for President.

The next candidate is Herman Cain. The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza is currently the tea party's candidate, but can he avoid being the "flavor of the week" like so many others this year, most recently Rick Perry. I like Herman Cain, but I do not think that he will make a good President. With all of his experience in the private sphere I think he could make a great Vice President, but I don't think he is qualified for President because he has never held a public office. While he is refreshing because he is a little unorthodox, I do not think that will allow him to win the nomination.

Rick Perry really needed to shine in the debate to take some of the momentum back from Herman Cain, but that didn't happen; his string of unimpressive debates continued. I do think that Perry will be able to stick around for a while, and even pass Cain, but I don't see him being able to take on Romney. While he has been a politician for a while, he is not used to the scrutiny that comes from a presidential bid.

Overall I see Romney winning the nomination, one because he has the best chance to beat Obama, but also because Tea Party candidates are rotating so fast they will not be able to collect the money needed to go against Romney who is the sole recipient of the money coming from moderate Republicans.