Saturday night debates 2

One thing about those Nixon Kennedy debates, which I think were the first televised debates, was that people listening to them on the radio thought that Nixon had won and people watching on tv thought Kennedy won. 

I think you told me you were on the debate club at Gage Park.  I had been on the debate club at Tilden and wanted to be on the Gage Park one, but I think Mrs Kew wouldn't let me.  Anyway remember they had all these rules about how you had to respond to your opponents points and this and that, and you were awarded points, and the side with the most points won the debate.

Of course these debates are nothing like that, it is mostly like you said, tearing each other down.  Rubio stands rigidly upright with a tight smile on his face and responds ratatat with a little speech, like that one about Obama, which he has clearly practiced so many times that it sounds phony.  I call him the boy scout.  Christie slouches at the microphone and talks kind of regular guy like, but kind of also tough guy like, and he is the bully.

I think Canada is like the US where if you are born there you are automatically a citizen and you remain one until you formerly renounce it.  Cruz just recently denounced it, claiming that he never knew he was a Canadian citizen which is doubtful.  The question of whether an American born in a foreign country is a natural born American as far as being president has never been decided in the courts.  Most legal experts think that there is no problem with Cruz becoming president, but lawyers are lawyers and of course someone will sue.

And this whole thing comes from the showman, Trump.  Remember how he did the birther thing on Obama?  As far as I know he still has guys in Hawaii investigating.  And he brought it up like it was just something he heard, and he himself didn't know, but he thought it should be looked into, and he had heard from some very smart lawyers, who he, of course, never named, that there was something there.  And now he has done the same thing on Cruz, and I can tell by your reaction that it is working. 

Rubio was part of the gang of eight who wanted to do immigration reform, I think they had four dems and four reps and they were going to be a bipartisan force for change.  After Romney went down establishment reps realized that if they kept bashing Mexicans they could never win the presidency, and there was some talk of reaching out to Mexicans and Rubio jumped onto that bandwagon, but soon realized the most reps hated immigration/Mexicans and jumped off that bandwagon right away and denounces it at every opportunity, but it has dogged him ever since.

Cruz, in the same spirit of that long ago time, made a proposal, something along the lines of not deporting Mexicans, nothing leading to citizenship, but anything that looks favorable to Mexicans is instantly branded amnesty in today's republican party.

And that is the extent of the republican debate on immigration, Cruz and Rubio accusing each other of being for amnesty because long ago they both made a half-hearted gesture towards reform which they both have repudiated ever since.

Basically since all republican candidates believe pretty much the same thing, the only thing they have to talk about at their debates is to tear down each other. 

Oh there is another thing about the debates I forgot to mention yesterday.  While the Iowa caucuses were going on CNN reported that Carson was leaving for Florida instead of New Hampshire.  Cruz's people picked up on this and let out the word that Carson was dropping out and that his candidates should switch their allegiance to him (they both appeal to evangelicals).  It turned out that Carson was just going there to pick up clothes he said, he is such a nut.  Anyway it was a dirty trick and it pissed off Carson who is said to be looking for revenge, but he is so soft-spoken who can tell?  It also pissed off Trump who is blaming Cruz for cheating him out of victory in Iowa.  He is always sure to mention that the first thing in every interview.  He later on declares that it is water under the bridge and he is moving on, but like I said he always mentions it.

New Hampshire vote today I will be sitting here with my beer and popcorn, rooting for, i dunno, I guess Donald because I think he will bring down the republican party.

As for Beagles' vote, let's see, he doesn't want to vote for who They want him to vote for, but he must realize that They are onto him, so They will try to get him to think that They are against the candidate that They really want him to vote for, but maybe he is onto Them on that so They should try to make him think that they are, well whatever.

Or you know, you could vote for Cruz, and then when Trump's smart lawyers disqualify him it will be like you voted for none of the above and they won the election.