The First

Welcome to my very own Discoveries of the Road: a place where I will be discovering how Presidential candidates campaign their way to the top, what said candidates stand for, and occasionally I will rate them on a scale (entitled "I'll Buy It") of 1-10. There will even be a quote of the day!

Earlier this week the Republican presidential primary debate was held in Tamp, FL. The first, and what seemed to be, the longest, most heated topic was that of Social Security.  Bachman was first out of the gate, claiming to have “feet in the private sector and a foot in the federal government.” She says that she knows what to do and has the conviction to make changes that senior citizen can count on. I’ll give that a 4 on the I.B.I scale for grammar choices.

What seemed to be the biggest phrase of this topic was, “ponzi scheme”. Now, this is a phrase that the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, originally used to describe social security before having an article printed in USA Today saying that he thinks social security should be saved.

After Perry reinforced his opinions printed in the USA Today article, the always “not so fair complexioned” Mitt Romney states how the term ponzi scheme is too over the top and all it does is frighten people. Perry pointed out that all Romney is doing is scaring people. While they discussed what’s in each other’s books and who scares who more, it wound up sounding like a “my horse is bigger than your horse” kind of conversation. The former governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, also seems to think that Romney and Perry’s debate is too dramatic, and says that it’s the entire Republican party that is frightening the people. “We’ve got the answers. We don’t have leadership,” he says. Took the thoughts right out of my head, Huntsman. How did you know?

Notably, Ron Paul gets in a few applause moments with his early mentions of getting our troops home and ending this war.  However, when healthcare starts rearing it’s head and Paul is the one on the line, he seems to waver between letting Americans take risks by not having a healthcare plan and never turning away people who are in need of healthcare. It’s really never clear. What is clear, is the audience member who screams “YEA” in reference to letting people die if they don’t have healthcare.

Throughout this debate you hear Herman Cain speak of his 999 plan, how Perry created over one million jobs in Texas, metaphors from Romney, and, of course, abolishing Obamacare. But for the more personal touches we hear what each candidate would bring to White House if elected. A beautiful wife, the constitution, and a Harley Davidson motorcycle are among the answers. Thankfully, if Herman Cain is elected, we can expect a sense of humor to be roaming about the halls. Can a “that’s what she said” joke finally be heard in the oval office? Maybe we’ll never know.

Quote of the Day: “Texas saves lives.”- Rick Perry