Debate Overview As Carly Fiorina Earned A Place Into The Starting Line-Up....

Carly Fiorina won both debates last night...My Tweet + Several Others

Make no mistake. Carly Fiorina was the big winner yesterday. Even a clip of her earlier appearance in the first debate interjected into the evening debate was priceless. (And good move by Fox News).

Perhaps the Fiorina quote that's been resonating with many Republicans and Conservatives last night was this one:

"Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi. She lies about emails. She still defends Planned Parenthood and she's still her party's front-runner. 2016 is going to be a fight between conservatism and a Democratic Party that is undermining the very character of this nation." Powerful!

Some other candidates were impressive as well.

Rubio was sharply focused, crisp and conspicuously self-assured. His youthfulness came across well. Reminded me somewhat of John F. Kennedy. I particularly liked his take on ISIS when he said, "If you join ISIS, if you wage war on America, you sign your death warrant." 

Walker, I guy I happen to like, didn't make much of an impact in my opinion. He also didn't make any mistakes. "I'm a guy with two kids, a wife and a Harley. One could call me aggressively normal." Still early Governor but don't be boring.

Kasich waited to the very end to come out better than I believe most expected. In particular he didn't back-off on his stand on traditional marriage but showed a great deal of compassion in his reply. I particularly liked the fact that he reiterated America's exceptionalism when he said, "America is a miracle country, and we have to restore the sense that the miracle will apply to you."

I didn't find Christie that impressive. However I did like his statement about Obama and the administration: "The president has had weak leadership which has led to bad choices..." He's was right on both counts.

Cruz, one of the few real conservatives left in the Republican Party, did well when he was given a chance. His face time was limited and not through his own doing. He debates well and is polished. Even with limited time to speak, he made points. His best line in my opinion: "We don't have leaders who honor their commitments." Short, sweet and directly to the point.

Dr. Carson, a man I admire immensely, very likable but didn't make any lasting impressions. But he did have the most memorable quote of the evening when he said he was "the only one to take out half of a brain, although if you took me to Washington you would think someone beat me to it." Moderators---give him more face time. Dr. Carson---my only advice---take a hit of speed before the next debate.

Rand Paul  didn't leave me with a lasting impression. But the take-away quote from him for me "I stood for 10 and a half hours on the Senate floor for your right to be left alone." Nevertheless, not a good debater in my opinion.

Huckabee, as always, a very good speaker. But I just don't think he left much of an impression either. His best line of the evening: "The military is not a social experiment...We have decimated our military." I believe many in the military and veterans would agree with that statement.

Jeb Bush did not impress me at all. Much to hesitant at time and dull. Not good for many of the elite in the Republican Party who have already anointed him. He needs to show more energy. He was right when he said, "I'm going to have to earn this. Maybe the bar is even higher for me. That's fine." It's only "higher" Jeb if you perceive it to be higher. If you indeed do, you're toast.

Trump was Trump with one exception. He does better when he's the only one on stage or in front of a mic. Having to share the stage with others---several more qualified than he---exposed more of his inflated ego. Nevertheless, his confidence shown through. Personally, I didn't like the fact he did not take the pledge to refrain from starting a 3rd party. Third parties have a poor history in terms of overall performance. We know what happened in '92 with Perot. It lead to 8 years of the Clintons. I don't want to see a repeat performance. He did try to assuage some fears when when he later said, "But I want to win as a Republican..." Also, if he was intimidated by Megyn Kelly, how would he respond to criticism as president?

Overall, I think it was a good debate. But it's just the start. Carly Feorina has the chops to make future debates more interesting. She earned a move into the starting line-up. In the future, I hope we see more of a rumble in the political jungle.

How Long Will America Tolerate This Transformational Chaos & Insanity?

OBAMA'S ENEMY LIST:

1. Whistleblowers
2. Police
3. FOX News
4. Israel
5. Border fences
6. Crackers
7. Frackers
8. 11th Century Crusaders...WH Press Secretary

A challenge to those millions of Americans who continue to support the Obama administration's transformation and the overall direction of this country. Your support means you endorse the following (this is a short list):

• The Iran Deal. In other words, you support a global terrorist state that continues to chant "Death to America" and wants to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. It also means you support giving this global terrorist state $150B in taxpayer dollars---a state that is directly responsible for the killing of over 1000 American troops.
• An administration that is developing an Orwellian data base that will include data from housing, education, credit card transactions and more for the purpose of "racial and economic justice."
• The long list of domestic failures including domestic economic failures---failures that have also not helped the black community one bit.
• Just as disturbing,  the longer list of foreign policy failures as not only evidenced by the Iran Deal but also the global rise of ISIS and the murder of thousands throughout the Middle East---Christians and Muslims alike. And how long will you tolerate an administration that refuses to identify our enemy---Islamists?
• You believe political cartoons are a problem.
• The Mengele type actions of Planned Parenthood as evidenced by the five most recent videos exposing this agency's monstrous brutality. {In the history of humankind, no expectant mother has ever uttered these words: "I'm expecting fetal tissue."). This is an organization that performs 30% of all abortions in America a year. Yet, they are an abortion provider that's trying to persuade the public they don't want to be known for providing abortions. Also, they claim the attacks upon them are attacks upon women's health care. That's bullshit. There are literally thousands of agencies that provide a wide array of health services to women---without aborting infants.
• The rise of government thugocracy. Michael Barone's outstanding book "Gangster Government: Barack Obama And The New Washington Thugocracy" is worth your read if your concerned about the direction of this nation. We also watched as the Senate under Harry Reid exercised this type of power over the Senate for several years and Pelosi over the House. And who can forget our own WWII veteran warriors who were locked out of their own WWII memorial by this administration? Moreover, very little has been done to correct the failures at the VA. (VA whistleblowers have felt the government wrath).
• The government using the IRS to target groups simply because of their ideology. 
• Shutting down free speech on our nation's campuses as well as in our nation's boardrooms and even Hollywood. For example, not long ago the CEO of Mozilla was forced out of his position simply because he donated $1000 in support of CA's Prop 8 years ago. For God's sake, these are the same people who even tried to shut down Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" because of his views regarding gays. Many small businesses have also felt the wrath from these cultural vultures.
• A progressive media that only pretends to be honest, credible and ethical. A media that would make Goebbels proud if her were alive today.
• You are pleased with the administration of many American cities where killing has outpaced anything we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan---on weekends alone. In addition, you show more concern about a lion killed by a moron in a country that has a long history of murdering thousands of innocents under Robert Mugabe for 35 years. The country? Zimbabwe--- which I'm sure many Americans thought was a new exercise dance craze before the news of the killing of Cecil the lion broke.

Even with these few examples, it's clear there will always remain millions in America who will never hold anyone accountable for this insanity.  After all, these are many of the same people who spout about tolerance and social justice as they continue to wear their Che T shirts. The are forever blind to their own hypocrisy.

Will The U.S.S. Hillary Clinton Be Able To Avoid The Iceberg Over The Political Horizon?

Hillary's economic doctrine: Money shouldn't be earned. It should be funneled...WH Press Secretary Tweet

If the most recent polls are to be believed, Hillary Clinton appears to be taking a nosedive. In short, in several key polls (Gallup, CNN, NBC/Marist), her favorable numbers are tanking as her unfavorable numbers keep rising. Those are both trends that would unnerve any politician. The fact that these numbers are being reflected so early in the political campaign season should be worrisome for the Clinton camp. While many believe low poll numbers don't mean much this early, I don't believe that theory applies to Clinton. The fact is the more she makes herself available to the public, the more her numbers trend downward. And, as we get closer to primaries, she'll have no alternative but to make more public appearances. 

About this time last year, I cautioned those opposed to Clinton not to put a fork in her just yet. I pointed out then that Americans have short memory life spans. While her accomplishments as both NYS Senator and Secretary of State are conspicuous by their absence for many that's ancient history. To make my point, I referred to Charlie Rangle who remains in Congress. Marion Berry was re-elected mayor of D.C. even after being caught smoking crack in a hotel room on video. And Bill Clinton still remains a hero to many on the left. These are but a few of many examples. In addition, half the country now is dependent on the government. It's one of many reasons why Pres. Obama was elected twice even though poverty levels are at historic highs---including among blacks.

But Hillary Clinton is facing another phenomena---her polling in the areas of trustworthiness and honesty have taken big hits in the last year. More disturbing for her campaign, Quinnipiac recently reported her honesty and trustworthiness problems fell in the key swing states of PA, Florida and Ohio. In fact, a recent AP poll found she's tanking among Democrats as well. And if that's not giving her campaign the willies, this should: A report today by the Wall Street Journal in their poll with NBC found she's losing ground with white women. As recently as last June, her favorable numbers among white women stood at 44%. Today, it's 34%. And 54% had a negative impression of her.

Perhaps Michael Goodwin of the NY Post said it best recently: "The arc of her {Hillary Clinton) life demonstrates the greatest threat was never someone on her enemies list. It was always the woman in the mirror."

Postscript: And now an FBI criminal investigation into her Email mess on her unsecured  private server. In addition, the FBI is also investigating emails that were designated above classified and top secret.

Let's Be Honest---The Political Elite Want To Watch The Trumpster Thrown In The Dumpster

Trump Tells Iowa Daily Farmers He Has Cows 500 Times Bigger Than Theirs...The Onion

As I've written on several occasions, I can't support Donald Trump {you can refer to a previous post: "Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump: Artificial Sweeteners?"}. But I do understand why he's so popular if the polls are accurate.

It's becoming increasingly clear to me and millions of others that his popularity illustrates how many Americans hold the Obama administration, Congress and the government in general in disdain. In addition, as noted in a recent Tweet by Fred Zeppelen, "Donald Trump is relevant because he is forcing the other GOP contenders to grow some."

Only time will tell whether the other GOP contenders grow some. After all, with only a handful of few exceptions,  their track record in the last seven years proves otherwise. I've often referred to the Republican Party as a "mirage."  However, I think Fred has a point. We've witnessed Trump taking on illegal immigration head on as most other established Republicans have been silent on the issue. Moreover, unlike many feckless Republicans, Trump doesn't back down when taken to task by the media. In fact, he doubles-down and rarely backs off on any of his comments or positions no matter how outrageous. At the same time, he's a genius at marketing the Trump brand.

There's another attitude he brings to the political debate. He's not afraid of being politically incorrect at times. And again, as I've often written, it takes courage to be politically incorrect in this current atmosphere. And while Hillary Clinton continues to appear to be more unethical, repugnant and sleazy, Trump appears to be just the opposite---at least in the minds of his growing supporters. For these reasons and more, you gotta admire the guy.

I believe Peggy Noonan said it best in a recent piece: "The GOP is waiting for Trump to do himself in---he's a self-puncturing balloon. True, but he's a balloon held aloft by a lot of people; they won't let him fall so easy...He won't be able to sustain it. And his supporters won't really want him to. They'll want him to be The Donald. Bombast will commence."

After all, I  also doubt many Americans would want the White House to be renamed---The Trump House.