GOP must prep for Obama attacks

Friday, Oct 21 2011, 5:13 pm

The GOP debates continue at an agonizing pace. The process is like the first rounds of "American Idol," yet no one ever gets sent home and the bad singers and train wrecks are drowning out the good singers. Any of the candidates would be better than Obama, but only one gets to try to wipe that smirk off his face in November, 2012. The cringe-inducing thought of a second-term, lame-duck Obama administration should make us all sit up and take notice. Of late, more attention has been focused on those not running for president. It is a watershed event when someone like Chris Christie announces for the 250th time that he is not running for president. Historically, when folks did not want to run, they just did not file. But because of convoluted campaign laws and 24-hour cable news, the likes of Sarah Palin can suck all of the oxygen out of the room by playing coy (while raising money she can spend) about running. The half-term Alaska governor really needs to either reach up and pat the pony on the nose if she plans to run in the future, or just get a regular gig hosting a fishing and hunting show on Fox. Herman Cain catapulted to the top of the polls by presenting simple solutions to our nation's problems. His rise was so quick it left Newsweek magazine scrambling to find an unflattering picture of him for its cover. I am pretty sure he just got in the race in hopes of getting a show on Fox, but it turns out the tea party is not racist and loves his ideas. Cain might be like that first slice of pizza when it is served piping fresh. However, he runs the risk of being like Rick Perry: those later slices are soggy and cold, and you tire of them quickly. You could ask the waiter to put them in a box to take home, but deep down you know you probably won't want them later. Rick Perry has been so beaten up by his debate performances that even going back to Texas and executing three folks didn't cheer him up. Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann are starting to waste our time. We are not looking for a Bible school teacher, but rather a minimal-government executive who will get the size and scope of government under control instead of codifying the Bible into law. Bachmann is Sarah Palin without the marksmanship and a heterosexual husband. I think her campaign should be fined if she mentions all her foster children one more time. I don't want to see her birth certificate, but I would like to run a background check on her college degree. Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney look like the men in the Viagra commercials. However, each has some serious negatives to overcome. Jon Huntsman worked for the current administration as U.S. ambassador to China, and Romney implemented Massachusetts' infamous health care law, on which the despised Obamacare was supposedly based. Which leaves us with the smartest folks in the race, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. In this shallow, TV sound bite race, the non-telegenic Paul and Gingrich do not stand a chance. I will vote for Ron Paul because he is the only intellectually honest one and also happens to be right on 99 percent of the issues. Sadly, there is no place for such a candidate in today's politics. As the leftist media turn over every rented hunting camp rock looking for dirt on the GOP front runners, one thing is clear. Obama cannot run on his record of "accomplishments." He did not have one when he ran in 2008, and he certainly does not have one now. Obama will run an envy-based campaign with the ill-conceived concept of attacking anyone who has been productive in business. The GOP must prepare for that. Obama, who says he "has been in all 57 states," will portray himself as our smart, above-it-all leader. In reality, not only does he not believe in state's rights, he cannot even get his states right. It becomes clearer with every passing day that Obama is too proud to admit what he doesn't know but refuses to seek out people who can teach him. He thinks, like Nanny Pelosi, that he knows what is best for Americans and we should all just shut up. Well, pride goeth before a fall, and the fall of 2012 is when Obama should go.