Wishful Thinking & The "News"

Did anyone watch the GOP debate last night? I did, and I'm determined to rant and rave about it, so if that's not your thing then tune out until the next post. :)

It wasn't terrible as debates go, and there were some things at play that made it worth watching, like it being Rick Perry's debut. As I watched it there were plenty of dull moments, plenty of canned lines, and several moments that should have a big impact on the race. The question is invariably who won, and while watching it I think it was impossible to think that anyone but Romney "won" the debate. No one bombed, and to many that means they were winners, but that seems nuts to me. If the question is who looked and sounded the best (especially in response to the questions and jabs from opponents) then it was Romney by a mile.

Here's my beef, when checking out the interwebs this morning few were saying the same thing. To the people who like Perry, he won. It's hard to see a better example of wishful thinking masquerading as news. Never mind that the notion that he's the One True Conservative in the field was blown to smithereens by Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann, who unleashed on the guy's actual record, which is hardly conservative in many key instances. Never mind that Romney did a very good job of pointing out that the Texas Miracle (i.e. its jobs record during this recession) has little to do with Perry, and he managed to say that without coming off like a jerk or a statistician... no small task.

Apparently, the Perry fans weren't watching as he stumbled and mumbled his way through his answer on global warming; it was painful to watch. It reeked of George W. Bush's worst moments. In fact it was worse than that and here's why: the real definition of a softball question is one where the person being questioned already has a well-known, oft-repeated, and firmly delivered answer. Perry has blasted the notion of man made global warming, he says it's a gigantic scam, plain and simple. Well, then why was it so hard to get through an answer to a simple question on global warming? My answer is that he's stupid. Really stupid. Honestly, I can see no other possibility. He then says the science isn't settled; so the moderator asks which science he bases his stance on (since he doesn't buy the consensus opinion). No answer. Look, I've spent a great deal of my adult life defending conservatives from the many negative stereotypes associated with them, but Perry is indefensible: he is everything Liberals say Conservatives are, and that's not a good thing.

The worst part, was that Perry's best moment--his most lucid and well-thought answer--came amid one of the most grotesque debate moments I've ever seen (mostly because debates aren't really a place for the grotesque): When asked about the high number of executions in Texas ("234 death row inmates more than any other governor in modern times" as stated by Brian Williams, the moderator), the audience responded with a roar of applause... in the middle of the question! It wasn't Perry's answer that made them applaud, it was the mere fact that he's executed more people. WTF?! 1) That means that there are lots of murders in Texas, which last I checked isn't something to crow about, 2) the moment just screamed bloodlust, and 3) we simply shouldn't applaud the execution of people. At the very most it should inspire a sober sense of justice after tragedy. Giving the audience the benefit of the doubt, they were likely applauding that Texas actually executes people sentenced to death instead of dithering and then commuting the sentences, or that they "fully" punish murderers. Even if that were the case, that's the sort of thing that turns off moderates and independents, and confirms negative stereotypes that liberals are always bringing up. A sad, sad moment.

So you'd think that the media folks would all be pointing out that the new front-runner, the guy everyone's been flocking to without knowing a thing about him, sucked last night. Sure, he didn't do terribly. But his "best" moment was disgusting (and is certainly a liability in the general election), and his worst moment confirmed every doubt him being "George W. Bush without the brains," and the moments in between he was being justifiably called out by his opponents and exposed for being not nearly the conservative other people (himself included) have made him out to be. We're getting to know Rick Perry, and he is not all he's cracked up to be.

Many thanks!

Today has been a long one! Most of the excitement has died down; The Wife is resting at the hospital, I'm waiting for the in-laws to look after The Boy so I can head back, and The Baby seems to be just fine.

Thank you all for your support and for following along. There was some kind of screw-up with the mobile blogging and the official announcement post didn't make it out initially. Oh well.

I'm totally worn out, and I barely did anything so I'm eager to get back to The Wife so I can give her a hand. Hopefully all the pictures I've put up on Facebook will be enough for a while. Thanks again, everyone.

Daniel O'Bannon Rowley was born at 12:35 pm, he weighs 8 pounds, 5 ounces, 21 inches long and he's perfect in every way (albeit a little prune-ish).

Apparently it's a very busy day here. Still in a holding pattern waiting for the baby catchers (I picture clumsy fat men with nets like in Heathcliff cartoons).