I have been reluctant to try and analyze what is going on in the Republican Presidential race because it seems so mystifying. It is like a dysfunctional family airing its grievances to the public. Every day someone else decides that he or she could be our country's leader.
In the past I have gone to a number of these events where all the candidates show up to have their three minutes of fame at a political chicken dinner.
We also get to see them on television and hear them on the radio. It is all sound bites, like the "debate" on CNN Wednesday night. I am going to admit that my husband and I could not sit through the whole broadcast. We were sad and embarrassed. Embarrassed for the candidates, for their party, and for the country.
The media this morning saluted Carly Fiorina for the cleverest comment about Iran and Planned Parenthood, both of which she knows nothing. While describing her disturbance over a video made by opponents of abortion, she failed to also say that the information she saw had been edited to portray the worst light. She would go on to talk about women as if health care and contraception were not part of their lives.
Former Governor Bush was trying to pitbull his way up the approval ladder. And Governor Christie was just being a pitbull. And there was a ton of misinformation given out be all the rest. My advice: be true to yourself. If you don't win, at least you will be able to sleep at night.
Public office is about public service. The best of those peoples who chose to serve through the elective process want to know what the country wants. Much of the "debate" seemed to be pandering to one segment of the population.
People in this country want to hear a vision for the future. Stop bashing the sitting president, even if you dislike him. Polls show he is one of the most admired people in America. Tell people who you are, why you are running, and what you would do.
Where will you take the country if you were elected? What will you do if you have a Congress whose only interest is in obstructing you rather than serving the common good? What is good about what is going on nationwide? Do you think that women and their families are able to make moral decisions?
By the way, I want to hear the same questions posed to the Democrats who are running.
Right now, the country deserves better than this array. Perhaps as the polls narrow down and the money dries up, we will hear better. But for now, it is really disappointing that this field of people who aspire to lead us looks so frail.