Another Great Deal

Image by 401K via FlickrOriginally, I was thinking about posting something about the New Hampshire primary that was held last night.  There were not a whole lot of surprises.   Everything pretty much happened the way the pollsters thought they would.  Mitt Romney came in first as expected.

Ron Paul finished second, and Jon Huntsman third after spending most of the last few weeks there.  Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum split the conservative vote and ended up essentially tied for 4th place. The remaining candidate Rick Perry finished with less than 1%, not that far ahead of Michele Bachmann who is no longer in the race.

Instead, I want to talk about another "great" deal I received from a credit card company.  A couple weeks ago, I found a pre-approved credit card offer with an upfront fee that would have taken a large chunk of the approved line of credit, along with a 34.9% interest rate.

This week, I logged into one of my existing credit card accounts to pay a bill online.  I was greeted with a message saying that due to my good credit with them that I was pre-approved for an increase of my credit limit.  When I clicked the link, I was greeted with an offer to increase my credit limit by $100 for a $25 fee.

Wow!  Such a great deal.  Usually, if I have had "excellent credit history" with a company, they will either automatically increase your credit limit or will do so when you request it.  I have never had to pay for the privilege that they say I "earned."  I will be passing on this excellent offer.

Republican Debates

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?   

Related articles

• GOP CNN/Tea Party Debate: Nirvana Reference Edition (reason.com)