Limbo lower now; how low can you go?

Last night’s GOP presidential debate (for President of the United States,  not president of Miss Smith’s 3rd grade class, in case you weren’t sure) was the low in class but good for folks to decide who on that stage should be the Republican candidate. We saw three men competing not only for who could make the biggest fool of himself but also for who has the most manhood, literally.

The only adult on the stage was Ohio Gov. John Kasich who, when given a chance by Chris Wallace to join in the slash and mash of the others, said, thanks, but he’s not biting.

Fox News did a good job with the questions and with the “let’s go to the video” moments to show Donald Trump’s forever changing views and to show slides of his forever wrong numbers. And his constant, never-ending salesmanship. By the way, find some old commercials or presentations by Trump online and you’ll see he’s been selling all his products the same way he is selling himself for president. With big promises and the same words – exactly. His spiel has not changed. And it is spiel.

If you didn’t see the debate, here’s a summary:

• Trump again showed why he’s the one who’s all talk and no action (as he claims about the Washington politicians).
  
• Fox properly showed the real numbers on the amount he can save through “making better deals” on Medicare drugs. He said he could save $300 billion a year, but Medicare spends only $78 billion a year. Fox also showed that by eliminating the Department of Education, as Trump has proposed (by the way, a very old saw of the right wing, not an original thought), it doesn’t make a dent in the budget deficit.( And, by the way, now the government puts about everything out to bid and, typically, the lowest bid  wins. So, I’m not sure how much room there is for your “great” negotiating skills, Mr. Trump.). By the end of the exchange, Trump said the $300 billion referred to savings across the government. Lie. That's not what he said before.
  
• Trump refused to admit (or release the tape) of his New York Times interview where he reportedly said he would not deport 11 million illegal aliens and he might not build the wall. Why? Because the session was “off the record” and he said he wouldn’t double-cross someone in the media like that. This from the same man who would, if he could, change the free speech laws so he can more easily sue the press, who he calls the most “dishonest” people he knows  By the way, he never denied he said something different to the Times than he says to his voters.
  
• Rubio attempted more insults of Trump
• Cruz attempted more insults of Trump (“breathe, Donald, breathe”)
• Kasich looked disgusted with the whole thing
• Oh, and Trump admitted that he’d be “flexible” as president because all good leaders are flexible. Mr. Trump, you can’t promise a wall that Mexico will pay for and then say but you’re flexible. Which is it? Do we believe you now? Or five minutes from now?
  

I have not been a huge fan of the direction the Republican Party has been moving for the last 30 years or so. But this is not the GOP establishment moving toward Trump, these are “the people.” Trump obviously has made it okay for people to show their bigotry, prejudices, ignorance because if you’re for Donald Trump that is what you’re for.

I watched the video of the young African-American woman who was asked to leave a Trump rally. As she left men, white men, white men wearing hats worn by veterans, were pushing her on her way out and taunting her. If they had video back in the 1816, this is what you would have seen. But this is 2016.

Rubio has shown he’s not ready for the big chair. If Trump weren’t in the race Cruz would be the crazy one on the stage. Kasich does have experience (and you do need experience for the job; it’s not for amateurs) and the temperament and, he has shown in these debates, more class than the other three combined. Not that that takes a lot.

I’m not sure the GOP debates can go any lower than last night’s. But as long as Donald Trump is around, count on it.