Democrats Handicapping the Republican Primaries

I happened to watch Morning Joe this morning and was treated to an entertaining discussion as to who would make the best candidate to take on Obama.  Would it be Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney?  Let me be clear, I have no dog in this fight.  I'm an ABO (Anyone But Obama) person.  I will gladly vote for either candidate in the 2012 presidential election.

But first, a quick comment on the rest of the republican field.  Michelle Bachman -- a great person but too socially conservative for mainstream America.  Rick Santorum -- ditto.  Ron Paul -- a man with a firm grasp on the libertarian vote.  Unfortunately for him, Americans, by and large, are not libertarians.  And then we come to the avuncular Jon Huntsman.  Nice guy, but Americans are no more likely to vote for him than for the late, and much loved, Mr. Rogers.

The comments of that old political pro, Joe Scarborough said more about Joe, himself, than they did about the candidates.  To paraphrase Joe:  Keep your eye on Ron Paul.  His poll numbers have been steady and he looks likely to move up.  Really!  And, then commenting on Newt vs. Mitt:  Newt's like a car crash waiting to happen.  Mitt (in Joe's opinion) is clearly the best man to take on Obama.

Niall Ferguson happily explained that, in American elections, a steady hand like Mitt's wins.  I happen to love Niall Ferguson.  I love his books.  He's a great historian -- although my endorsement doesn't count for much.  And, who knows, he may be right.  But, culturally, Ferguson is not an American.  He's not steeped in American culture.  He's a Scot.  Also, historians are great at looking in the rear view mirror.  In my opinion, they're less reliable when it comes to looking down the road ahead.  But, who knows?

Joe's other guest was David Gregory, of Meet the Press.  He saw it differently.  In his view, Americans are very unhappy.  Independent voters had pinned their hopes on Obama and now have buyer's regret.  They yearn for someone who will talk straight and who appears to know what he's talking about.  Mitt's fine, but he's too generic, too vanilla, too cautious.

David Gregory may have it right.  We'll see.

As you can see, I do tune in to Morning Joe.  But, it's not to receive Joe's wisdom.  It's his guests that make his show so appealing.  As to Joe himself:  I find him to be a phony.  He's always coming out with how he's a Republican and speaks as a Republican.  Nonsense.  He's no more a Republican than a Neocon is a communist.  Neocons are more honest.  They were once on the far left.  And, they won't deny it.  But, they became disillusioned and moved to the right.  If Joe was indeed a Republican, it's clear he's moved to the left.  And, that's okay.  But, he really ought to stop with that business of how he's a Republican.  Joe's like so many committed Democrats who can understand why Americans are unhappy with Obama.  But, when the time comes to vote, they'll vote for Obama, regardless of who the Republican candidate might be.

What makes Joe seem so wise is that he's paired himself with that twit, Mika.  Sitting next to her would make Humpty Dumpty seem like a sage.