Candid Conclusions

Ah, things come to a close. Good for my blood pressure, bad for my political addiction. And the MSU student results (as far as who won the debate) are...

Huckabee- 45%

Giuliani- 30%

Other- 10%

Romney- 7%

McCain- 7%

I have to say that generally, I'd agree. I think that the results of this debate could help propel Huckabee higher in the national polls. He's doing quite well in Iowa, but still lags at something like 5th in the national polls. But the MSU kids are right, he did well in this debate. I hope it gains him some national attention- to be honest, I think he's been overlooked as a candidate for far too long.

Giuliani underpreformed, in my opinion. He just looked petty trying to attack Romney in the beginning, and his answers on the recent expense allegations were less than satisfactory. However, he did manage to talk about abortion without seeming like a flip-flopper, which I wasn't anticipating. But in general, I think that maybe the MSU voters that picked Giuliani were on his side from the beginning, and just didn't have a problem seeing the good in his answers. In general, he wasn't the star of the night.

As for McCain and Romney... kind of a wash. Romney, in the past, has been accused of being too perfect/groomed/polished. I'm guessing it's the Republicans that voted for Bumbling Bush that find those qualities less than admirable, but the accusations are out there nonetheless. However, in this debate Romney broke that image. He seemed a little hesitant in answering at times, and didn't make any particularly strong statements. Really, he seemed kind of uncomfortable. Not good. McCain was pretty good. Not stellar, but definitely not a disappointment.

As for the 10% going to other, I'm going to assume most of those points go to Ron Paul. He actually said some semi-decent things, and had quite a stage presence. Don't get me wrong- I still think he's a weirdo with no chance. But he seems to have a weirdly disproportionate amount of support here on campus. There are stickers about the man litter every lightpole I pass lately.

In general, I'm not wholly satisfied with this debate. The questions that the YouTubers posed seemed to deal with issues that defined the "Republican", and the candidates seemed to spend a lot of time arguing over who was more Republican. I think that perhaps because there's a tiny bit of diversity this year (I know they're all white males, I'm not blind. But Giuliani is leftish on some social issues, and Romney's got the whole Mormon thing going on) they're all trying to prove they're more republican in attempts to gain the vote of the "typical" republican. Because really, it's pretty close this year. I suppose the real rootsy Republican would be attracted to Fred Thompson, but he's just so dumb-seeming. He had trouble answering questions... he stuttered a lot, and the Southern drawl was killing me. Almost like a Bush re-run, and almost no self-respecting Republican wants another Bush in office. I hope. Anyway, the rest of them are a little off-beat, and it's kind of funny watching them trying to prove they represent what most Republicans value.

Speaking of which, I think it's time to hit you people with hard, cold truth. I mentioned before that YouTubers seemed to pose questions that stereotyped Republicans... Religion, Guns, Fetuses. And when you think about it, we shouldn't be voting on these issues. We should be voting on things like economic policies, plans to reform Education, strategies for Iraq, and immigration reform. But most times Americans would rather vote based on whether or not a politician is going to allow them to carry a gun, or protect their unborn child. Even if only one bill having to do with those things comes across a leader's desk, they want a guarantee that their leader will sign it in a way that makes them happy. That's right, we're fickle. We vote on social issues that most times, the government doesn't even have a place nor a chance to decide on. Unwise, America, unwise. Nonetheless, I guess I'm happy you're voting at all. Like I may have mentioned earlier, apathy scares me more than most things in this world. So go on people, vote! Even if it's based on some ridiculous issue that lets you tote a gun or thump a bible that much harder. Go for it, you crazy conservatives. Go out and VOTE!