I happened to catch the Republican Presidential debate last night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  It was televised by MSNBC. I tweeted during the debate that it was like “anything you can do, I can do better” time.

I decided to sleep on it and then write this column (besides I was listening to a baseball game).  So, here are a few short lines about each of the eight contenders.  I give medals (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) to the three who made the podium.  Enjoy and discuss.

Rick Perry:

(Gold medal) He came into the debate as a frontrunner, took some shots, and left the frontrunner.  Sure he took a few hits and said some things that the Democrats can use against him down the road (Social Security), but he was better than the others.

Perry has the Texas swagger (“I don’t lose sleep over Texas executions.”) that seems to appeal to many folks.  He said, “I kind of feel like the piñata here at the party.”

Hey Governor, that happens when you are the leader of the pack.

Mitt Romney:

(Silver medal) Romney just comes across to me as the rich guy who never got his hands dirty doing anything.  I can’t remember much of anything he said last night, except:

“Texas is a great state. Texas has zero income tax. Texas has a right-to-work state, a Republican legislature, a Republican Supreme Court. Texas has a lot of oil and gas in the ground. Those are wonderful things, but Governor Perry doesn’t believe that he created those things. If he tried to say that, well, it would be like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.”

Hey Mitt…things ARE bigger in Texas…

Jon Huntsman:

(Bronze medal) He may be moving up, but him being more moderate than most may cost him down the road with the extremists who seem to be in charge of the GOP these days.

Some folks are trying to say this is just a two person race (Perry and Romney), but Huntsman may move into the picture.  His line about pledges was good: “”I’d love to get everybody to sign a pledge to take no pledges. I have a pledge to my wife, and I pledge allegiance to my country, but beyond that, no pledges. I think it diminishes the political discussion.”

No kidding…

The rest of the field…

Michele Bachmann:

She was the “flavor of the month” for August, but her run has come to an end. She has had too many gaffes.

Newt Gingrich:

He looks and acts like an angry old man.  He was toast before the last debate, but his speaking for the whole group and hitting back at the media for trying to make the candidates fight was pretty good TV.

Ron Paul:

Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like the MSNBC moderators tried to make Ron Paul look a little crazy for his ideas.

Paul is someone I’d like to go out to dinner with to discuss the constitution.

Herman Cain:

Cain’s best part was his 9-9-9 tax plan which would set taxes at nine percent.  He said, “If 10 percent is good enough for God, 9 percent ought to be good enough for the federal government.”

Cain would make a good Commerce Secretary.

Rick Santorum:

Was he there?  I am not sure why he is still around.  He seems to be the forgotten candidate at these debates.

Closing:

Around this time during the 2008 Presidential race, we thought that Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Rudy Giuliani or Fred Thompson for the GOP were going to be the nominees.  That being said, we are a long way from the finish line.  It is a marathon where some “runners” will make a move to the lead and then fall back.  Those who can keep the leaders in sight and maintain a steady pace gaining momentum day by day will do better in the long run.

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