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I've watched a couple of the previous debates between the Republican candidates for president, and I watched about 45 minutes of the debate last night. What's painfully obvious is how all the media outlets are manipulating the process: in the 45 minutes that I watched, Romney and Gingrich probably were on-screen and talking about 75% of the time. Santorum probably had about 15% of the airtime, and Paul maybe 10%.
I don't think (as some of my friends on the right seem to think) that the various media are trying to get a particular person nominated in order to benefit the current president. Rather, I think they're just slavishly following the latest polls and giving attention only to those candidate who are riding high in those polls. This strikes me as unfair, and I'm flabbergasted that the non-Romney and non-Gingrich candidates aren't howling in outrage and raising a stink about it. Were I Paul, I think I would have spoken up during the debate and said "Excuse me, but am I ever going to be allowed to speak?"
Watching, it would appear that those in charge of the debate have already made up their minds that Santorum and Paul are out of the race.
Mind you, I won't be voting for any of the current group of candidates, but I have to say that in the time I watched, Paul was the only person who actually said something with which I could agree. They were talking about Cuba and Iran, and Romney and Gingrich were going on about how all the sanctions on Cuba have to remain and how if Iran did anything threatening, they're willing to go to war. Paul, instead, said that what we need to do with Cuba is actually start talking to them and open up trade with them, and that if we're talking about aggression and acts of war, it's us who have made the act of war by blockading the Strait. "What if someone did in the Gulf of Mexico what we're doing there? Wouldn't we consider that an act of war against us?" (I'm paraphrasing there…)
It seems to me that each of the candidates should be getting equal time on the stage to lay out their stances, rather than getting time based on their poll numbers. That would give the voters the chance to make the best choice.
I don't think (as some of my friends on the right seem to think) that the various media are trying to get a particular person nominated in order to benefit the current president. Rather, I think they're just slavishly following the latest polls and giving attention only to those candidate who are riding high in those polls. This strikes me as unfair, and I'm flabbergasted that the non-Romney and non-Gingrich candidates aren't howling in outrage and raising a stink about it. Were I Paul, I think I would have spoken up during the debate and said "Excuse me, but am I ever going to be allowed to speak?"
Watching, it would appear that those in charge of the debate have already made up their minds that Santorum and Paul are out of the race.
Mind you, I won't be voting for any of the current group of candidates, but I have to say that in the time I watched, Paul was the only person who actually said something with which I could agree. They were talking about Cuba and Iran, and Romney and Gingrich were going on about how all the sanctions on Cuba have to remain and how if Iran did anything threatening, they're willing to go to war. Paul, instead, said that what we need to do with Cuba is actually start talking to them and open up trade with them, and that if we're talking about aggression and acts of war, it's us who have made the act of war by blockading the Strait. "What if someone did in the Gulf of Mexico what we're doing there? Wouldn't we consider that an act of war against us?" (I'm paraphrasing there…)
It seems to me that each of the candidates should be getting equal time on the stage to lay out their stances, rather than getting time based on their poll numbers. That would give the voters the chance to make the best choice.
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