In Moderation

Growltiger did not watch the Democrats' last debate. Since she won't be voting in the Democrat primary, she doesn't need to evaluate the candidates. But she does have an opinion. Right or wrong, Senator Sanders believes what he's saying. Right or wrong, Secretary Clinton says what she needs to say to get elected. And like Donald Trump's candidacy, Senator Sanders's candidacy is the clarion call of an electorate fed up with the professional political establishment that has developed into a ruling political class which the people believe rightly or wrongly represent only the interests of Wall Street and Washington.

The same questions were asked that have been asked in all the other debates and will be asked in all the future debates. The difference was in what happened before the debate as outlined below and the professionalism of the moderators which stood out in stark contrast to the moderators of previous debates with the exception of Fox Business. 

David Muir and Martha Radditz were professional and courteous while at the same time kept control, asked difficult questions and corrected the record when necessary. (When Senator Cruz blamed CNN misreporting Ben Carson's dropping out for his campaign having deceived Iowa caucus goers, Ms. Radditz quietly interjected that CNN corrected its false report within one minute.) As an added bonus, Ms. Radditz was dressed in proper business attire and did not look like she was going to a cocktail party.  

The classiest moment of the debate occurred before the first question was asked, when the applause for Governor Christie drowned out the announcers calling out Dr. Carson's name. Not having heard his name, the retired neurosurgeon stood in the wings and looked confused when the announcer called for Senator Cruz. (Perhaps he thought the Cruz campaign had convinced ABC he had dropped out).  

Senator Cruz looked surprised, but pushed around Dr. Carson and took the stage. The announcer, still not realizing Dr. Carson had not taken the stage then called Mr. Trump's name. Unlike Senator Cruz who was taken unawares, Mr. Trump had forewarning. Instead of taking the stage, he walked over to Dr. Carson and stood beside him. They had a brief, unrecorded, conversation which one supposes Mr. Trump explained what had happened. The announcer, still unaware of the mix-up called for Senator Rubio and Governors Bush and Kasich. Rather than pausing and remaining with Mr. Trump and Dr. Carson, the Senator and Governors Bush and Kasich took their places. 

When the announcer finally realized Dr. Carson and Mr. Trump were not on the stage, he called their names. Mr. Trump paused, allowing Dr. Carson to take his place with the applause he deserved. 

To Growltiger, this small kindness to a fellow competitor showed more class and told more about Donald Trump's character than any answer to any question he might ever give.  

As in other debates, Mr. Trump neither helped nor harmed his candidacy. Those who dislike him will continue to dislike him; those who support him will continue to support him. He is not a professional politician, so does not give canned answers nor does he recite a list of his achievements in government. He is, however, an executive, so has more in common with the governors than the senators. His biggest vulnerability is on eminent domain, and in that instance, he would do well to have a canned answer.  Eminent domain is a complicated issue, and most people, including the cool cat, equate eminent domain to the Kelo decision and not the Keystone pipeline which also involves the private taking of property.

Governor Christie demolished Senator Rubio by pointing out that the first term senator gives a canned, rehearsed statement with which he responds to any question he's asked at which point Senator Rubio repeated the same canned, rehearsed statement at least four times. If the presidency were not in contention, this would have made excellent farce. At one point, Senator Rubio was gleaming with perspiration, not a good visual for a presidential candidate. 

Governor Bush looks presidential and is quite handsome until he opens his mouth. His delivery is halting and he comes across as a bit dim. Governor Kasich had an excellent debate, and had he not come unhinged in two of the previous debates, would be the establishment favorite. Ms. Fiorina was not allowed to participate due to her poll numbers which the tiger cat believes is a mistake and will be used against the eventual Republican nominee should Hillary Clinton win the Democrat nomination.

The one fault Growltiger had with the moderators was that they seemed to forget Dr. Carson was there. Dr. Carson is a good, honest, honorable (and probably the smartest and best educated) of the candidates, but he is too gentle to be president. In his one opportunity to show grit, he failed. When asked about Senator Cruz's campaign's shady political tricks in Iowa, Dr. Carson was accepting of Cruz's apology which brought to mind a letter in the Wall Street Journal letters section when Mitt Romney was running against President Obama. "If he won't fight for himself," the writer asked, "why should we believe he'd fight for us?" 

Pundits on both sides of the political spectrum realize there is a great the divide in the country, but few seem to realize the divide is not between the right and the left but rather between the globalists of the established political class and the American people, between the Washington politicians and the people they govern, and that explains the candidacies of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders and why on trade at least, they have more in common with each other than they do with their respective establishments.