Obama’s State of the (dis-) Union Speech and Thursday’s GOP Debate

Obama’s State of the (dis-) Union Speech and Thursday’s GOP Debate

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered what hopefully will be his final State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress. The “lecturer-in-chief” did his level best to embellish what history, true history, will view as a failed presidency- a presidency that will have been remembered as an existential exercise in narcissism and self-aggrandizement, taken to pathological extreme. To listen to the President is to come to one of two conclusions. Either a), he exists in a fantastic world completely devoid of any sense of reality; or b), he is a pathological prevaricator who knows no equal- with the possible exception of the former first lady who seeks to succeed him.

His list of “accomplishments”, such as they are, read like a platform put forth by the Democratic National Committee, rather than a Constitutionally-mandated report on the state of the American union, and his bloviating was only outdone by his condescension of the American people and the representatives and senators thus assembled. Predictably, the partisan nodding and nattering nabobs enthusiastically jumped to their feet, enthusiastically cheering their champion of chicanery, which seemed at times reminiscent of the speeches delivered by the North Korean Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un, considering the knee-jerk ovations provided by his cabinet and his party’s legislative delegation. Truly, any informed and level-headed observer would find this performance as effective at producing emesis, as a good belt of syrup of ipecac…but, alas, we digress…

Thursday night, in Charleston, South Carolina, ten of the eleven remaining Republican candidates will square off in the last debate prior to the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. Senator Rand Paul, miffed that he was delegated to the Junior Varsity event, chose not to participate with the other J.V. players, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. On balance, this is certainly bad form not to show up. It also may be indicative that his campaign, like others, will soon be suspended for lack of support.

In the main event, scheduled for 9:00 pm, EST on the Fox Business Network will feature, in the order of their seeding, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and John Kasich. Look for the possibility of a dust-up between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, while Jeb Bush and John Kasich will continue to attack Donald Trump, in a last-ditch effort to gain the credibility that so far has proved elusive. Just as Trump predicted in the last debate, Jeb Bush has been relegated to the end of the stage. A poor showing for him in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary will most certainly be the straw that breaks the back of his campaign, and the same will go for Kasich and the remainder of the GOP contestants in the earlier event- Fiorina, Huckabee and Santorum.

That leaves, for all intents and purposes, five real contenders- Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Carson and Christie who have much to gain, and everything to lose, in the night’s main event.

Trump needs to rise above the fray, and certify his credentials that he can lead the party to victory, despite what the establishment Republicans and talking heads in the media would have the rest of us believe.

Cruz has the toughest job of all- he has to disencumber the notion that his Canadian birth to an American mother disqualifies him as a “natural born” citizen and candidate for president, all the while doing so with charm and charisma- the two things that so far have seemed to be his personal drawbacks, despite the fact that he is the most-consistently conservative and intellectually-savvy candidate running.

Rubio, who needs more than two-and-half inch heels to rise to the occasion, needs to utilize his glib delivery and statesmanlike oratory to underwrite his credentials as someone who can take on Hillary Clinton without fear or a propensity to be shut down, if such a debate were to occur next Autumn. In short, he cannot be the timid Mitt Romney of the last election, because there will surely be another Candy Crowley ready to pounce on the GOP nominee, if they get close to landing a punch on Hillary.

Carson needs to show that he is continuing his mastery of the issues- something that was sorely lacking in his first few performances. He also needs to show a bit more aggressiveness, so that the voters can believe he has a chance to defeat Hillary in an election. Despite his many fine qualities, this is NOT the year for a gentle spokesman, and Dr. Carson needs to realize this- sooner, rather than later.

Christie, on the other hand, is the quintessential opposite of Dr. Carson as he has the fight necessary to put Mrs. Clinton on the proverbial mat. What Christie needs to do, is to dissuade the notion that he is too moderate to gain the support of conservatives in a way that Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole and Gerald Ford could not, costing them elections in 2012, 2008, 1996 and 1976, respectively. For all intents and purposes, Jeb Bush and John Kasich are through, along with the J.V. squad, if either fails to win, place or show in Iowa and New Hampshire.

That said, Thursday’s debate will be far more interesting, far more informative and far more substantive (thanks to the questioners being Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo) than the performance of the President, last night. No doubt, the ratings will prove this to be the case, which at days end, are really what these debates are all about.

-Drew Nickell, 13 January 2016

© 2016 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.