GOP Candidates Trade Barbs during CNN/You Tube Debate

The Republican Presidential candidates squared off tonight in Florida debating typical conservative issues such as illegal immigration, taxes, gun control, and gays in the military. However, with the unique You Tube format, candidates were grilled by ordinary Americans. One of the things that struck me was when a guy from Dallas, held up a copy of the Bible and asked, “All of you should be judge on one question only, do you believe every WORD in this book?” Giuliani answered first saying that many of the stories act as metaphors, however, Romney answered that he believes the Bible is the word of God, implying that he believes in the literal sense of the book.

Another question that stuck out was when a user asked what the Confederate Flag means to the candidates. Surprisingly, an issue I thought that could be pivotal for voters in the South was very answered decisively. Romney immediately argued that a symbol that divides the country so much should not be tolerated, even attacking John Edwards in the process. “Every time I hear Edwards talk about two Americas, I want to throw something at the TV. We are one country and should be united.” Knowing that South Carolina is a key primary state for him, it was sort of reassuring that a man who changes his mind quite a bit came out so strong. Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson also spoke out against the flag, in a mush softer manner, saying that it should not be flown individually in public places.

The candidates were asked to create a 30 sec You Tube ad for their campaigns, but Thompson’s clearly stood out being the first and only attack ad. Many insiders afterwards sense this was a sign of desperation for his campaign.

Another interesting thing about the debate was that the name Bush was only mentioned twice. Virtually all the candidates, aside from Ron Paul, agree with Bush on the vast majority of things such as Iraq, taxes, gun control, religion in public life. It’s funny that though he still has over a year in the White House the candidates pretend he doesn’t exist (no credit to him). Given Bush’s popular rating, I think not differentiating themselves can come back to haunt the Republican candidates in the general election.

Finally, the winners of the debate were declared by CNN’s panel. Conservative commentators said that Romney came out the strongest, but all analysts voted Mike Huckabee (and I agree) the winner. Huckabee came out ready to answer challenging questions with thought provoking explanations, all in a funny/witty manner. In terms of losers, internet darling Ron Paul was extraordinarily weak today and there was a sigh of disappointed when he said he would not run as an independent (perhaps a sigh of relief as well.)

Stay tune for some video postings of the debate that we’ll post on the blog.


Anay Shah

3rd Quarter Fundraising Amounts – Dems Win, Again

The 3^rd quarter fundraising results are out with a huge disparity again favoring the Democrats. The WSJ reports that for the year, the top Democrats have raised $239.7 million to the $160.5 million raised by the top Republicans.

On the Democratic side, the race is on between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Obama surprised many by raising $20 million in a typically slow quarter. The next day, Clinton topped that by raising $27 million.

Republicans Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani sharpened their rivalry with both reporting similar fundraising amounts of $10.5 million and $11 million. Newcomer Fred Thompson came in third with $9.3 million. Ron Paul shocked many by raising $5 million in the last 3 months. This was $4 million more than rival Mike Huckabee and a million less than John McCain, who has recently had a comeback in the polls.

Why is there such a disparity between the two parties? Well looking at recent polls, Hillary continues to dominate her party’s nomination race, but the Republican race is still in the air with some candidates the winning in the national polls, others winning in the primary states, and key groups like evangelicals unsure of who to support.

Ron Paul Respects the Sovereignty of an Upcoming India and the Rest of the World

In the wake of the recent US-India Nuclear deal, two notable conclusions can be drawn. One is that Americans, including the careless foreign policy of the Bush administration, realize the potential of a free and rapid growing India during the next 50 years. The other is that even in this infancy stage, India is rightly cautious in entering any alliances and unyielding positions that would hinder its potential future growth as well as make it a pawn to any country in the global sphere.

Many candidates support the nuclear deal, but there is only one that can be easily identified as the candidate who supports the independent growth of India. In the past few months, Representative Ron Paul has annoyed some and inspired others. It’s no secret that his blunt talk and strong opinions have created some fires in the relatively placid GOP race. His position of staying away from "foreign entanglements" has been ridiculed by those who fail to look outside the current paradigm of American foreign policy that has been misguided since the Korean War. In terms of dealing with other nations, his policy is quite simple- "talk to people and trade with people". He applies the principles of the free market to foreign policy, making one of the most inconsistent and illogical positions for other candidates consistent with his own beliefs.

While some may find his positions immoral, inconceivable, and impractical, Representative Paul has garnered as much positive international attention as national. A quick Google search finds many fan sites such as:

http://indiansandpakistanisforronpaul.wordpress.com/

http://www.holland4ronpaul.blogspot.com/

http://ronpaulbrazil.wordpress.com/ (in Portugese)

http://asia4ronpaul.blogspot.com/

http://ronpaul.liberal-venezolano.net/ (in Spanish, based out of Venezuela)

http://www.canadiansforronpaul.com/

Americans often ask themselves “Why are we so hated throughout the world?”, more now then ever. It may take years to explain every detail this country has done to anger others, but for a “2nd tier” candidate who holds less than 5% in the national polls, (name) has quite a strong fan base around the world. This is quite possibly due to his persistent belief of letting other countries take care of their own matters. No one appointed America as the caretaker for the world, and the notion of America as the world’s policeman has always been unpopular both at home and abroad.

For the sake of India’s sovereignty, America should take the back seat and allow India to learn from her own mistakes. No country wants to be told what to do. Of course, it’s required and necessary to offer guidance/lessons learned, but there is no need for the US to meddle in another country’s affairs. Instead, it’s important for us to get our own house in order before we give others the blueprints.


Anay Shah
Blog Editor