Columnist Peggy Noonan’s description of the Republican presidential contenders “running around like rabid squirrels throwing nuts at each other in the dark,” was cleverly stated in her recent Wall Street Journal piece.
It’s time to clean the stable and prepare for the November stakes. (horses.about.com)
Here we are with a fine stable of candidates, each with his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and they choose to attack each other like school children.
Not satisfied with the way he turned the media on the qualification of Sen. Ted Cruz to serve because of his Canadian birth, Donald Trump twisted the knife by calling the Cruz comment on New Yorker values as “insulting.” Time will tell if this seriously hurt the Cruz campaign, but the media is making the most of it.
Then there was the exchange initiated by Sen. Marco Rubio about Gov. Chris Christie’s qualifications for office. While Christie was indignant with Rubio’s charges as untruthful, media fact finders learned Rubio was right.
If you wonder why some candidates participate in these one-on-one attacks, look at where the others stand in the polls. Dr. Ben Carson chose to be cerebral on national security when he warned how the enemy could hit our electrical grid. Gov. John Kasich chose to again tout his impressive record in Washington and Ohio. I expect their standing in the polls will continue to sink.
If it wasn’t enough to attack each other, some even chose to criticize South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s response to Obama’s state-of-the-union address. Trump’s attempt to gain favor with Haley, after his initial disparaging comments, fell flat.
“Do Republicans not realize they need more such women, who put up with a great deal and deserve respect, and that for years as a party they’ve had a woman problem?” wrote Noonan.
I’m tired of all of the foot-stomping in the GOP stable. Voters want to know who can defeat Hillary Clinton. While clearly citing her own credentials, Carly Fiorina, continues to effectively attack the likely Democrat candidate. Rubio, Christie and Bush took turns with anti-Clinton one-liners during the recent debate.
With a racing form replete with Clinton failures, it’s time for the horses in the Republican stable to remove their tongue-ties and jump start their way to the November Stakes.
