Evening Joe: A Heated Debate with One Clear Winner

This past month has been dogged with the Late Night crisis between Jay Leno and Conan O’brien.  But apparently, the winds from NBC blew crisis to Charleston on Thursday night.  Boy, was the beginning of the Gubernatorial debate interesting.

I sat down in my lazy boy, put my popcorn in my elephant container, and began munching down to Joe Scarborough’s sarcasm.  Then a bunch of screeching, scratching, hair pulling, and silence took place.  Not to mention, all of Nikki Haley’s speech was silenced.  The TV then went blank.  I thought of a few reasons this could have happened.

1. CBS affiliate executives have cut down power to preserve it for the upcoming “winter storm disaster” that is expected to hit South Carolina with ice and snow this weekend…we all know the dangers of 1-3 inches.

2. Maria Chapur became angry that she was not invited to be Mark Sanford’s female companion at the SCGOP luncheon in Charleston on Thursday.  So, she made her presence known by knocking out the sound guy and hijacking the debate.

3. President Obama’s renewed hope and change from the state of the union was just to divert our attention from the 100% regulations he would now be having over TV stations.  That means no more Republican debates and especially no more long narratives from Attorney General Henry McMaster.

4. The only other reason would be that they just had poor sound quality and they didn’t have it all together at first.

So, I stuck with the fourth reason, and it came back on at 8:30.  All four of them ready to lead our state into the next decade or were they?  So let’s go through each candidate and analyze their performance tonight.

First, I will start from the bottom with Gresham Barrett.  As a Citadel colleague, I was really disappointed in his performance.  Not that I was even supporting him, but you wish each other the best.  Congressman Barrett was less than confident, and sometimes seemed more like a Southern Baptist preacher rather than someone ready to lead our state…amen?

What bothered me most was the defense of his vote for Socialism in the bailout/tarp saga.  He consistently defended this vote and refused to back down.  I am in disbelief that anyone claiming to be “The 4^th most Conservative Congressman” could stand behind a vote like this.

Many in South Carolina’s conservative circles spoke with him the night before he voted and warned him…but he apparently knew best.  Barrett went on to not answer questions, beat around the bush, and really did not establish himself as a credible candidate.

He seemed just like acurrent  U.S. Congressman should: Uninformed and Out of touch.  I am sure that is how many South Carolinians see him as well.

Next, let’s talk about General Robert E. Lee.  Excuse me, I mean Attorney General Henry McMaster.  Where do I begin…. the other candidates seemed to get tickled every time McMaster would speak.  This in return, made things interesting.  The only statement that stands out in my mind about him is that he has “the most executive experience” out of all of the candidates.  I hear him say that in the midstof his Southern charmed, rambling.  While he comes across like a Southern Gentleman, not even waving but bowing at the audience, he too seemed out of touch.

While I appreciate and respect his Conservatism and think he has been one of the best AG’s in S.C. History, I do not believe he showed he could effectively win against Vince Sheheen or Jim Rex tonight.

Often, he didn’t answer the questions, he went on random tangents, and he couldn’t break out of the box and be real with the people.  He seemed too much like a polished politician and not a personable statesman that the people will need to move forward with the state’s problems.

Yes, the state should be open for business, but I have a feeling General Henry may open it for business by delegating a lot of the responsibility the way he does in the AG office.  While it works as Attorney General, as Governor, we have seen the Department of Commerce’s unimpressive performance.  We can’t afford another four years of relying on them.

He finally went on to talk about how he did a great job as Chairman of the Party to bring Republicans to victory.  While this may have been true, he failed to mention the financial mess he left when he ran for Attorney General.   After his performance tonight, I know one thing…I’m not lovin’ it.  So, I don’t think I can “back that Mac” because it may look good, but the intentions it has for each and every one of us may not be so beneficial.

The biggest surprise of the night was Nikki Haley. The “daughter of immigrants” was on top of her game. She did very well.  However, I will bring up a few shortcomings.  She should have never answered the question about censuring Lindsey Graham. She said she would have!  This makes her seem like she is not a compromising figure, something our state greatly needs in the Governor’s office.  This is the one thing I will agree on with Senator Robert Ford, yes a democrat.

This also shows the lack of distance between her and Mark Sanford.  She continues to keep herself close to “Sanfordesque” positions such as not accepting stimulus funds.  The Nikki Haley Campaign analysis is pretty simple.  Let’s look at the election between McCain and Obama.  People were tired of Bush and tired of anyone similar and too close to Bush.  McCain was not different enough.  People voted for change because they were sick and tired of the same ole, same ole.

The same principle will apply to South Carolina this election cycle.  The non-Sanford candidate is going to be the only hope for Republicans.  Nikki Haley is too much like Sanford and will most certainly fail come primaries as a result of it.  I see her poll numbers improving a little but she will never make it to the top when the general election comes around in November.  Her message will resonate with tea party people and could surprise us come June, but she will never beat Sheheen if he wins the primary (which it looks like he will).  However, her performance tonight should be admired.  It was something to be proud of.

Finally, tonight’s winner……..Lt. Governor Andre Bauer, a true non-Sanford candidate.   His confidence, clear and direct answers, and composure show his maturity from the last few years.  Tonight, he was in his element and proved victorious.  First, the bad.  The hosts ganged up on the poor guy and pulled out all of the bad about him.  They mentioned his recent “Animal-kid”  comment and his driving record.  Andre displayed a bit of arrogance to the female co-host when she lambasted him about the animal comment.  He stated that a minority preacher asked him to speak at his congregation.

In response to the  female co-hosts continued bullying, he replied, “I’ll give you his number if you want.”  Even with this comment, he showed something special…”Straight Talk.”  While John McCain often said he was all about straight talk, he hardly showed it.  Tonight, a new bearer of this title is Andre Bauer.

When asked which Senator shared his ideology, he quickly stated “Jim DeMint.”  He had an answer for everything. They were concise and easy to understand.  No elaborate stories, no monologues from “God’s and Generals,” no over-doing religiosity, but just Andre speaking his convictions.

This is the type of Governor South Carolina has been itching for.  Tonight, Andre Bauer showed his seriousness about the race.  For a while, I had my doubts, but tonight I know he is ready to become Governor of South Carolina.  There is no doubt.

If Republicans want to win in November, there must be a lot of thought to who that candidate will be on the other side.  If it is Vince Sheheen, which I feel it will be, it will be a tough fight.

All jokes aside, these four candidates are great people.  They all have excellent qualities with great intentions.  However, when it comes to the difficult opposition this November, in the aftermath of Mark Sanford, the field will be extremely difficult.  Too tough for the likes of Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett.  I believe the Attorney General and Lt. Governor are the only two that will stand a chance.  While the Attorney General showed he is a good candidate to beat Sheehen, Andre Bauer showed he is the best candidate to not only beat the democrats, but lead our state with honor, integrity, and great vision for the next decade…for this…I salute the Lieutenant Governor.

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