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GOP presidential contenders continue to vie for top three spots
by Joseph Earnest December 7, 2011
Newscast Media HOUSTON, Texas — With Herman Cain out of the way, Republican presidential candidates who had dropped in the polls are attempting to fill the vacuum. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are in the top two spots according to pollsters, but the GOP is yet to establish a candidate to replace Cain's third spot which seems to be revolving around Ron Paul, Rick Perry and at times Michele Bachmann.
Ron Paul is coming out strong and has released some hard-hitting ads attacking Gingrich's integrity, in anticipation of rising to second or even first place. Should that happen, then Paul can ride on the momentum just in time for Iowa. Perry too has released a series of ads re-introducing himself to the GOP, while Bachmann is attempting to reach the grassroots mainly through the Tea Party. Rick Santorum doesn't seem to be gaining any traction, but elections are filled with surprises and anything could happen between now and the primaries.
However, considering how the GOP voters change like weather and can't seem to choose a candidate whom to stay loyal to, Republicans will find fault with any candidates who make it into the top three, regardless of how well the candidates' messages resonate with the voters.
The fault the GOP finds with Gingrich is that he is part of the establishment (Washington insider) and is not to be trusted. As for Mitt Romney, he has been called a flip-flopper, while Ron Paul is considered an isolationist, and Rick Perry gaffe-prone. Bachmann has struggled to connect with the voters, the evidence of which is that her staffers have been abandoning her and describe her as temperamental and hard to work for.
Kiss the ring good-bye
Donald Trump is attempting to play the role of "kingmaker" but is finding out that not all candidates deem him fit for that self-anointed position, with Ron Paul taking the lead in declining the offer to participate. Trump is slated to moderate a debate on December 27, but so far Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney have blown him off. With Paul it was expected because Trump has always mocked Paul as being "unelectable" and after Paul declined the offer to participate in a debate moderated by Trump, Mr. Trump said, "Ron Paul has zero chance, zero, of getting elected or getting the nomination. He will do OK in Iowa and after Iowa he will fade into oblivion."
In regard to Huntsman, Trump made a statement that Huntsman interpreted as an insult to his Mormon religion, which would also be offensive to Romney since he too is a Mormon. Therefore Romney's decision was expected. Perry and Bachmann haven't yet made decisions, but many political analysts advise against participating in the debate because it might be a trap laid out to promote the candidate of Trump's choice since he already has picked his horse.
In addition, it would probably be counter-productive for both Perry and Bachmann because the evangelical movement does not view Trump as someone who embodies their values despite Trump calling himself a conservative. When Rudi Giuliani attempted to run for president in 2008 and lost, evangelicals could not get themselves to pull the lever for a man who publicly wore a dress and make-up as shown in the video below. Trump rubs his face between Giuliani's bosom.
Former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani dressed as a Shemale with Donald Trump
Can you imagine if Sarah Palin buried her face in Rosie O'Donnell's chest and attempted to be kingmaker or appeal to the evangelical audience by moderating a debate, how they would respond?
Either way conservatives have to understand that there is no such thing as the perfect nominee. Everyone will have a blemish or blemishes, so GOP voters have to accept their reality and embrace whomever makes it to the finish line.
On June 15, 2007 I was at Fiumicino airport in Rome waiting at the baggage claim conveyor belt for my bags. I had been invited to a series of concerts in Bologna, but I wanted to first make a stop in Rome. When I flew in from Gatwick airport in London, my luggage somehow turned into a magic act on a Houdini show by disappearing, so I arrived in Rome empty handed. I filed a lost baggage claim in Rome and went to my hotel room. No sooner had I arrived than I received a call from the airport informing me that my bags had been recovered. I called a friend who offered me a ride to the airport. He hadn't even driven five blocks from the hotel, when a gypsy driving a scooter ran a red light and crashed into us. Both the gypsy and scooter ended up on top of the hood, and smashed the windscreen.
I thought to myself: "First my luggage gets lost, now the gypsy bumps into us!" The good thing is that nobody got hurt, and I successfully retrieved by bags from the airport. A few days later, I took a train to Bologna to attend the live concerts. My host and I took our seats, and about four minutes into the performance, the cell phone of a lady seated in the front row started to ring. The audience was visibly upset at the rude interruption since the concert was being recorded live.
Something interesting happened thereafter. Knowing that the audience was upset, the pianist quickly improvised and duplicated the ring-tone of the cell phone. He felt sorry for the lady and was trying to help her save face. After he repeated the melody, the violinist did the same improvisation, and all the performers, who had the ability to play by ear, created a completely different tune based on the cell phone's ring-tone. The audience was amazed. It was comical but also displayed the genius of the musicians who played the tune for the next three minutes.
At the end of the improvised tune, the audience that was originally agitated by the woman's actions, stood up and applauded the performance and was very forgiving toward her. The performers then resumed playing the original tune they were playing before the cell phone interruption.
Likewise, right now the candidates may have certain aspects about them that the voters may not agree with, but at the end of the primaries, just like the audience in Bologna, Italy, the voters will all stand together and embrace the nominee whom they may originally have been irritated with. Add Comments>>
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