Once again, this time through an interview lightning round of Republican presidential candidates, you see that John Kasich is one of them that the Democrats should be most worried about because he's the type that can draw Independents and conservative Democrats who don't like all of President Obama's policies. Unless the Democrats nominate Bernie Sanders, their candidate is going to be an extend of President Obama's presidency.
John Kasich's personal politics are pretty conservative but as a public figure, he's a centrist Republican equidistant on the opposite side of the middle axis as Hillary Clinton is a centrist Democrat. It's a rare breed these days to hear a Republican, especially one running for president, say that we have to 'respect the basic institutions.' Mr. Kasich seems to recognize that there is another political party present in the United States and that they have a say in how things work.
Contrast with the other two candidates interviewed today - Donald Trump and Ben Carson. First off, the more we listen to Donald Trump the more quickly you get bored because he really doesn't say anything. He simply talks about the polls, what other people are saying about him, who he likes and doesn't like and the polls, again. However, in his defense of his not refuting a questioners claim during a rally that the president is a Muslim and that we have a 'Muslim' problem here in this country, Mr. Trump said that it wasn't his obligation to correct him. No, it is Mr. Trump's responsibility to correct him. Exactly what John Kasich was talking about in as much as Mr. Trump doesn't respect the office of the presidency.
As far as Ben Carson is concerned, his view that a Muslim should not be able to hold the office of President of the United States disqualifies him from holding the office himself because as Hugh Hewlitt described, he is putting a religious litmus test for holding the office which is unacceptable. It's safe to say that Dr. Carson would apply that very same test in hiring administration staff and that's against the law. You see where we're going with this.
Conversely, Dr. Carson did have the most coherent ISIS policy, from a Republican perspective that is, that we've heard. We don't agree with ground forces, but he said that he would use ground troops to push ISIS out of Iraq and into Syria and then let them fight it out with Asaad, then clean up the mess from there. Politically there's a problem with sending troops back into Iraq. If that were to happen it would be it seem like Republicans want more war while the Democrats do not, and at this point the American people are weary of war.
How all of this stacks up against Hillary Clinton and her campaign woes, right now we agree with Maria Shriver that we need to take a step back. Think about it this way, the panel discussion focused on Mrs. Clinton not having the charisma of Bill, likability, etc. What they weren't focusing on was the handling of e-mails. What Mrs. Clinton's apology did was subdue the press attacks a bit. This gives her the opportunity to move beyond it and perhaps change some of those opinions. Whether you like Mrs. Clinton or not, she is, by experience, the most qualified of all candidates. And for what it's worth, having Bernie Sanders in the race is key for Mrs. Clinton because it will pull her a little left [read: populace] on some issues, you're already seeing.
Lastly, and this is weird for us to say, but our initial reaction to the interview with Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, is that we didn't have a problem with anything he said. The banks are going to do what they are going to do in terms of trading and creating financial products to sell that no one understands. It's up to government to properly regulate and see that they don't break the law - hold them responsible... And to have a contingency plan. This is just our practical nature as to how we see it. Let's be honest, when the banks are booming and you have an IRA or 401(k), you're feeling pretty good. And we appreciated his honesty about his bank getting involved with Detroit. Mr. Dimon has that he was thinking that it's good for the bottom line of the bank, but at the same time, he sees a problem where the bank can help. That's the trade-off, the compromise. And speaking of that, Republicans should listen to his advice that 'my way or the highway' isn't thinking about America and a shutdown is bad management. All makes sense, right?
And last of the lastlies, the shutdown over planned parenthood, exacerbated by Ms. Fiorina's graphic abortion description during the debate, is counter-productive at the least. Instead of working through each sides' concerns and issues, it says we don't want to work at all. And make no mistake that Republicans will take the blame and rightly so.
America is so tired of tone-deaf ideological stance where no compromise is possible. The voices of mutual respect are starting to speak up. Hopefully, the momentum will build.
Panel: Molly Ball, The Atlantic; Hugh Hewlitt, Radio Host; Maria Shrvier, NBC; David Maraniss, The Washington Post
A few more things...
First, on the cusp of Pope Francis' visit to the United States, one quick take that we have is that the pope speaking about income inequality and climate change and current issues because he recognizes that in order to lead a billion people, you have to be in touch with what they are talking about and what there concerns are. He wants to make the Church relevant and he knows that if he can do that, the residual effect is more people in the pews.
And then...the best for last (we told you so).
Scott Walker better give the money to the Milwaukee Bucks to build a new arena because one thing is for sure, he's got no game. Ouch!
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