When I wrote the title of my first debate post, “I Watched the Debate” I decided not to add the common “So you don’t have to” afterward because it’s such a trope. But the more of these that we have, the more I feel that way. This third debate was genuinely excruciating to watch. Everyone except for Nikki Haley and Chris Christie have gotten less serious and instead of attacking Trump, they’ve realized she’s firmly in second and steadily rising in the polls and so they attacked her. Here’s a rundown, but please, I beg of you: if you don’t pay attention to politics, if you’ve never voted in a primary, if you’ve ever said, “I don’t pay attention because our politics are a mess,” stop. It’s because normal, sane people like you aren’t paying attention that we have these idiots on stage.
Ron DeSantis: I’m not sure what his lane is. He’s definitely toned down the culture war stuff and focused more on good government, but only brought up his victory in Florida once. Nikki Haley (in what was her worst moment) attacked him for blocking fracking in the Everglades, in what would have been a perfect opportunity to say, “And that’s why we won so big in Florida, Nikki, Americans like their national parks” He just kind of pushed back and said something like “I protected the Everglades, and Floridians agree with me.” I guess that’s not a great example, but he’s just awkward and weird and lies and tries to be Trumpy. He just feels disingenuous, it genuinely feels like he’s up there because everyone said he would be the frontrunner for President. And the only thing he should be remembered for tonight is his smile after the closing arguments. He’s so awkward!
Nikki Haley: I’m sorry, but this woman should be the next President. She’s poised, she’s articulate, she’s smart, she’s beating Biden by 8 points in the polls. She’s relatively unruffled by the biggest jackass on earth and manages to not look like she’s stooping to the level of her opponents when she fights back. Basically, the only person willing to give real answers to questions, she’s incredible on abortion which is a losing issue for Republicans. She’s right on foreign policy, she’s clear about the need for entitlement reforms, I mean… She’s perfect. Aside from that one attack on DeSantis I mentioned earlier.
Vivek Ramaswamy: Complete and total idiot. Should not be allowed on that stage, it is a disgrace to not only the RNC and the Republican party, but the country that that man is allowed anywhere near a debate stage.
Chris Christie: Aside from Haley, he seems to be the only other candidate up there actually interested in the job of being President of the United States. He gives thoughtful answers, he’s clearly very bright, but I mean… it’s Chris Christie. What credibility does he honestly have with anyone. But if you don’t like Haley (because you’re a sexist? I honestly don’t know who wouldn’t like Haley) Christie is my recommendation for your next best bet. He’s also clear on the issues and relatively good on abortion and while I think it’s a surprise to everyone (himself included), he keeps making the debate stage.
Tim Scott: Between the last debate and this one, Tim Scott realized that nobody on the debate stage was trying to pander to Christians. So, Timmy met with his preacher, boned up on his Bible verses, and let them loose any chance he had. I mean seriously, we’ve seen three Tim Scotts on the debate stage and I’m still not sure which one is the talented politician people talk about all the time. When he does put aside the invocations of our Judeo-Christian heritage to talk about policy, he does so in vague, optimistic terms. I’m not sure if he understands that you can’t just think happy thoughts and the economy will turn around.
I don’t have much else to say. Vote Nikki Haley. If you aren’t paying attention to politics: start today. If you hate what’s going on in our politics: show up. If you’re a billionaire: please give Vivek all of your money to get him off of the debate stage. If you like this post and want me to keep watching the debates, please comment because it’s really getting depressing.