perspectives
gwinnettdailypost.com
Todd Cline, Editor
todd.cline@gwinnettdailypost.com
PAGE 7 A • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
A report card on the debate WASHINGTON — Sorry, Republicans, but it’s still Donald Trump’s world. And sorry, Donald, but now you have to share it with Ben Carson. The conventional wisdom seems to be that Carly Fiorina won herself a big patch of political territory in Wednesday night’s marathon 11-candidate debate on CNN. But the conventionally wise have been consistently wrong about this campaign, and I wonder if voters were equally impressed with her performance. There’s no question that Trump, the clear front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, had an off night. Eugene The blustery mogul Robinson is at his best when he can feed on the energy of a fired-up crowd, but the audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was small and consisted mostly of party insiders. They showed him very little love. His worst moment came when he claimed, without elaboration, that if he were president he would “get along with” Vladimir Putin and somehow convince the Russian leader to support U.S. foreign policy goals. Sure, and maybe Putin will give him a pony, too. You had to wonder if Trump has given more than five minutes’ thought to relations with Moscow. But he stuck to his guns on the issue that propelled his rise: immigration. Trump’s claim that he can somehow deport 11 million undocumented men, women and children is absurd, ridiculous, unthinkable, cruel, dishonest — pick your adjective. But it has electrified much of the Republican Party base, and I’m betting that his supporters heard him loud and clear. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush’s attempts to go after Trump reminded me of the time when British politician Denis Healey said that being attacked by his patrician rival, Geoffrey Howe, was “like being savaged by a dead sheep.” Bush tried gamely to land a punch, at one point demanding that Trump apologize to his wife Columba for the ugly things he has said about Mexican immigrants. Trump refused, and that was that. Bush is taller than Trump but for some reason could not contrive to loom over him. Mano a mano, the billionaire still seemed large and in charge. Carson has zoomed to second place in most polls, and I think his debate performance will give him another boost. His soft-spoken, low-key approach might annoy the political cognoscenti, but voters apparently like it, perhaps because he doesn’t seem as needy or desperate as the others. I thought his best moment was when he was talking about border security and related his recent trip to Arizona, describing simple measures in one county that had reduced illegal crossings almost to zero. Sometimes practical solutions have more impact than high-blown rhetoric. If Fiorina wanted to convince everyone of her toughness, she succeeded. She barged in whenever she wanted, no matter who was speaking, and she icily backhanded Trump over his piggish remarks about her face. I thought she overdid the Iron Lady routine when she declared she “wouldn’t talk to [Putin] at all,” but any woman running for high office faces unfair pressure to project strength. She made this factual error: A constitutional amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states, not two-thirds. Did she do enough to vault into the top tier of candidates alongside Trump and Carson? Maybe, but she’s starting from the low single digits. And while she nailed Trump for his sexism, I thought the extended back-and-forth over their accomplishments in business was the one exchange in which he was a clear winner. If Fiorina gets tarred as a mediocre CEO, what qualifications does she have to run on? As for the rest: • John Kasich was upbeat and reasonable, qualities that would definitely help him in the general election — but maybe not in the primaries. • Chris Christie was sharp and funny. His campaign probably isn’t going anywhere, but after Wednesday it still has a pulse. • Marco Rubio was stridently, alarmingly hawkish. Where doesn’t he want to use military force? And did his youth make him seem vigorous or callow? You decide. • Mike Huckabee was so apocalyptic on Iran that he must have frightened any children who happened to be watching. • Rand Paul seems to have become a libertarian again, sticking up for individual rights. And unlike the others on the stage, he spoke out for peace rather than war. • Scott Walker looked, once again, out of his depth. The party establishment once thought this guy was its savior? I expect his slide to continue. • And finally, the unctuous Ted Cruz looked and sounded as if he were trying to sell me a reverse mortgage. No thanks, senator. Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com.
I’m a tourist, and darn proud of it When I travel, and I do so a right smart, I always have to visit the iconic landmarks in every town and I sample the local food. That’s just me. Some people turn up their nose at such. I hear so many people say, “That’s so touristy.” Well shoot fire! Unless I am in Porterdale or Athens, that’s what I am — a tourist. Let me give you an example or four. I was recently in San Francisco — and might still be there except that I needed to get home to attend the Georgia-South Carolina game on Saturday and leave for my next trip on Tuesday. But I had a long list of mustdos in Frisco. I had to get my picture made in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, I had to go down Lombard Street and I had to ride the cable car, standing in the rail. I also had to eat chocolate at Ghirardelli Square and clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl on Fishermen’s Wharf. I just had to. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have felt like I had visited the City by the Bay — and yes, I whistled Otis Redding’s classic “Dock of the Bay” and watched the sea lions on Pier 39 and walked through China Town. I’ve done all of those
from Café du Monde, no matter how long I have to wait for them to bring it to me. And I am going to sit beside the flaming fountain at Pat O’Brien’s and eat raw oysters at Felix’s, while you wait in line at Acme’s. I’m also going to have the Fergie special Darrell po-boy at Mother’s and a nice Huckaby dinner at Commander’s Palace if I can scrape up the money. things a dozen times before, You get the picture? I will but if I am lucky enough to explore and try new things visit San Francisco again in when I revisit a place I have the future, I will do all those been, but I am going to do things again. the things that made the city Of course I visited Alcafamous in the first place. traz! Why would you even Would you ever go to Saask? vannah without having a praMemphis? I’m going to line? Would you ever spend Graceland, y’all. I am going to the night on the Georgia coast get up to my neck in corniness without eating shrimp for dinand overstated Americana. I ner? Or lunch? Or breakfast? may even buy a pair of blue Or all three? Me, either. suede shoes if you don’t I’m going to be in North watch me. I will eat ribs at Carolina next week, and Charley Varges’s Rendezvous I am going to try some of and listen to a set or two at that vinegary barbecue, just B.B. King’s on Beale Street because that’s the thing to do. and another set or two at Jerry When I pass through the Low Lee Lewis’s joint down the Country, I will partake of the street. And I will wait in line yellow sauce, although I don’t to watch the ducks march into care for it. When in Rome and the lobby of the Peabody Ho- all that. tel as long as they have ducks Speaking of Rome — the to march. one in Italy, not the one in I go to New Orleans and north Georgia — there is I am going to have a beignet more good food than a Meth-
odist bishop and a Baptist preacher working in cahoots can say grace over. The best thing to do when you are in Rome is just head out early in the morning and walk the entire city, stopping at every sidewalk café you encounter for pasta and bread and wine and margherita pizza and lasagna and people-watching. Don’t save room for gelato, just stop and have it anyway. Back on this side of the pond, I’m going to have a Moon Pie and an RC when I’m passing through Chattanooga and I will stop and get my picture made in front of that choo choo, too. I’ll have a Goo Goo Cluster when I make it to Nashville and a slice of derby pie and a bowl of burgoo when I make it to Louisville. I may have a hot brown when I get to Lexington, and an Ale 8. No, I haven’t forgotten about the bourbon — or Rupp Arena — or the Kentucky Horse Park. Wow. So many places to visit, things to see and food to enjoy. I’d better go start making plans to go somewhere else. I think I have a free week next August. Y’all come go with me. I’ll buy you a Goo Goo Cluster when we get to Nashville.
Self-declared socialist and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders entered what his supporters must consider the belly of the beast on Monday. He spoke at the conservative evangelical Liberty University in Virginia. Some of those supporters sat in reserved seats, ensuring his remarks would be received with some applause. Liberal and Democratic speakers at Liberty are not as rare as one might think. In 1983, Sen. Ted Kennedy visited and spoke about religious freedom, standing up for the right of conservative evangelicals to be heard in the public square. Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered a message from Jerry Falwell’s pulpit one Sunday morning. Donald Trump has also spoken at the school. The reception to Sanders from Liberty students was more gracious than what conservative speakers usually get on liberal campuses, if indeed they are invited. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed out of giving the commencement speech at Rutgers University last year when students and faculty protested her involvement in the Bush administration’s support of the Iraq War. In 1987, Jeane Kirkpatrick, former U.S. ambassador to
did, that would be unfair, perhaps immoral, though Sanders’ view of morality appears to stop at the abortion clinic door. Sanders said, “… I do believe that it is improper for the United States government to tell every women in this country the very painful and difficult choice she has to make on that issue. … I believe in women’s rights and the right of a woman to control her own body …” What about the rights of the unborn? Pragmatically, fewer babies mean fewer future taxpayers for his socialist programs. The lessons for building wealth are not a mystery. That doesn’t mean everyone can earn a CEO’s salary, but it does mean that by making right decisions one can live independent of government. Here are mine. First, get married. Having a spouse and children is a prime motivator for wealth-building. Second, save and invest. Even small amounts with compound interest begin to produce wealth. Third, don’t work just to pay bills. Like the poor, bills you will always have with you. Build enough wealth so the bills won’t matter, assuming you live within your means. Fourth, find someone who is poor and help them learn and practice these principles,
perhaps donating some of your time to assist with their wealth-building. Fifth, don’t assume in our increasingly mobile and technological age that you will keep one job your entire life. Be ready to change jobs, and even move when you hit a ceiling. Consider starting your own business, which may seem challenging at first, but can produce more than just financial rewards. There is a downside to wealth, mentioned by sages throughout history. King Solomon said, “Whoever loves money never has money enough” (Ecclesiastes 5:10) and the classic warning from St. Paul, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). As in all things, balance and moderation are best. Republican presidential candidates should promote ways for people to escape poverty and for the middle class to climb the economic ladder. It is part of our history, though many may have forgotten or never learned it in school. Building wealth built America. Tearing down the wealthy will lead to higher unemployment and economic collapse. That’s what Bernie Sanders and other leftists refuse to understand. Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.
Bernie does Liberty University Cal Thomas the United Nations, withdrew as the commencement speaker at Lafayette College when the faculty voted 6034 to protest her receiving an honorary doctor of laws degree. These were victims of what passes for diversity and pluralism on too many campuses. Sanders’ message at Liberty was familiar. He railed against “income inequality” and trashed the rich. His proposal to raise taxes, offer free health care and free college for all would cost $18 trillion, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. The central flaw in his socialist philosophy is that by penalizing success, you get less of it along with less wealth to tax. And people who get free stuff often suffer diminished initiative and are robbed of a work ethic. If the amount of available money were fixed (it isn’t) and I took more than you