When I was a boy of fourteen,
my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.
But when I got to be twenty-one,
I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
Mark Twain
Chart of the Day
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| The next President of the United States and Hillary Clinton |
The Economically Illiterate Pope
Political Potpourri
I think we're seeing the peak of Trump, although there are some mixed signals. CNN's latest poll shows Trump's percentage down about a quarter to 24% with two candidates (Fiorina and Carson) within 10 percentage points. Still, the three non-politicians are controlling about half the support. Carson recently topped Trump in a Michigan vote, and Rand Paul easily won a key Michigan activist straw poll. Recall that Scott Walker easily led Trump in Wisconsin. I'm not saying that it makes a trend in the rust belt, but it could be an early electability argument. Rasmussen finds Trump and Carson now in a statistical dead heat for the lead postion.
Now I don't doubt Trump has the means and will to go negative and remain almost indefinitely in the race, but I don't think Trump's pride will allow him to lose the nomination; I think he'll find a face-saving way to claim that he made a difference. Also, I want to see more evidence from other polls.
However, none of the 3 non-politicians are conservatives, including Fiorina (I just read an op-ed from Townhall which reminded people that Fiorina won her nomination for the Senate against Boxer: she was the establishment's choice). I think at some point issues and policies (especially foreign policy) matter; maybe it'll be one of the monthly debates or just wishful thinking on my part, but I don't think the angry electorate will put the nomination on yet another RINO.
Among the other candidates, probably the biggest surprise is the utter collapse of Scott Walker's campaign, going from the one-time Iowa poll leader to statistically insignificant showing in the CNN poll. Another thing to look at: Rubio, who had a strong performance in the second debate, is now at double-digit support, and (despite my support for Rand Paul) I've thought Rubio would be one of the strongest candidates to run against Clinton (or other Democrat); he is charismatic and acceptable across the party.
Facebook Corner
(George Will). "Francis lectures about our responsibilities, but neglects the duty to be as intelligent as one can be."
George Will, as usual, is spot on. Although Francis was trained to teach high school chemistry, his discussions of economics and science are unoriginal, grossly incompetent and neo-Malthusian/alarmist in nature. As a Catholic, let me point out that Pope Francis' leadership and moral authority do not extend beyond matters of doctrine.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of the original artist via the Independent Institute |
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| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Patriot Post |
Lionel Richie, "Dancing on the Ceiling"
