My thoughts-- GOP debate 9/22/11

This debate thought-sheet is going to be much shorter than my previous ones have been.  There were a few statements I thought were very, very good, or very, very bad.

"I will always err on the side of life."  This quote came from Gov. Rick Perry.  We have heard this before, but I believe it is something people need to pay a little more attention to.  Comparing this with former Gov. Romney's ever-changing stance on abortion, this is a strong statement to make.  It is very important for this country to "always err on the side of life."


"When countries vote against you consistently in the UN, you have to look at why are you really giving them money.  this world is in danger of becoming dramatically more dangerous in the near future."  Former Speaker Gingrich was talking about the possibility of a Palestinian state.  President Obama is actually supporting this.  It would make our world a much more dangerous place if this happened, and we need to stand with Israel and support them in their decisions regarding this.  Israel is, basically, our only true ally in the Middle East.


"92% of our people were insured before the healthcare mandate."  This comes from Gov. Romney.  I don't understand this.  If nearly all of your people were insured without a mandate, it required a state mandate in order to insure the other 8%?  Surely there must have been a different way.  It just really doesn't make sense to me.


"This economy is on life-support."  Another "I've heard it before", but this is a good one.  Herman Cain, though a businessman with no political experience, has been holding his own very well among the seasoned politicians. 

The quote of the night goes to former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson:  "My neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than Barack Obama."

The majority of the night went to Perry-Romney attacks, mostly on each other.  Obviously, since they are the two frontrunners at this point, they will be trying to out the other one and show that they are the better candidate.  I really do not think that they need to spend so much time on it.  They should be more focused on defeating President Obama than on attacking each other. 


The order I think the candidates placed in tonight: 
#1:  Newt Gingrich
#2:  Michele Bachmann
#3:  Rick Perry
#4:  Herman Cain
#5:  Mitt Romney
#6:  Rick Santorum
#7:  Jon Huntsman
#8:  Ron Paul
#9:  Gary Johnson

Honestly, Gov. Perry did not do as well as I would have hoped.  He stumbled on some of his answers, and he passed up some possible attacks on Gov. Romney.  On the flip side of that, this was Gov. Romney's worst debate performance so far, by avoiding many questions and not answering a question on whether he believed President Obama has very, very socialist views.  That makes Gov. Perry's performance even more disappointing.  He'll have to have a very strong showing at CPAC FL today in order to ensure he wins Florida.


Here are the answers on the last question, in case you missed it.


Who, out of the people on the stage with you, would you choose as your running mate?

Gary Johnson:  Ron Paul
Rick Santorum:  Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich:  "I have no idea"
Ron Paul:  "I have no idea" (copycat!)
Rick Perry:  Somewhere between Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich!
Mitt Romney:  Newt Gingrich
Michele Bachmann:  She avoided this question completely.
Herman Cain:  If Romney threw out his jobs plan and replaced it with his 9-9-9 program, he'd have a shot.  If not, Newt Gingrich.
Jon Huntsman:  Herman Cain.


Check back this weekend for another article on something that made me think tonight :)