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Teddy, Ike and The Gipper have to be rolling in their graves. Seriously, or is it stupidly, that as I write this Donald Trump will host and moderate a Republican presidential debate. Not only is this beyond any scope of respectability, one has to wonder how you can fit the egos of Trump and Newt Gingrich in the same room, auditorium or even a stadium. This is so absurd that you must question if presidential politics has become nothing more than a silly TV reality show. If it somehow works then the democrats in 2016 might as well sign on Michael Moore as their host du jour.
Then to take it to a new level in 2020 we can have Moore and Trump fight it out in a steel cage, winner take all.
Even if the Trump debate comes off, at least we won’t have the Hermanator involved. How does a guy who is just trying to sell some books become a serious candidate for more than the traditional fifteen minutes of fame?
Let me tell you why. The Republicans, by all conventional wisdom, have a lot going for them, which means the economy. Nothing else. Not a one of them can come up with a good argument against President Obama on national security. Some are trying to say he is defanging the defense department, when defense spending has gone up during his administration, much to the chagrin of many liberals.
Obama is vulnerable, very vulnerable actually, but right now he and his posse must be counting their lucky stars at the whole of the Republican field. Gingrich seems to be the leader at the moment but he brings enough personal and political baggage to the playing field that you would have to fly on Southwest to avoid going broke on the potential fees.
But sitting out there quietly is a candidate who could take on Obama and make it a real presidential election, with candidates worthy of their parties’ nominations and histories.
That would be Jon Huntsman. He is a thoughtful conservative, smart, has an impressive resume and, at least so far, no one has any dirt on him. He handles himself well in the debates when he is given a chance to actually speak. And he doesn’t seem to waffle, which would be refreshing in this day and age.
A Hunstman-Obama campaign would be most interesting. Two smart guys who would have clear differences but, hopefully, can have those differences explained in a professional and decent manner.
The office of the President of the United States deserves just such a campaign.