Public Comment

Following their disastrous defeat in the 2008 election, Republicans did a great deal of soul searching and came to the conclusion that they should start talking to the American people rather than serve as an echo chamber to their own base which merely reinforces their own cherished, misguided beliefs. The recent Republican debate failed to achieve this objective but used every opportunity to trash each other and Obama’s policies without offering any specifics or alternatives. 

Frustrated by their collective weak performance they lashed out at the CNBC moderators for failing to offer them softball questions. A pouting Trump got his way following the successful boycott of Telemundo pitting himself against Latino voters. The candidates were frothing at the mouth when asked to explain how they might simultaneously slash taxes and the federal deficit; deport 10 million people overnight; or cut the tax code from 70,000 pages to three. To make it more interesting for future viewers, the real answers could be provided with a screen caption in real time. 

Passionate familiarity with the issues, not anger and bombast should be an essential human quality for those seeking the presidency. A president who has the nuclear codes given to emotional responses and a superficial knowledge of the important issues would be an unmitigated disaster. We witnessed what happened on George Bush’s watch – an endless war in Afghanistan chaos in Iraq, a staggering federal deficit and a monumental bank crisis.