The Problems With All the Candidates for President

I watched the Democratic Debate last night.  Funny, how an election that you can participate in focuses the mind on watching these intense people work to convince us that we should vote for them. I would not want to have a beer with any of them, I don't think any of them drink.  How could you pop a few back and then go out and campaign?  Raise money?  Think about critical issues?

Anyway, I came away with an understanding of every candidates weakness as a candidate.

Hillary can be attacked from the left and the right because (i) she has a long track record of centrist policies and (ii) decisions which might have been better than the alternative, but are still open to attack because things did not work out well.  And she has been on the national scene for 24 years and many people are tired of her.  The national attention span does not tolerate anyone being acceptable for 24 years, except for possibly a rock star or a movie star, but they get to disappear when not touring or promoting a film, unlike politics which is 24/7.

Bernie does not do details.  He is a big picture guy with some knowledge of things he is interested in. But he does not understand the complexity of the economy and his economic policies cannot be implemented because even centrist Democrats would not support some of his proposals, let alone the GOP.  And how is he going to pay for public college education for all?  He is going to have the states pay 1/3 of it.  I have no idea how states which are cutting spending for k-12 education because they prefer to cut taxes or at least contain taxes (even NY is doing that) are going to find the funds to pay for all this free college.  This stuff fires up the young voters, but it is not practical.  And I cannot believe how pro-palestinian Bernie was in the debate.  I may think Israel has to go down a different path which includes a two state solution because a one state solution is not a peaceful solution, but I disagree strongly with Bernie that only Israel did bad things in Gaza.  Hamas started the whole thing and is a terrorist supporting government.  And that is the beauty of a two state solution, even terrorist governments have to govern well if they want a happy population and they can be held accountable for their terrorist actions which deny's the population happiness, and, hopefully, they hold their government responsible changing that government's behavior.  That is my pipe dream.  But Bernie would be a failed President because he does not do details.

John Kasich does not have a coherent plan for health insurance, but he might if he were running as a Democrat.  Unfortunately for him, he is what passes for a centrist Republican now, which is a RINO to some and he is part of the establishment GOP which has lied to so many of the GOP rank and file that everyone, whether they did that or not, is subject to the anger that the GOP rank and file feel.

What is amazing is Ted Cruz has promulgated many of those positions that lead to the lying that has disillusioned the rank and file, and even formulated some of his own original positions (shutting down the government as a strategy when you cannot get what you want the normal way) that feed that disillusioning.  And some 65% of the population does not like him.  He did 2 days in NY and then fled to California where I doubt he is spending much time in L.A. or S.F.  And I doubt we will see him in NY again.  If he won the Presidency, would he even come to speak at the U.N.?  Does anyone else find his voice grating?  Ted Cruz is very scary.

There are many problems with Donald Trump and it all rolls up into 70% of the population not liking him.  Donald Trump is HUGELY SCAREY.

And I cannot remember, whether it is Trump or Cruz, but one of them is feuding with the Drudge Report.  Maybe the conservative spin Dr's are consuming themselves.  That would be a positive.

Well that runs through all the candidates, and I will be voting for Hillary Tuesday because she is qualified and 4 years of Hillary will absolutely have the Talk Radio Right and Pundit Class fuming at the GOP's ineptitude.