Sunday, February 7, 2016

Sunday Globe Special: GOP Debate in New Hampshire

If you can even call that circus a debate! 

I watched two hours of it before I couldn't take anymore, and what I'm going to do is give you the Globe's take (as much as I can; I haven't checked for verbatim accuracy with the print yet) and then give you my take based on 14 pages of notes before giving you a bold prediction for Tuesday night (Globe tipped its hand).

"GOP debate focuses on temperament of leadership" by Matt Viser and Annie Linskey Globe Staff  February 07, 2016

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Marco Rubio, newly ascendant in recent polls, came under battering criticism Saturday night from rivals in the final Republican debate before the New Hampshire primary, undercutting the usual smooth performance that has helped him leap into the top tier.

A once-dominant Donald Trump, who was back on stage after skipping the previous debate, engaged in a sharp exchange with Jeb Bush and was booed repeatedly after he launched a bizarre and risky attack on the audience in the debate hall.

Okay, the print has no mention of that but I noticed it. Let's see if the Globe comes back to it, but until then....

Trump also pledged to bring back “something a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding” for the questioning of terrorism suspects. He was not asked to explain what that might be.

Yeah, I saw that, too. 

Nothing in print about it for me out here, but that's when I soured on the Donald.

No more of that stuff based on a damnable lie. It's the torturers that did and do what they are trying to find out from these poor innocent souls this criminal government has abused. 

How "ironic," huh?

And so the verbal battle roared on, furious and unremitting, from the first minute of the two-plus-hour debate to the last.

It was a circus from the start, but the Globe edited that print part that was here out.

The debate, sponsored by ABC News and held at Saint Anselm College, was the last before the vote, and the stakes were exceedingly high because large numbers of Republican voters are undecided or open to last-minute switching.

Okay, that is the first paragraph that is complete verbatim with print.

What I noted there is we are being told people up in New Hampsha are going to basically be making a last-second, flippant decision regarding something very important. 

That's odd, isn't it? 

I mean, you could say I haven't decided, but I have. I don't have a candidate to vote for.

But other people who have allegedly put thought into it, these voters the Globe cites as being all fickle at the last minute -- is that how people make important decisions in their lives? Or do they think about them for hours and days? 

Feels like they are setting up a narrative to explain a preconceived result!

Just a thought and observation. 

Now back to the "debate."

Rubio was the prime target in the raucous debate as his rivals tried to curb his recent surge and prevent him from becoming the chief alternative to Trump and Ted Cruz, who won Iowa. They called the freshman Florida senator inexperienced, calculating, and unable to move beyond his well-worn talking points.

He didn't, and it was raucous. Moderators lost control after enunciating all those rules no one followed.

So they get Christie calling Rubio a “truant” and Rubio responding, and then there is more new stuff.

As Christie criticized Rubio for his scripted campaign, Rubio seemed to fall into a trap — giving the same answer, nearly word for word — to two questions asked within minutes. “This notion that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he’s doing,” he said.

Yeah, I noticed him hammering away at that, too. 

“The memorized 25-second speech doesn’t solve one problem for one person,” Christie interjected.

“There it is! The memorized 25-second speech!” Christie yelled at one juncture. “There it is, everybody.”

Jeb Bush seemed to gain strength by attacking Trump with more gusto about whether government and businesses should be allowed to seize property by eminent domain. After Trump defended the practice as a necessary way to build roads and bridges, Bush — the only candidate to forcefully criticize Trump — raised Trump’s attempt to seize a home next to one of his Atlantic City casinos.

“What Donald Trump did was use eminent domain to try to take the property from an elderly woman on the strip in Atlantic City,” Bush said. “That’s not public purpose. That’s downright wrong . . . To turn this into a limousine parking lot for his casinos is not a public use.”

Kind of a low blow there, Jeb -- especially after waving your mother around!

“He wants to be a tough guy. And it doesn’t work,” Trump responded. As Bush interjected, Trump brought his finger to his mouth and said, “Quiet.”

Yeah, I noticed that, too (blog editor smiling even thought that will fill in the narrative of how Trump turned off New Hampshire voters in this age of the angry voter narrative that parallels all this).

The crowd began to boo.

None of this is in print.

“That’s all of his donors and special interests,” Trump said, gesturing to the audience and criticizing the RNC for distributing tickets to the debate to top party donors.

“The RNC told us we have all donors in the audience,” he added. “The reason they’re not loving me is I don’t want their money. I don’t want their money; I don’t need their money.”

Turns out, he was right. They are all "tourists."

Talk about stereotyping!

The debate got off to a discordant start, with some candidates not walking out when they were introduced and others standing awkwardly in the wings, with a brief pileup of Trump, Ben Carson, and Bush. It was a fitting beginning to the debate for a campaign that has been marked by uncertainty and chaos. 

Okay, that was more up front in my print but there it is. Not a good start.

It marked a return to center stage for Trump, who boycotted the debate last week in Iowa amid a conflict with Fox News — a decision that he later said might have contributed to his Iowa loss to Cruz. Trump’s rivals have mocked his commitment to New Hampshire and his unwillingness to engage in some of the more intimate campaign events that voters often expect.

Now for some reason this paragraph was chopped in the web version but did appear in print:

Trump has rarely slept in New Hampshire, and he had to cancel an event on Friday after he went home to New York late Thursday night and was unable to return because of the snowstorm. Trump said he could not return because of a snowstorm even though airports in Boston and Manchester remained open. 

Interesting cut, and again, no mention of his plane having to make an emergency landing -- and that is what the cut is about. It wasn't the snow that held him back. Maybe that contributed to him not looking on top of his game last night (and he was ignored for long stretches despite being the front-runner).

Cruz and Trump have been in a vicious battle, but Rubio won a surprisingly strong third-place finish in Iowa, and he’s used it to maximum effect, declaring victory as if he came in first.

Several recent polls have shown Rubio gaining new ground, surging to second place. If his surge continues, he could even threaten Trump, who has held a dominant lead since entering the race last summer, but the first-in-the-nation primary remains extraordinarily volatile, with independent voters staying undecided until the last minutenot only over which candidate to support but which party’s primary to participate in.....

In other words, there are multiple narratives to choose from for the rigged results we will be seeing Tuesday. One could be the independents swarmed for Clinton. Another could be they decided on Bush (who stood up to Trump). Or Kasich. Or Christie.

The candidates focused at length on foreign policy, especially North Korea and the Islamic State.

Yes, so little was said about North Korea in this piece, and foreign policy in general.

Several offered their views on enhanced interrogation methods such as waterboarding, which Congress has banned and many people consider torture.

“I would not bring it back in any sort of widespread use,” said Cruz, who said in some limited cases he would authorize the technique.

That drew laughs from the crowd.

Trump advocated a return to the practice, contending that atrocities committed by the Islamic State merit a strong response. “Not since medieval times have people seen what’s going on,” Trump said. “I would bring back waterboarding, and I’d bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.”

You wanna take a dip, Don?

The chemicals in your body will start reacting as soon as that water goes up your nose and hits the back of the throat. 

If you can last longer than six seconds, get back to me. 

They rock you back and forth, you know?

--more--"

****************

Okay, now for the "fun." My report as a viewer (there really was nothing else on last night).

After the logjam at the introductions, the moderator (forgot his name) opened with TRUMP and his temperament because Cruz said the Donald would fire off the nukes (this from a guy who wants to carpet bomb the Middle East). Trump responded that he was against the Iraq disaster. Cruz responds by saying all the Repugs on stage better than Dems and then he mentioned Iran in a pitch to Israel and Christian zionist zealots. Trump he says he didn't answer the question (correct) and made the doesn't back down comment (right again).

CARSON next. Cruz attacked him, tried to steal his votes in Iowa. Carson mentions Reagan Rule and claimed a college kid died working on his campaign (? Couldn't save him? Campaign worth the sacrifice for the chosen one?) and knocked the whole Wa$hington culture and says he just does what's right. Cruz responds in the same vein, says he was sorry, blamed CNN saying Ben taking break (Globe reported that, too).

Next up, RUBIO. How is he, a first-term senator like Obama, ready for presidency, as Christie charges? Rubio cites Senate accomplishments means Joe Biden should be president, attacks Obama saying he wants to make us like the rest of the world(?), and he wants to embrace greatness (I'm not sure, but I thought he foamed at the mouth). Christie, in response, rips the Senate, says governorship is training, called him a truant, and said lets not same mistake over again like with Obama (no huggies last night). He likes Rubio, but....Rubio response, single greatest nation in history, blah, blah, Christie, blah, blah, attacks DC, people cheer, Guvs do emergencies, Sandy, Rubio says snowstorm shamed him home, boos, boos, Obama, Obama, Obama!! Important point, knows what doing, deliberate damage, redefining the country.

(It was at this point that I wrote this thing is a circus. Blah, blah, cheers, DING, moderators have lost control!)

Now to BUSH. Said Rubio could be VP or prez 4 years ago, Rubio said same of him, what's changed? (WhoTF thought of these stupid questions??!!) Mitt picked someone else, CHEERS ERUPT!! Bush starts listing all these admirals and generals he knows and all his family trials, more cheers, says Rubio gifted and eloquent but divisive. Crowd roars! Marco got set up in Iowa! So many twist and turns in this rigged narrative of a $election.

Now it is on to Martha Raditz and her question to CRUZ is the "moments ago" North Korea launched a missile, what would you do if they launched a nuclear weapon!!!!! Cruz says it's a failure of Bill Clinton, ties Wendy Sherman to it, Obama, and Iran (there he goes again), says he would do missile defense because satellite destruction could bring an EMP and destroy the electric grid while killing millions (he some sort of conspiracy whacko?)!!! The follow-up was would you preempt and hit the Korean launch pad, and I suppose that was the point of the theater. Radiate says you talk tough on ME and ISIS, and Cruz claims he hasn't seen Korean intel yet, that NUKES MAKE A DIFFERENCE and they TIE YOUR HANDS! In other words, the U.S. won't attack you if you have 'em. Of course, he says the word Iran again before Rubio cuts in and says he would shoot down missile in flight.

KASICH, same question. H plays to New Hampshirites before saying he would basically blockade North Korean ships and aircraft, an act of war and violation of international law but, you know, WMDs, non-state actors (what, he see "Team America?"), gotta be tough, tell Japan shoot it down (OMG!) -- and then BUSH CHIMES IN and says preemption is sometimes necessary, we ought to do it!! (Blog editor shuddered at that point; he's his brother).

Now, finally, back to TRUMP! He disagrees with Rubio about Obama, says incompetent and country going to hell. On Korea, he says China controls them and they should solve it. Deals with them all the time, they have control of North Korea and are sucking the money out of the U.S. Rubio responds by saying Obama betrayed Israel (ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! $ure ha$ a funny way of $howing it!) and now South Korea. 

They then ask BUSH about some detained spy and he connects it to the Iran swap while agreeing with Kasich on Korea.

CHRISTIE says he would never pay ransom or negotiate with terrorists, says everyone understands but they don't. He's a damn fool. Says he would punish those who violate the law because Americans have a right to travel the world free and safe (that right applies to the world?)

Immigration now and KASICH first. Public favors deportation, he cites impracticality, says guest workers(!!), wants amnesty, doesn't want to break up families, blah, blah, Americans would support, no we wouldn't. Then he goes into his first 100 days and fasten your seat belts because you are going to see things happen. Scary.

CRUZ next. How deport? Says he has a plan, cites chapter and verse, wall, border control, technology, boots on the ground ('scuse me?), e-verify, biometric visas, end sanctuary cities (applause from crowd), end welfare to illegals, moderator asks about families, he says enforce the law, the Constitution he has read.

RUBIO now, Gang of 8. He walked away, cut and run, he says no, sounds like Cruz, enforce the law then amnesty, enforce the law, blah.

Next CHRISTIE. Difference between governor and Senate, he didn't answer question (crowd applauds). Christie says he was tough on teachers, tough on taxes, leader who will fight for what he believes in (which is what exactly?) as the CROWD ROARS!! Rubio responds with blah, blah.

Now the topic is health care. Woman reporter Ham. TRUMP first. Ham says his plan sounds like Sanders'. Trump says replace Obummercare better. Insurance companies are getting rich off it (he's right) and he would END THAT (uh-oh, Don). Says free enterprise, savings plans, would work, says as a Republican he doesn't want people dying in the streets (they already are, by a number of means). Crowd clapped.

Now CRUZ. Obama broke promise, how replace? Says socialized medicine doesn't work and leads to rationing (he's right, but we have that anyway). Says we should repeal and offers same answers as Trump (clapping from crowd)

Now on to Dr. CARSON! He wanted to talk about Korea (ha-ha) but no one asked! Says he dislikes government dictates, would offer health empowerment account, spend 2x as much as others and still no access, no insurance companies, no middle man, he doesn't have time to explain -- and won't with that attitude. Bye, Ben.

Okay, the WMUR reporter and the imminent domain thing. TRUMP was right, government needs it for schools, hospitals, roads, etc, but the question was regarding the Keystone pipeline. He seemed to be for it. Says when property is taken the person is paid value for it. Says it's necessary. That's when Bush pounced and got cheered, Trump said be quiet, BOOOO, made the donor comment (after ABC told us it was 1,000 New Hampshire voters), LOUDER BOOS (real voters would have LAUGHED so Trump called 'em out!!!) Trump said he doesn't need their money and is going to do what's right (or what he thinks is right), and I believed him. It sounded frustratingly sincere as he was being roundly booed.

(At that point it was 9:07 p.m. and the commercials started during the first break)

KASICH was first up when they came back, and the question was what does conservative mean (sigh)? Mention that NYT and BG endorsed him, something that shouldn't help him, but they say he can bring us together, blah, blah, blah, it's about jobs, when he was a kid, need to help, entrepreneurs, all boats rise, blah, blah, blah (Crowd cheers!)

TRUMP views it as conserving. Money, wealth. Being smart to save country.

RUBIO says three things. Limited government and Constitution; free enterprise, the greater model ever (ugh, puke) makes poor people richer without making rich people poorer (WhereTF has his head been, up his a$$?); and strongest military.

TRUMP on economy, says he would get jobs back and stop trade deals (why he won't win) that are disaster for middle class, cut taxes to do it and the trillions will come flowing back.

Then CHRISTIE and KASICH got into a spat. Christie cites his own record, then rips Kasich after praising him! Says he has experience, brings up VA(?) to attack Rubio over Obama incompetence and proud of his own record -- and Kasich's! Kasich says his record....

(Starting to zzzzzzzzz)

RUBIO, Obama knows doing, Obummercare, 2nd amendment, military, no accident, on taxes, what about the 68% of Americans that want millionaires tax? He says its class warfare! Of course, the elite cla$$ has been waging it forever, but Rubio says taxes are too high.

Now BUSH. He'd like to see more millionaires(!!), establishment conservative crap his brother spewed, cites better off on welfare than working crap, and I wrote "fuck him" in my notes. 

CHRISTIE then butts in and says he raised taxes on millionaires and they all left (GE, anyone?). He lost jobs and wealth, so were all f***ed. Bow down to the corporate beast, or else. 68% of us are wrong!! Later he said they all came back this past year!

Radiate on to CRUZ and carpet-bombing ISIS now. Hard for me to watch know all the Islamic terrorists are western intelligence agency creations being directed and funded by them and allies. How do you fight a group and not a country? Cruz says use airpower (like Russia?) on Jihadi U.(??) and stop fighting with one arm behind back and use overwhelming force. All of a sudden, civilian casualties are a concern of the war pre$$. Ted says no nation building.

RUBIO now. Says ISIS is apocalyptic (like raptured??), and I wrote how tired I am of this crap. Says Sunni Arabs need to create an army and U.S. can help. Talk about being 100% behind the Zionist project!! Under Rubio it would be airstrikes everywhere, and I wrote SCARE, SCARE, SCARE! The flow up was ISIS most dangerous ever -- he didn't answer the question again -- and if so, why not commit U.S. ground forces (a trap!)? He mentions Shiites and Kurds winning but not wanting to hold Sunni areas. Hmm. Sunnis don't trust us, he says, they need to know airpower committed to cause. Jordan king begged for strikes and coalition said no! Doesn't that tell you something about ISIS?

TRUMP would get rid by bombing oil and taking oil, who cares if you pollute, would take ISIS oil and bank(?) wealth, it will then dry up.

BUSH, Libya, Raditz. Obama critic says should renew bombing. Bush says would, gotta do it again. We have to lead, if not, nothing works, deal with the Caliphate, form a Sunni army, have to lead (Crowd roars with clapping!).

CARSON tells joke, talk Libya, need pro-active policy to prevent from going there (what? Already there, Ben.) Says he'll do whatever the generals tell him.

CRUZ on torture, see above, went Constitution on Bush's war powers, said okay. 

TRUMP mentions head-choppers, medieval times, bring back waterboard. 

At least they didn't have drone missiles and airstrikes back then. From medievalism to barbarism in only 500 years.

BUSH on the waterboard his brother brought to us. Says he wouldn't use what was used sparingly in the past (ha!), and that since drones won't work we need to expand intel collection and keep Gitmo open!

RUBIO on the waterboard: Not an issue of law!! It's a tactic to be used against terror. Gizmo releasees are joining the fight! It's RABID RUBIO!

Now Ham on executive orders. 

CRUZ blather. 

TRUMP, he's a dealmaker, cites founding fathers, Reagan and O'Neill, consensus, bad Iran deal, you hug and kiss to get the deal you want done!! 

KASICH says too many DC deals. Snooze. No leader to inspire, some Trump true, gotta plead, we're all Americans, and we're weak! DING (debate warning bell rings)! We don't have a king (we don't?).

BUSH agrees but.... 10th amendment. Back to states means more freedom, gotta trust government again (HA!!)

KASICH does his first 100 days again, blah, blah, BUSH healthcare, sigh, Kasich ha-ha, thanks, sigh, is this almost over?

Next is WMUR guy and opioid addiction. 48% know someone, blah, blah. He attacks Cruz, who then tells his story but its the same old pablum from them all. Blames drug cartels, says seal borders.

CHRISTIE, same thing, except he says he would do CROSS BORDER ENFORCEMENT in Mexico! Yup, he would violate their sovereignty and international law as well as bring up bad memories for Mexicans. He would also reform laws to steer into treatment, and that sounds good until they get their authoritative hands on you. Then he says he's PRO-LIFE (except when it comes to the mass-murdering wars)!!!

Now it is questions from conservative personalities acting as if Clinton has already won.

TRUMP first, says polls say he beats her, he can galvanize thousands in his movement, mentions the e-mails and how Democrats are protecting her, which would be another four years of Obama (just like he gave us eight more years of Bush).

RUBIO doesn't answer, says same thing he's been saying, Obama knows, mentions Benghazi, cheer goes up!

CARSON, how would you change narrative. He'd contrast honesty and integrity with deceit and also mentions Libya (I think he saw the movie).

(It was then 9:58 and the next segment was going to be race and social issues. That's when I turned the channel over to the last half of Cop Land before falling asleep)

*****************

And now, the surprise winner of the New Hampshire primary....

"Jeb Bush enters the final days of his last stand" by Matt Viser Globe Staff  February 06, 2016

LACONIA, N.H. —  Jeb Bush is entering the final days of his last stand. Without a major comeback in New Hampshire on Tuesday, or, absent that, a Bush miracle in South Carolina later this month, he will face increasing pressure to bow out of the race.

It's a dumb idea, but they can make miracles happen (with voting machines).

Bush’s problems are infinitely greater than the bored “press guys” staring at their smartphones in the back of his town hall gatherings. It’s the tectonic shifts in the Republican Party. It’s the voters, with their white-hot anger at the status quo. It’s his family name. It’s him.

Bush began a year ago at the helm of a steamship of a campaign, with all the advantages that his family pedigree, corporate political money, and establishment backing conferred.

Why are those considered advantages?

But now, just a few days before the New Hampshire vote, he seems like he’s alone in a rowboat, furiously pushing against the current.

Bush and his aides say he could still bounce back here. In quiet conversations at the Concord Courtyard Marriott, they seize on any bit of good news and hope for a breakthrough moment they hope that New Hampshire — with its history of primary night surprises — can deliver.

Have they written the script already?

But if things don’t work out that way, the failures of Bush’s quest to extend the family dynasty could serve as a crushing referendum on the mainstream Republican establishment.

It’s not just Bush who is in danger of being capsized by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, but also Ohio Governor John Kasich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. If they continue to falter, the so-called “establishment lane’’ in the election will open up for Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the young, less tested former ally of Bush who burst onto the national scene in 2010 as an insurgent Tea Party figure. 

That's the old narrative before last night!

While Bush downplays the need for a victory here (“We have a national campaign . . . I will fight on”), his aides privately concede that time is short, and the window to gain some momentum is narrowing.

They say they are no longer threatened by Christie, but they view Kasich as a strong candidate. From a strategic perspective, they say Rubio has run a near-flawless, if not especially inspiring, campaign, avoiding gaffes and sticking to his script.

Didn't work last night.

But even while Bush views Rubio’s lack of experience as an Achilles' heel, his own struggles revolve around his inability to sell his leadership experience — which includes two terms as Florida governor — on the stump.

Bush was a one-time mentor to Rubio and now seems taken aback that the man 18 years his junior is gaining while he remains stalled.

Bush does have the financial resources to continue. He still had $7.6 million in his account while the super PAC supporting him had $58.6 million as of Jan. 1, according to recent campaign finance filings.

Bush also has settled into a more comfortable approach to his family tree. In early phases of his campaign, he unveiled a logo without the surname — simply, “Jeb!” — that spoke to his desire to blaze his own path, separate from presidents 41 and 43, his father and brother. Now he’s more fully embracing their legacy and name.

Thus his dropping in the polls.

Thursday night in Derry he shared a stage with his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, who praised her son. Bush responded with a taste of his dry sense of humor that doesn’t always translate. In a joke that triggered boos, Bush referenced his mother’s role as a disciplinarian, saying, “She’s not as great as everybody thinks she is.”

Bush has not brought in his brother, George W. Bush, who lost the state in the 2000 GOP primary to John McCain. His campaign aides say they are laying groundwork for the former president to get involved in friendlier territory, in South Carolina.

Post to come.

But the Bush pitch now seems out of step with the longings of many conservative primary voters, who tell pollsters they want to shake things up. Bill Manning, the 73-year-old electrician said, “I’m tired of Bushes. Anybody not establishment might rock the boat. And that’s what it needs: A lot of rocking.”

We all are.

As Bush spoke in Derry on Thursday night, Trump held a rally across the state in Portsmouth, revving up the crowd with coarse language. “And you can tell them to go [expletive] themselves,” he said of companies moving overseas to pursue better tax rates.

So?

Bush said he understands the desire for change, the anger Trump is channeling — “People are latching onto it because they just don’t see things working for them,” he said. But he rues what he sees as a shortage of substance, of solutions, of common decency.

If Donald Trump wins the nomination, he will have hijacked the conservative party for his own ambitions,” he said. “He’s shifted all of his views to morph into this populist figure. But he’s not a conservative.”

Wow, is that ever charged rhetoric considering his brother and all!

So Trump has been a Duke, a Hitler, he's got bad hair, he's a liar, and now he's a terrorist!

Good-f***ing-God!

While Trump rallies are often an issue-free-zone and feature little beyond the bumper-sticker-ready slogan “Make America Great Again,” Bush hands out 47-page glossy brochures that go through his plans on regulatory reform, defense, and cybersecurity.

Yeah, Jeb is so much more thoughtful. 

What's next, fellatio on him by the reporter?

Bush supporters say they like that he’s measured and thoughtful, and that he offers a dose of substance that can border on the wonky. They say such proposals are refreshing in a debate that is often dominated by personal attacks and big egos.

Just undid the belt.

The other night, Bush stood in the middle of about 200 people at a resort here on the edge of Lake Winnipesaukee, giving extended remarks on charter schools and climate change, on the national debt and on drugs.

Zipper.

One voter stood to compliment his serious nature, and another his civility.

Trou

“Donald Trump today, someone told me, used profanity three times in his speech,” Bush said. “Now look, I’m not an old fuddy-duddy. But this should be at least PG-rated. I mean, we’re running for president of the United States. There are children who listen to this stuff. We’re trying to inspire the next generation.”

Or not. 

So how many children did your lying, mass-murdering brother kill, asshole?

Patty Giguere expressed dismay over the negative onslaught pushed into her mailbox by Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Bush. She wanted him to disavow the ads and the mailers. Bush would not do so.

As Giguere, a 61-year-old teacher, packed up and prepared to leave that night, she left unconvinced. The woman who craves civility would not be supporting the GOP’s most civil candidate. 

Mouth has been opened descent has begun.

“He’s a nice man, gentlemanly,” she said. “He might have been president if his brother wasn’t.”

Still might be.

--more--"

Also seeThousands pack into weekend campaign events in N.H.

What we don't know is how many illegal immigrants will be allowed to vote.

I'm really beginning to hate this campaign.