Iowa GOP Debate

I had the chance to watch the Iowa GOP Debate this week and even took some notes. Overall I enjoyed the debate. They attacked President Obama quite a bit, as well as each other. I felt like I came away more informed and even may have changed my opinions on a few topics after watching so it was certainly not a waste of 2 hours (or less with DVR!) Here's what I took away from each candidate, in no particular order:

Newt Gingrich - Former Speaker of the House, Twenty years in the House of Representatives, currently acts as a political commentator.

I am not a huge fan of Gingrich as a presidential candidate, but I do enjoy him as a commentator. Anytime I get a chance to listen to him talk about immigration, tax reform, or welfare reform I feel like I come away a little more informed. That's how I felt about his performance at the debate. Informative, yes. Did it make me want to vote for him? No. He was pretty snappy at poor Bret Baier, which was entertaining for sure.

Mitt Romney - Businessman and former Governor of Massachusetts.

As I was in the car on Friday, I heard someone on the radio commenting on how the other GOP candidates didn't do much to put a dent in Romney during the debate. That kinda sums up his performance though. If I were uninformed about Romney, I'm not sure that I would have been won over much by his performance. However, as the current national front runner the others left him pretty unscathed.

I didn't like how he dodged a question about a tax increase while he was Governor. Things I liked: He's all about corporate tax breaks, less regulation on business, trade policies that are pro-America, energy independence, and fiscal responsibility. He is in favor of defining marriage at the Federal level as between a man and a woman. One interesting thing he offered when questioned about further extension of unemployment benefits: He would create a personal unemployment account for each person with a limited dollar value. The individual would be responsible for managing that fund to meet their needs while they are searching for a job. I like hearing actual ideas from candidates about how to cut our welfare spending. This idea is worth discussing.

Pawlenty went after him about the Massachusetts healthcare bill he signed into law and I think he actually turned it around well stating his belief in states rights. Being a fan of states rights, it was hard to not listen and agree. If the people of Massachusetts want government healthcare, then maybe they should have it.

The above on Romney looks like a summary of one of his books, but this is really how much information he managed to give about himself in the debate. I think that was a huge positive for him.

Michelle Bachmann - Current member of the House of Representatives, representing Minnesota.

Bachmann has gained a lot of public recognition through the Tea Party and she's very good at sticking to the Tea Party rhetoric. She threw out a few punch lines, which I thought made her look silly. Bachmann is a huge champion of smaller government and I was really eager to see good things from her.

All in all, I think she did a good job and I've generally liked her as far as I've been aware of her. I also think she accomplished something important in the debate by fighting with Tim Pawlenty a bit. If the debate had been just between the two of them, I think she won. A few things I learned about her: She is also in favor of a Federal marriage amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. She also authored the Light bulb Freedom of Choice Act - OH YEAH! My ears perked up at that simply because I get a little crazy every time I go to the hardware store for light bulbs and can't find anything but corkscrews to put in my fans. Government needs to get far far away from my light bulbs. Like they have nothing better to do? I think Bachmann did really well in the debate once she warmed up.

Jon Huntsman, Jr. - Most recently, the U.S. Ambassador to China. Prior to that he was Governor of Utah.

I didn't know much about Huntsman until this debate. His resume is very impressive. I had heard he was a little liberal on a few things, and he confirmed that in the debate. While he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, he is for civil unions. He got some heat for being in favor of Cap and Trade as Governor of Utah as well. Aside from that, he is extremely knowledgeable on business and would certainly have great insight on America's position in the global market. He got a bonus point from me when he stated his position on No Child Left Behind (against it) and further stated that education should be a local issue. I totally agree with that. He wasn't terribly personable but I still think I learned something more and the debate was favorable for him.

Rick Santorum - Former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania.

My notes on Santorum were slim. He doesn't get a lot of attention, even in debates, but he also seems to say the same thing over and over again. He argued a lot with the other candidates on moral issues and took Ron Paul on several times regarding Iran. Santorum clearly defined himself as a very strong moral conservative, which is probably a smart way to try to differentiate himself from the competition. Still, with the economy waving in the wind like it is he didn't offer much that made him look strong in that arena other than the general plan to cut the corporate tax rate and welfare reform. I really don't see this candidate going on.

Herman Cain - Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and (most well-known) CEO of Godfather's Pizza.

I LOVE this guy! He is really fun to watch in a debate. I think Cain did really well this week. He stayed pretty clear of his usual "bullet point" talking where he gives each part of his answer a number. I found that distracting in other debates, though I'm sure he was just trying to make it easy for people to follow.

The worst thing about Cain: He gets himself in trouble sometimes running his mouth. He's the easy target of all the candidates cause he's always going on the record about something controversial from Mormonism to electric fences on the border to Sharia Law. I actually agree with his stance that Sharia Law has no place mingling in our courts, but he still seemed to step right into a mess when he commented on it.

Best things about Cain: His business experience and pro-growth plans. He doesn't just state the tax cuts he believes are necessary. He insists that they must be permanent to remove the uncertainty for taxpayers and businesses. I couldn't agree more. How can anyone make plans when the current tax code is only good for a few months/years at a time?

He also wants the government to get their hands out of our education system. Education should be a local issue. Agreed.

Ron Paul - Physician and member of the House of Representatives.

I think this was one of Ron Paul's best debates. Aside from his usual anti-war rants which dance in and out of my comfort zone, he used this debate to make some of his other stances known. Regarding health care, he is in favor of making health savings accounts more available. This has been our first year of an HSA and we have really liked it. I think the personal responsibility an HSA encourages also purchases some peace of mind.

Other points I took down: He thinks marriage should be defined at the state level, which sets him apart from his peers. He also wants to audit and eventually close down the Fed. Again, on war he set himself apart from his peers by downplaying the idea that Iran is a threat to our national security. That just sounds naive to me, but maybe I'm the one who is naive.

My favorite statement from Paul tonight was that liberty is from our Creator. I completely agree with the Libertarian theories that drive Ron Paul, even though I'm not optimistic about untangling the mess that is our government now. This statement though, rings true to my core. America is in trouble right now because people have the misconception that our rights are given or granted to us by an all powerful government. God gave us liberty and all the government can do is protect it or take it away bit by bit. When we shift to believing that the government is where our liberty is derived, we've forfeited that liberty.

Tim Pawlenty - Former Governor of Minnesota.

I like T-Paw, but I don't think he did well in the debate. Michelle Bachmann looked like the winner in their scuffles and I kind of hated to see that. I prefer a candidate with experience as a governor and really thought Pawlenty would be a contender in this race. He seems to disappear a bit among the others. He is very socially conservative and has an impeccable pro-life record. His record on budgeting and debt reduction in Minnesota is also a strong plus for him. To me, he seems like the exact opposite of our current President in background and beliefs. He's just not shaking things up enough to get people's attention, but I do kinda wish people would give him a look. The guy is clean as a whistle, to a fault I guess.

If you didn't watch the debate, I would at least read about it or watch bits and pieces. If I had to rank winners, I'd say Romney was #1 mostly because he was on top before and nobody knocked him down. He also took every opportunity he was given to be informative about himself, which I think was effective. #2 Hermann Cain - he was scrappy and debated really well. I thought he got a lot of time in this debate and it was mostly positive for him. #3 Ron Paul - his war rantings still made me nervous but he delivered all of his other points really well. I think Ron Paul's ideas become more accepted and understood every time he debates.