I concur with almost all the comments John and Elizabeth have made about last night’s Republican candidates’ jamboree on Fox News. I drove to Milwaukee to attend the event at the Fiserv Forum and was seated in one of the suites on the third level at the back of the arena.
The hosts obviously performed no sound check for those in attendance. Every statement echoed with a slight delay. If you watched it on television, you probably had a better experience of the event than I did. I’m not complaining — that’s the way I like it. The difficulty with the sound did not inhibit those around me from making their feelings heard. If you heard the boos, some of them came from my neighbors, and in appropriate response to what the candidates said. It was a somewhat raucous event both on the stage and in the audience.
If Trump’s popularity among the GOP faithful continues on its present trajectory, the race is over before it begins. The eight candidates on stage last night were fighting to survive long enough to see if Trump’s troubles ever take a toll. In that sense, I think Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Nikki Haley emerged as winners. They will survive for the foreseeable future.
As the candidates took the stage I was struck by their “diversity.” I have heard somewhere or other that “diversity is our strength.” We believe in the quality and character of the individual, regardless of his packaging. The candidates seemed to me to give an optimistic glimpse of the possible future of the Republican Party.
A few comments on the candidates:
Doug Burgum: He played through the pain. He looks typecast to play the part of president, much as Warren Burger appeared typecast to play the part of Chief Justice of the United States. I think Burgum would make at least as good a president as Burger did a Chief Justice.
Asa Hutchinson: What is he doing here? His candidacy lacks a premise. His regurgitation of left-wing talking points about Trump’s ineligibility for federal office were pathetic.
Chris Christie: His mission is to save the Republican Party from Donald Trump. I think it’s a worthy mission. Despite his gifts, there doesn’t seem to be much market for what he is selling.
Tim Scott: He has staked his candidacy is based on his personal story. It’s good, but it’s not enough.
Nikki Haley: Haley made a bigger impression than I anticipated. She seems to carry the torch of the old-fashioned Reagan foreign policy. The Republican Party has drifted from it to something more Trumpian. I hope she can continue to make the argument. If so, Haley would find it to her advantage to make the case for her candidacy without reference to her femininity. We can see it. It makes her stand out from the crowd. She would stand out a little more if she left it at that. I was disappointed to hear that she has joined the crowd on the climate change shtick. Climate change is “real.” Well, yeah. The climate is changing. It was ever thus.
Mike Pence: I admire Mike Pence. He is a serious man. He did the right thing on January 6 despite the abuse of President Trump. He isn’t a strong presidential candidate.
Vivek Ramaswamy: Driving home from Milwaukee this morning I heard he had a big night. His “I’m the only honest man in this crowd” allegedly went down well, and he may be the smartest man in the room, but it is offensive and stupid. Is it poll-tested to prove he’s not a politician? When he spoke, I saw Vivek looking in the mirror and asking, “Who is the Trumpiest candidate of all?” That is the niche he seeks to occupy. He was pumped last night. I thought he sounded like a pipsqueak.
Ron DeSantis: The pressure he felt must have been intense. He was a little tight. The man has a record, yet something is missing. I thought he slightly exceeded expectations and lives to fight another day.