Political

Ben Carson is the last of the Republican Candidates that I will review for the South Carolina Primary. In some ways he lives up to the saying that “you save the best for last” but in other ways he’s just last. Please see my notes below and add your comments as you see fit.

ADVANTAGES

1. BRILLIANT- He is the smartest person in the field.

2. LOOK- Dr. Carson has a warm friendly look and we can’t ignore he is the only African American running for the Presidency this time from either party. He also has a great smile

3. CONSTITUTIONIST- Ben Carson clearly articulates the values and limits of constitutional power.

4. NEW- Dr. Carson is a refreshing outsider to the political sphere

DISADVANTAGES

1. LOOK- Ben often appears tired and lackluster in his performances on the debate stage

2. NICE- Dr. Carson appears to nice for this political season of Trump.

3. WAITS TURN- He is willing to wait his turn patiently during such a debate and often is heard the least from.

4. EXPERIENCE- Dr. Carson is brilliant but his lack of any real political experience is something difficult for him to overcome especially when there is another outsider who has unlimited funds he’s running against.

Meeting Jeb Bush in person is quite a different experience then the Jeb Bush you see on the television stage.  He is much more personal, relaxed and his humor is even funny. As a whole here  (below) are the positive and negatives sides of his run for the Presidency.

POSITIVE

1. CONSERVATIVE RECORD- Jeb has a strong record of conservative achievement as Governor of Florida

2. WILL ATTACK- Governor Bush will forcefully attack his opponents. The success rate is to be considered below.

3.  LOOK- The Governor is taller then most of his opponents.

NEGATIVE

1. NAME- It appears the public wants a change from the names of Bush, Clinton in the White House.

2. ATTACK MODE- His attacks have appeared to prepared in the past.

3. LOOK- He sometimes appears quirky or uncomfortable as he stands on the debate stage. His expressions appear to often to be forced except when he’s angry.

You’re busy and don’t have time to read extensive pieces on the debate or you’re thinking they’re all pretty much alike well then here’s a few tidbits you might find interesting from yesterday’s brawl.

Match 1- Jeb Bush vs Donald Trump– Bush might not have had a knockout but he landed some good upper cuts making Donald Trump appear more as a conspiracy Democrat on 911 then a Republican. Donald Trump did throw many punches Jeb’s way but few of them landed only inflicting body shots.

Match 2- Ted Cruz vs Marco Rubio- The decision goes to Marco Rubio but only by  a 1/2 point for the punches were going all over the place when it came to the issue of immigration. The win goes to Marco though when he was able to demonstrate Ted Cruz’s difficult with telling the truth on various issues and people.

Match 3- Jeb Bush vs John Kasich- A slow fight with few punches landing on either side. This smack down was more of a patty cake contest.  Jeb Bush landed one punch showing John Kasich to be a bit more liberal on his governor’s record then he would have liked to portray. John Kasich came back with “can’t we get along” type of message.  I’m not sure he knows he’s in a fight.

Match 3- Ben Carson vs Ben Carson- Ben Carson continued to train for the big fight but none of the punches came his way and he didn’t land any knockdown’s as well.  He was the calm reflective man who might have thought too much and spoke too little.

BIG WINNER-  Marco Rubio after having such a difficult fight at the last battle he came out swinging with facts and spontaneity that the crowd continued have expected and was humble enough to thank George W. Bush for keeping us safe (smartest line of the night).  Jeb Bush came in a close second attacking the front runner with pounds of punches.

BIGGEST LOSER- Sorry Donald this wasn’t your best performance. You came out like Mike Tyson throwing everything at once but Jeb and Ted ducked and blocked all the attacking punches.

I believe a deal has been made with Senator Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush before the South Carolina Debate in which they wouldn’t attack each other for an added benefit.  The candidate that did worse in South Carolina Republican Primary would leave the race and endorse the other candidate publicly or privately. There was also a side deal where Jeb would take on the Donald and Marco would take on Ted. Conspiracy or true you decide?

I’ve decided to do an introspective of each candidate running for the Presidency in the format of good, bad & maybe even ugly (see below).  Donald Trump is the front runner so I believe that’s a good place to start. I’ll start out with the positive because I believe it’s important to see the good before you look toward the bad. I hope this introspective will help the voters in South Carolina and the other primary states look at the big picture as everything is thrown out them. Please feel free to add your own comments as well.

GOOD

1. OUTSIDER- He has not worked in the system and therefore might have a unique perspective to it.

2. INDEPENDENT- Donald is self financing his campaign so he doesn’t own anybody anything plus he has enough wealth to not worry about what he would be doing after the Presidency. Therefore he could truly do the work of the people or (supposed to be positive)

3. GREAT NEGOTIATOR/BUSINESSMAN- As he says better then me (but not in his exact words) he has the ability and knowledge to know when to make a deal and when to walk away from one whether it be on trade or foreign policy.

4. POLITICAL INCORRECT- Mr. Trump is not afraid to say what many have been thinking but were afraid would cost too much if they opened their mouth.

5. TOUGH- Donald Trump is ready and willing to say “you’re fired” to any government bureaucrat that won’t perform their duties.

6. COMMITTED LOYAL FOLLOWERS- His followers appear to support him no matter what “political error” he might commit and will come out in a blizzard to vote for him.

NEGATIVE

1.OUTSIDER – Mr. Trump has no real experience working in government and all the angles and people it truly takes to build legislation momentum there. It is if a restaurant owner decided to build a skyscraper.

2. PLATITUDE- Donald speaks of big policy changes without the real specifics of how it would be done. How could he pass legal constitution muster to ban on all Muslim’s from entering the U.S isn’t that an obvious violation of our 1st Amendment?

3. EGO – A President must be confident not only in himself but more importantly his country. How could he deal with legislative and/or judicial defeat of his actions? Would he respect the constitution and let the 3 branches have their power or would he usurp one or more if he didn’t get his way?

4. CONSERVATIVE-Play tapes of Donald Trump c. 5 years ago and he will appear to be as liberal as Hillary Clinton supporting Abortion, Obamacare, and even Hillary Clinton. How can we trust that he’s had such a change of heart that stays passed the election cycle?

5. TOUGH- Can Donald Trump truly dial it down when time calls for it or would he push the buttons of conflict way to soon?

6. COMMITTED DETRACTORS- There is a large group that strongly opposes the Donald and will vote through a  hurricane for a rock over him no matter what good policy decisions he might come up with.

Congratulations to Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump on their unconventional wins in the New Hampshire Primary which proves the appeal of the “Non Politician” in politics.  Yet make no mistake these “Non Politicians” are playing a very smart political game that includes the following pieces (below).  If someone doesn’t catch on to this game they soon will have checkmate for both their party nominations.

PROMISE THE WORLD- Worry about the specifications (costs, separation of powers, constitution) later.  SOLUTION- Opponents bring up specifications without attacking “Non Politicians” and how those specifications hurt the people.

FIGHT FOR PEOPLE AGAINST- Make sure that the public knows that you’re fighting for them against some people evil power that has been controlling their life’s.  SOLUTION – Show how they are still part of the “corrupt force” that they are going against without getting personal”. This can be done with a complement in advance

DON’T APOLOGIZE- Never back down from a statement no matter the ground swell. You can rephrase as you go along but don’t back down.  SOLUTION- Go back to the original statement and offer a positive alternative.

Last night was a tough night for any Marco Rubio fan but today the sun is shining and with a few tweaks (below) I can still Pennsylvania Avenue though it might farther away then the night before. Sometimes a good loss can help you make the changes you need better then a bad win. G-D willing this is the case.

CHANGE THE NARRATIVE- It’s time to hit as many airwaves as possible with a new bold proposal on a human issue such as drug abuse, mental health treatment, inner city blight etc..  Where-ever possible ad a quick personal story.

GET AHEAD OF A STORY-  Make sure a senior staff follows all major and minor news outlets stories on you and has an immediate positive response that counters the argument and again changes the narrative.

ATTACK WITHOUT NAMES- Speak about how difficult it would be for you to decide to build a skyscraper when you don’t know how to read blue prints? How hard it’s to lead a group of people when you’ve never sat near them?

PERSONAL RESUME- Don’t Christie people but tell about your accomplishments in the Florida Senate with interesting tid bits about how bills that you were involved in happen to change life’s for the better. Tell more personal stories about growing up and the struggles that occurred along the way not to make you appear better then the rest but understand better then others in the race.

PROFESSIONAL GRASSROOTS- Spend more monies on the grassroots looking into tel-marketing firms to handle calls, outside sales people to lead door knocking, and exciting unique (but not expensive) promotional give-ways to volunteers who achieve certain goals.

BE POSITIVE BUT REALISTIC- Say when things go wrong before anyone else does but see that as a way to get better and stronger.