Image via WikipediaI make no bones about the fact that I do not like the policies of the current President of the United States. There has been very little that he has done since entering office that I have agreed with. Consequently, I have had a great deal of interest in following those members of the Republican Party who have declared themselves candidates for the Republican nomination for President.There is a bit about each of the potential candidates that I like. While there is a bit that I like about each of them, each has their own individual flaws. I do not feel like I know enough about any of the candidates yet to make a decision one way or the other for any of them. I do know that I know enough about Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman that I can't bring myself to vote for either of them come primary time.
It is for that reason that I have been watching all of the Republican debates. It has been my hope that I would be able to see enough of the remaining candidates that I could make an informed decision when the primary elections roll around. Unfortunately, the debates themselves have been a disappointment in trying to learn more about all of the candidates.
The two debates that have taken place since Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the race have been a bit of a disappointment. The one that was broadcast on MSNBC was absolutely awful for learning about all of the candidates. That was Perry's first debate, and the questioning was primarily directed at the two candidates that were polling the highest, Perry and Mitt Romney.
Last night's debate on CNN was a little better. Wolf Blitzer was able to get a little more air time for some of the other candidates, but it was still mostly the Perry and Romney show. Michele Bachmann also got a good bit more time to speak than in the MSNBC debate the week before. Unfortunately, there still was not enough from Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich.
During the last two debates, I spent a good bit of time on Twitter following tweets there along with the actual debates. I even exchanged a couple of tweets with syndicated columnist Mychal Massie about the lack of face time for some of the lower polling candidates, especially Herman Cain.
It just seems that the media that are moderating these debates is stacking the cards in favor of the front runners. If Perry and Romney are getting the majority of the face time during the debate, those will be the names that a lot of folks will choose between. Everything I have heard from Cain and Santorum I have liked, but if they do not get the opportunity to express those ideas, then how can we decide who is the best choice for the GOP?
And there you have the problem with modern politics- we see what someone decides we should see. Of course, one has to wonder how people could figure out who to vote for before we had anything except newspapers and the fastest communication was pony express.
ReplyDeleteI can't agree with you more. I live in Texas and don't really need to know much more about Perry and we heard a lot from Romney last time around. I would really like to find out more about Santorum. I like what I have heard so far, but that isn't much. Hopefully we will learn more soon.
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