Rubio pwnd

I've never used the internet slang "pwnd" before, and for all I know, the term became obsolete while I wasn't watching (which I wasn't.)  Nevertheless, it seems to express perfectly the degree of public humiliation Marco Rubio suffered at the hands of Chris Christie Saturday night.

I wasn't planning to watch the debate, but nothing else on television appealed to me at the moment, so I turned it on just in time to watch Christie rattle Rubio so badly that I (a) laughed out loud and (b) even felt slightly sorry for the poor little twerp.  What mattered, of course, was not what happened on the debate stage, but what the news media would do with it afterwards.  Like me, most of America (including New Hampshire) was seeking more entertaining fare, and most viewers were willing to be entertained by back-to-back reruns of ten-year-old sitcoms, or whatever else was on.

The press pounced, and the Rubio campaign staff currently is crossing fingers and hoping the Super Bowl creates enough distraction so that most New Hampshire voters won't see the news until Wednesday.  I don't think it will happen, but I suppose some voters (elderly women?) will feel so sorry for "bubble boy" they'll vote for him despite (or because of) his total screw-up.

The line he repeated four times actually is a pretty good line, maintaining that Obama did not merely fumble due to youth and inexperience (like Rubio's), but because he genuinely intended to destroy our "American way of life."  It's an idiotic idea, of course, but probably pretty effective with voters who believe the Muslim who was born in Africa is the leader of an internal terror network.

Most significant, though, is that Rubio's poor performance demonstrated that he wouldn't stand up too well against either Hillary or Bernie.  The most significant GOP threat to Democratic control of the White House looks a lot less scary now.

Another Republican Debate (yawn)

I caught last night's Republican debate.  I meant to skip it, but somehow I didn't.

Jeb Bush overcame his intrinsic good manners and respect for rules by ignoring the moderators and continuing a spirited attack on Tr*mp that went well beyond his "time limit."  I guess he meant to demonstrate he's really not a wussy.  Did it work?  Well, it didn't hurt.  Many of the candidates participated in ganging up on Tr*mp, and to me the Donald appeared slightly shaken.

Rubio and Cruz apparently believe the contest is between the two of them, and may have done each other some damage, but probably not enough to matter even in the short run.  Both Rubio and Cruz supporters will believe their man "won."

Chris Christie tried an amusing new tactic: disparaging Congress, as represented by Rubio and Cruz.  Given the public's low regard for Congress, the new tactic may have been effective.  We'll see.

Rand Paul was sounding a lot more libertarian than in previous debates, which was refreshing.  Ben Carson did damage control, Carly Fiorina suggested privatizing national security, and John Kasich made no particular impression at all.

And, oh yeah, nobody likes Obama.

Romney Responds to Sandy

Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Here is Mitt Romney, "responding" to Superstorm Sandy.  What fun!  Yes, this is the "free market," privatized version of FEMA.  Just in case you are thinking it was a nice "gesture," bear in mind that Romney's small pyramid of chicken noodle soup from Ohio won't make it to the Northeast for weeks — if ever.

(That teen on the right looks so excited!  What happened next?  Was she reaching out to squeeze the candidate's Charmin?  And the distraught looking women in the background — were they agonizing over whether anybody in the Greater New York area actually would consume Spam or canned vegetables?  Well, ladies, maybe it would be better to send it to a red state.)

(But what about Christie???!!!)

Far be it from me to have any certainty of what might be passing through the thoughts of New Jersey's larger-than-life Republican governor, but...  I can guess.  Hence, what follows is just a guess, not a prediction.  (I don't do predictions anymore.)

I'm guessing that Christie is figuring that Romney will lose.  I'm guessing that Christie is figuring that there will be no strong Democratic candidate in 2016.  I'm guessing that Christie is figuring there will be no strong Republican candidate in 2016 -- except, maybe, Christie...

Bipartisan?  Bullshit.  Will it be Cuomo v. Christie?  Christ, will it be two Northeastern governors snarking around against each other?  Unlikely.

Just keep the soup coming, Cletus and Annalee.  Wall Street can't run on generator power forever.  It needs chicken noodle.