Quote:1 - I respectfully disagree that McCain or Romney wasn't "tough enough".  McCain had an uphill battle, and though I know you like Sarah, her selection did not make McCain's path easier.  Romney might not have been the toughest looking or sounding candidate, but I disagree that it was his calm, respectful, confident demeanor that did him in.

 

2 - Newt was a weak candidate, and certainly weaker than Romney.  His affairs would not have made him popular with women of either party, and I doubt he would have debated Obama any better than Romney did.  Romney won both debates in 2012 and still couldn't take POTUS 44 down.  Gingrich is smart, speaks well, and gives off an arrogant aura that is often confused with strength.

 

3 - I agree with the first half of your final paragraph.  Conservative Republicans are certainly desperate for  a non-pansy nominee, and many think that looks like Donald.  If you think Cruz can be that candidate, fine, and I think he'd govern better than Donald.  There are better candidates in this field for a moderate like me.  I heard a pundit say it over the weekend:  if Trump can't handle being put on the hot spot by Meghan, how do you think he's going to handle Putin?

 

  1.  I totally agree with you that John McCain had an uphill battle.   Yet,  I'm convinced to this day that he didn't use Sarah Palin to his advantage.  Palin was more than willing to play the attack dog role in the campaign.   But McCain and his staff put a muzzle on her.   If that was going to be the case,  it was a mistake for McCain to select Palin as his running mate.

 

  IMO,  one of my major criticisms of Mitt Romney in his general election campaign is the way he played Prevent Defense in the final debate.   Even the Liberal moderator from CBS gave Romney an opening at the beginning of the debate to discuss the Libya situation but Romney in essence punted.

 

 2.   My take is that there were debates that Newt Gingrich won and that there was at least one debate that Mitt Romney one.   The latter probably ended Gingrich's campaign.   While Romney was aggressive against Gingrich,   I knew he wouldn't do the same against Obama.    From my point of view,  even with Newt's baggage,  he matched up better against Obama.  

 

3.    What people want in candidate comes down to preference.   I certainly respect that you prefer a moderate candidate,  even though I want something as close to what I consider a true Conservative as possible.     Ted Cruz has the combination of Conservatism,  intelligence,  communication skills,  and poise that I prefer.   While there's an issue or two that Cruz isn't my top choice on,  overall he's clearly the candidate that I think has the best combination from my preference point of view. 

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