GOP Rumble In The Rockies

English: Official portrait of US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The ten remaining Republican presidential candidates considered ready for prime time by CNBC debated for two hours Wednesday at the University of Colorado in Boulder.  This is the time limit demanded by Donald Trump and Ben Carson if the business-oriented cable channel (best known for reruns of "Shark Tank") wanted to be graced by their presence.

In those two hours, it wasn't the front-runners who shined.  It was Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who made the most of his single-digit poll position in sounding more Presidential than the other candidates when it came to, for example, defending himself against former Governor Jeb Bush's contention that the Senator did a great job in avoiding his duties.  Rubio replied that Bush was only saying that because they're both running for the same office.

Bush wasn't the only one on stage who looked and sounded desperate, which is obvious given his poll numbers.  While Trump was his usual animated self, Carson's calm demeanor was slightly above cadaver status (or as Trump would put it:  "low energy"), Carly Fiorina came across as a 19th century schoolmarm, Ted Cruz did his usual blustering, and John Kasich, Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee did their best to be heard.

Otherwise, it was just another GOP food fight where nobody wanted to discuss the issues facing the country they claimed they wanted to discuss.  Instead, they'd rather bash the media, Hillary Clinton and each other, in no particular order.  There were even references to Colorado's legalizing marijuana and to fantasy football.  Reforming Social Security and Obamacare did get some airplay, though.

CNN reports that the Republicans and the candidates complained about the tone of the questions coming from CNBC's moderators and reporters.   Carl Quintanilla and Rebecca Quick did well in their roles, so long as they stuck to questions about business and the economy.  But whose idea was it to include, among others, Jim Cramer?  The guy who hosts "Mad Money"?  Wasn't Kevin O'Leary available?

It's a long road to the Republican presidential nomination.  We also know that there are plenty of peaks and valleys in Colorado, just as there are in politics.  Whoever survives to claim the summit will get there on the basis of how much support he or she gets, and how high the mountain of campaign money accumulates.  Unless your name is Donald Trump, who doesn't seem to need either.

Too Much and Too Late for Biden

Official portrait of Vice President of the United States . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The race for the White House in 2016 has taken one wacky turn after another.  For the Republicans, the field is currently led by two men with no previous political experience, except maybe for funding other campaigns instead of their own.  It is still thought that one of the more experienced (and more conservative) candidates can rise above the rest of the field and take control.  That's not happening so far, even with the primaries a few months away.

For the Democrats, it's been Hillary Rodham Clinton from the very beginning.  Despite her well-known distractions, she holds a commanding lead over admitted 'democratic socialist' Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the polls, with one debate behind them.

So where does that leave Vice President Joe Biden, who many expected to enter the race just to give the former Secretary of State at least one roadblock to the Democratic nomination?  On the outside looking in, having announced on Wednesday that he's not running for the job currently held by his boss, President Barack Obama.

For the Vice President, it was a matter of too much and too late.  Too much to overcome the grief of losing son Beau to cancer last spring.  Too much of a head start by Clinton in terms of support, fund raising and rising poll numbers--even with Biden in the race.  Too much wasted time in making a decision to run before finally revealing his choice in late October.  Which turned out to be too late to mount a successful campaign, a fact even Biden realized.

All things considered, this is the most sensible decision the Vice President could make.  His legacy won't be tarnished in the campaign, and neither will President Obama's.  Both could wait to see how the primaries turn out before officially giving their blessing to Clinton or anyone else.  And they would be in a position to help unite the Democrats for the general election, even if it means needling the front-runner when necessary.

Vice President Joe Biden has had a long and successful career as a national political figure, whether serving as U.S. Senator from Delaware, two runs as a presidential candidate (1988 and 2008), and in his current position.  The one thing he wanted most of all, at the age of 72, was to be President of the United States.  Biden must have realized that, in his words, the window was closing.  But it's not too late for him to make a difference in the campaign.  At least he hopes not.

Democratic Roulette in Vegas

English: Las Vegas Strip (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Democrats held the first of six scheduled debates Tuesday night, which was held at a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.  Fifteen million viewers watched the proceedings on CNN, which is a record for the Dems, but was ten million short of the first debate the Republicans had two months ago.  Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State who is the presumptive front-runner, held the winning hand.  But some people are wondering if she's benefiting from a stacked deck.

Clinton looked poised and confident compared to the other four debaters (Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chaffee, Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb), deflecting moderator Anderson Cooper's questions about Benghazi, her use of e-mails, and whether she's too much of an insider to truly 'get' voters' concerns.  Clinton did say, however, that the 2002 vote she took as a U.S. Senator to authorize the use of force that resulted in the Iraq War was a mistake.

Sanders, an independent Senator from Vermont, stuck mostly to his Corporations Are Evil and Tax The Rich messages which have won him a surprising amount of supporters, but not enough to seriously challenge Clinton in the polls outside New Hampshire.  The one thing that tripped up Sanders was his support of gun ownership laws (backed by the NRA, no less) that run counter to all the news about mass shootings.  Sanders is still the rabble-rousing senator who can rant all he wants about the unfairness of the American economy on average citizens, and who also doesn't mind being labeled a 'democratic socialist' so long as he gets his message out.  We like him for that, but he's just not presidential material.

Chaffee, O'Malley and Webb?  Well, they gambled on anyone remembering their names after the debate.  And they lost.

Unlike the first two Republican debates, the Democrats were in no mood for taking potshots at each other (unless it's about Donald Trump), demeaning women and minorities, or ignoring issues such as climate change and race relations.  Just a serious, substantial discussion that left nearly everyone wanting more, even though the debate ran for more than two hours.

As we said before, the Democrats are planning on holding five more debates before the primaries.  You might say it's because they have fewer candidates running than the GOP does.  Others think it's by design, as a way to get Hillary Clinton to the nomination with the least amount of effort, limiting the number of candidates and scheduling debates for nights when the main competition on TV is an NFL game.  Unless Vice President Joe Biden wants to get involved, having five more joint appearances between Clinton and Sanders sounds about right.

Now that the Democrats are leaving Las Vegas and preparing for an apparent coronation of Hillary Clinton as its standard bearer, they'll be faced with the biggest gamble of all:  Trying to sell voters on not only the first woman president in American history, but also a third term of the Clinton family in the White House.

Stuff That Didn't Have to Happen

Jeb Bush (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Following the latest mass gun shooting at an Oregon community college, in which ten people were killed, Republican presidential candidate Jeb! Bush's response to it was "Look, stuff happens".

He's right about that, you know.  Stuff does happen . . .

When people disagree on the mindset of the one who did the shooting, especially when he either kills himself or is declared legally incompetent to stand trial.  Is he lonely?  On drugs?  Depressed? Lost his job?  Influenced by Islamic State?  An "Islamophobe"?  Mad at the government?  Or is he just mentally ill?

When the sign says, "Guns Are Banned On These Premises".  Do criminals read?

When current gun laws aren't all that effective, or are routinely ignored.

When the National Rifle Association and others help write laws that criminalize the possession of firearms, or prohibit research into whether gun deaths should be considered a health hazard.

When we're told we need guns because of (A) a possible foreign invasion, (B) President Barack Obama or his successors declare themselves emperors and suspend the Constitution, or (C) because the other guy has one.

When certain police officers think it's a good idea to enforce their version of the law on African-Americans and other minorities.

When parents don't keep weapons out of the hands of their kids, just like they should do with hazardous chemicals or prescription drugs.

When school students are now treated like prison inmates in the name of "safety", because of other kids who shot up schools.

When you fail to contain a terrorist organization through bombing raids and drone strikes, leaving them free to recruit new members through the Internet.

When the rationale for maintaining your Second Amendment rights is that hundreds of thousands of victims of gun violence over a 15-year period barely compares to the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which three thousand people died in one day.

Yes, stuff happens, all right.  But it doesn't have to be that way, if the will is there.