Even though I am under the impression that Donald Trump has been a Democrat for most of his adult life, his first allegiance is to the Donald, and the Trump Empire. He is a showman of the highest order, perhaps the finest since P.T. Barnum. He is also his own biggest admirer who seemingly can do no wrong. He has surprised everyone in political circles by his rapid rise to the top of the very crowded Republican Primary field, and he has done it by defying all accepted political conventions by just being himself. Trump has not spent any significant money at this point. He is reminiscent of the lead bull at Pamplona during the Running of the Bulls event each spring. This political model can not be sustained, he will need to evolve his game if he wants to maintain his current lead in the polls.

Jackie Mason: Presidential debates are now comedy contests

The Republicans and the rest of the candidates are at least partially to blame for the Trump phenomena, while at the same time should be giving thanks to Donald Trump. There are several lessons that can be learned from Trump’s campaign to date, some of which are:

• He recognizes that political correctness stifles free speech, and refuses to bow to what is ultimately a liberal demand.
• In contrast to Silicon Valley, Wall street, the Chamber of Commerce, and current Obama policy, Trump recognizes what we all know: liberal immigration policies, both legal and illegal, are hurting Americans. Building the fence and stopping the invasion is the number one reason why he has shot to the top of the polls early in the race.
• Bringing jobs back to America. He promised this, and I have no doubt he could do it. On the other hand, I could do it, as most any candidate could. But I recognize that it would be a huge fight requiring major repeals and reforms along the way. This is something that would take years, perhaps decades to accomplish. It would not happen overnight, and would require extensive over-hauls to the EPA, the Department of Energy, the tax code, and other major stumbling blocks, like repealing Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. Trump has not offered any specifics, other than he knows how to make or walk away from a “deal”.
• His willingness to take ISIS out, starting with bombing the oil-fields and sending in the Marines to clean up the mess with no pretty-please restrictions.

Why should the Republicans be thankful for the Donald’s entry into the race? That is very simple, he brought excitement, chatter, and exposure to the first primary debate, and thus to all candidates. 24 million households watched it, with close to 40 million people, while the first debate 4 years ago brought maybe 6 million households. Exposure is always a good thing.

To be clear, I am not on the Trump band-wagon just yet, he has a lot of convincing to go for my tastes. Even though he has generated a lot of excitement so far, it’s still early, and I’d be surprised if we are still talking about him as a viable candidate this time next year. Here are a few negatives which he needs to grow out of, and some of his past positions simply are not conservative at all.

• Past statements indicated support for increased gun-control, bank bail-outs, the Stimulus, Planned Parenthood, and yes, even single-payer health plans.
• A life-time of name-calling of anyone who offers any criticism. We’ve seen this on three or four occasions already. But the Donald is a “nice guy”, as he’s reminded us already way too many times. He only strikes out at those who attack him, in his opinion.
• Admits that he was to the left of Hillary in 2004 by being against the war in Iraq.

Trump the Teenage Bully

Fox News, a Useful Idiot, and the Arrogance of Power

Trump is getting some surprising support. Mark Levin also was very critical of Fox News for the way they handled the first debate, but first, here is the Viewers View take:

▶ The Hard Line | Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson share their thoughts on the debate – YouTube

The interview above is worth a look, too.

▶ Levin on Fox News and the GOP Debate – YouTube

Mark Levin may disagree with me. Thanks to Bob Parks for the upload, above.

Other first debate observations:

Another Megan Kelly question launched some Rand Paul – Chris Christie fireworks over mass collection of digital meta-data by the NSA. While many pundits claimed that this was a win for Christie, I predict that he will be one of the first to drop out. Paul may have looked impatient, but he is correct. Get a warrant. The original Patriot Act was meant to track US communications across our borders, not every communication of every citizen or resident, as author Jim Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin will attest. Paul is not going anywhere for the time being, and he has a role to play if the R’s are serious about pitching a big tent.

Marco Rubio had a good performance, as did Ted Cruz and Scott Walker. Jeb failed to impress, let alone dazzle. Dr Ben Carson had a good night with perhaps the best closing statement, but perhaps the biggest surprise was Carly Fiorina’s performance in the early debate. The pundits said she was the clear winner, overall.

I like Carly, she has clearly done her homework, and I was impressed with her at CPAC last winter. She was working it hard from start to finish every day. Yet, she seems to have some issues as well.

Carly: a flawed candidate

It will be a long, winding road to the RNC in Cleveland about one year from now. This is quickly shaping up to be one of the most entertaining primary run-ups in my lifetime. For that we can all thank Mr. Trump