The Field

In looking at the GOP field of presidential candidates, a few things become immediately apparent. The first is the level of diversity—one woman, two Latinos, one African American, one person of Indian (Asia) decent and the level of experience, multiple sitting governors, a senior corporate executive, multiple senators and congressman, a Real Estate developer, two doctors, politicians that have left the field and now returned. Not exactly the narrative of cloned "white males" that the Democrats trained media hamsters want to project. Too many people? I agree. But a group of serious folks who have serious ideas—not all of which I agree with.

And the Dems? There's an aging female politician with, shall we say, a less than exemplary history of actions, ethics, and ideas. Other than repeatedly dragging out the class warfare meme, she seems unwilling to take a position on any issue of importance. In addition, there's a hard core socialist who rails against "corporatism" and "income inequality" but offers no solution other than high, high taxes and collectivism—essentially a model that has failed universally every time it has been implemented. There are also two other aging white males (I mention this because the Dems label GOP candidates with this description all the time) who are so far under the radar that even the Dems media hamsters don't mention them. And then there's VP Joe Biden who just might enter the fray.

This week the first "debate" among GOP candidates will occur. With 10 or 11 people on stage, it's difficult for any substantive discussion to occur. It'll be about euphemisms, sound bites, and clever come backs—not policy and serious ideas. That's probably okay this early in the cycle, but nonetheless, it's a bit silly, really.

And the Dem debate? Oh wait. There is no Dem debate. After all, there are no substantive differences between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, along with the other two white males, are there?