Watching Jeb Bush announce he was suspending his campaign following his poor showing in the South Carolina primary, I couldn’t help but feel a little tinge of sorrow. Here was a man, a decent man, who but for the vagaries of time, might have been president someday. But it was not meant to be. Fate dealt the more intellectually-curious and circumspect of the political Bush brothers a cruel hand. Jeb’s try at attaining the highest office in the land came after the eight disastrous years of big brother’s presidency.

Jeb’s short, but emotional speech followed an introduction by his good friend, Lindsey Graham. As he worked up the courage to say what needed to be said, one could sense the weight being lifted from his shoulders. Jeb was forceful and to the point. He thanked his supporters for their efforts but admitted it was time to face reality.

“The people from Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire have spoken, and I really respect their decision,” said the former Florida governor, in reference to his poor finishes in the three states that have already held their presidential primaries and caucuses.

Jeb offered no regrets for the way he ran his campaign. Often criticized by many for having allowed Donald Trump to label him as “low-energy” and “weak,” Jeb never sank to the level of the Republican front-runner and winner of the South Carolina primary, Trump.

“In this campaign, I have stood my ground. I have refused to bend to the political whims,” Bush said in a somber hotel ballroom in Columbia, S.C. But one could almost sense a different, more defiant, thought running through Jeb’s brain, “If Americans want a buffoon for their commander-in-chief, so be it!” Oh, that liberating feeling when you are able to say, “F**k y’all!”

Might things have turned out differently if Jeb had gotten into the gutter with his nemesis, Trump? Probably not. By making the Bush name toxic, George W. created a mountain not even Sir Edmund Hillary could have conquered. In addition, Jeb just doesn’t have that kind of mean-fighting spirit within him. He is an honorable, genteel man.

It’s a pity. John Ellis Bush is the type of politician who might have done well in the Republican world of the Eisenhower era, i.e. pre-televised campaigns. Jed is not a natural campaigner like big brother George. He’s a stiff; a nerd; a policy wonk. Gaffes just seem to flow from his lips. You kinda know what he is trying to say but he just never seems to quite get the phrasing right.

Exhibit A- In his closing remarks this evening, Jeb, looking at his diminutive wife, Columba, standing beside him, said, “No matter what the future holds, here’s the greatest safety net, if you can imagine … tonight I’m gonna sleep with the best friend I have and the love of my life.”

Jeb, if only you had been so real on the campaign trail.

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Photo | Reuters

After an impressive and surprising showing in Iowa, Marco Rubio came into tonight’s Republican presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, with the wind clearly behind him. But with higher visibility (or should I say viability) comes the proverbial bull’s-eye on your back. And Chris Christie was ready for some target practice.

After answering a moderator’s question about his accomplishments, Rubio went into one of his well-received, well-rehearsed attacks on Barack Obama.

“Let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing,” said Rubio. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. Barack Obama is undertaking a systematic effort to change this country, to make America more like the rest of the world.”

Just minutes later, when confronted by Chris Christie over his lack of executive experience and of not having done anything meaningful, Rubio slipped back into the same Obama attack line… verbatim!

Christie, looking directly into the camera, said “You see, everybody … the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him.”

Incredibly, Rubio answered Christie’s accusation that he is just reciting well-rehearsed rhetoric … with, well, the same well-rehearsed rhetoric – for the third time!

“There it is!” Christie interjected. “There it is. The memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody.” Rubio, to everyone’s amazement, continued on and  incorporated the same Obama attack line into his answer – for the fourth time!

The Rubio-Christie exchanges could best be described as surreal – something, if you will, out of the mind of Rod Sterling and The Twilight Zone.

In just a few minutes, Rubio showed himself to be a candidate adept at reciting prepared talking points… over and over. He also showed he could not think on his feet when attacked. I doubt he was even aware of what he was saying. Robots seldom are.

What a difference a day makes! In Rubio’s case, the five days since the Iowa caucus.

Marco choked under the pressure of expectations. Here was a guy with the ball on the opponent’s ten-yard line, only needing a field goal to win, and he commits three consecutive personal fouls sending him back to his own forty-five.

If Rubio finishes New Hampshire in the top four, it would be a miracle. And, even so, most likely not enough. The damage is done. It appears he just may have punched his one-way ticket to the candidates’ graveyard. Look for Kasich, Christie and even Jeb, to do well in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

Photo | consitutionrising.com

Equal justice under law is a phrase engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building in our nation’s capital. The words are a paraphrase of an expression coined in 1891 by the Supreme Court in the case Caldwell v. Texas. Chief Justice Melville Fuller wrote on behalf of a unanimous Court as follows, regarding the Fourteenth Amendment: “the powers of the States in dealing with crime within their borders are not limited, but no State can deprive particular persons or classes of persons of equal and impartial justice under the law.”

Today comes news that the lofty words proudly displayed on the Supreme Court building’s facade are just that: a facade, a societal ideal, at best.

The conservative Supreme Court of Chief Justice Roberts has agreed to hear the appeal of disgraced former Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell (R). You may recall this was the man who was convicted on 11 counts of corruption under various statutes criminalizing improper “official action” taken on behalf of someone in exchange for political favors. You know, plain old bribery.

An appeals court upheld McDonnell’s convictions but his lawyers are now arguing the appeals court’s interpretation of what “official action” means is too broad and risks granting federal authorities too much power to go after “ordinary politics” (i.e. normal political corruption!)

It is akin to the old defense of saying to a police officer who pulls you over for speeding, “But officer, everyone was speeding. I was just keeping up with the traffic!”

The Supreme Court justices, strong defenders of states rights, are weighing in to potentially override the findings of a state court. Just as they did in Bush v. Gore.

While most convicts file an appeal while serving their time, McDonnell has yet to see the inside of a prison. In August 2015, the justices granted him an “extraordinary reprieve from prison” (get out of jail free card) – something that is rarely done.

Yes, the well-connected, well-backed McDonnell has hit the jackpot. He is a handsome white criminal with lots of money backing him up.

There is no good reason for the Supreme Court to hear this case other than to let Governor “Gifty” escape equal justice under the law. Don’t be surprised if the Court overturns his conviction.

Yet another perfect example that the concept of “equal justice under the law” is nothing but a nice platitude, signifying nothing. We as a nation, no doubt, have the best justice money can buy.

Photo | nomblog.com

It didn’t take long. While paramedics were still attending to the dead and injured in the Paris massacre, the word was out: it’s all Obama’s fault.

The radical right, in essence, blamed President Obama for failing to thwart the Paris terrorist attacks. In fact, some commenters on the blogosphere suggested our Muslim, terrorist- loving president was glad to see the carnage take place! The usual suspects labeled our Commander-in-Chief weak and detached. A modern day Neville Chamberlain, if you will. As one writer observed, “We should have nuked Syria when Assad crossed over Obama’s red line.”

In an ironic juxtaposition, many blog sites today carried the story of ex-CIA George Tenet and Cofer Black’s blistering critique of the Bush administration’s failure to heed warnings, in the spring of 2001, of an impending Al Qaeda attack within the U.S.

In a bombshell interview with Politico, the former CIA director during President George W. Bush’s administration claimed his department informed White House officials over imminent Al Qaeda attacks months before the president received the infamous “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” presidential briefing.

But the Bush-Cheney team didn’t seem to care much about the intelligence the CIA chief was making known them.

“To me it remains incomprehensible still,” said Black, the CIA’s chief of counterterrorism. “I mean, how is it that you could warn senior people so many times and nothing actually happened? It’s kind of like The Twilight Zone.”

What many Obama-blamers do not comprehend is that the world is the mess that it is due directly to the actions (inaction) of the Bush administration. They do not see the link between Bush’s destabilization of the Middle East with a war of choice against Iraq and the hell that is the Middle East today. They do not understand that in reality, Bush, not Obama, is responsible for the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Whether Bush and his gang of neocons willfully ignored the pre-9/11 warnings or were grossly negligent in responding to those warnings needs to be determined once and for all. Whether Bush & Company fabricated the WMD story as a pretext for war, we as Americans deserve to know. And if war crimes were committed, those responsible need to held to account so that justice can prevail.

A Cheney behind bars and a Bush committed to a mental institution would send a powerful message to the world about American values.

Photo | northcountrypublicradio.com

It appears that in preparation for tonight’s third Republican presidential debate, each candidate read from the Ronald Reagan play book: if you want to score points, attack the government. If you remember, Saint Reagan famously said, “Government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem.”

Geez! Why would any of those ten Republican candidates want to be the head of our big bad government? To make it less effective? To shut it down? To kill it from the inside? To shrink it in size so it “can be drowned in a bathtub?”

This whole “government is bad” meme is getting old. But the political consultants must believe it’s a winner with Republican voters. Frankly, I would have more respect for any candidate who openly said he or she just wants to privatize all government functions except for providing a national defense.

Of course the American voter is upset with their government’s performance over the last eight years. Republicans have done everything within their power during Obama’s presidency to gum up the works of government; to make it dysfunctional, thereby proving big bad government is worthless.

Did any individual candidate stand out? I don’t think so but look for supporters of each candidate to claim their guy (or gal) smoked the field.

Tonight’s debate was a big moment for the presidential hopes of Jeb Bush; perhaps more so than anyone else on the debate stage. I do not believe he helped his cause one bit.

I do not know which candidate “won” the debate but I can tell you who was the loser: the American public. As Mike Huckabee observed at the end of the debate, “This is just a big game, and we’re the players.”

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Photo | Mark J. Terrill/AP

In just a matter of one week, the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls has been reduced by 40%. Oh, if only the Republicans would be so kind to the American public!

Lincoln Chafee, after conferring with his campaign staff members today, all three, announced the end of his quixotic run for the Democratic presidential nomination. He did express regrets to his hundreds of supporters and thanked them all (individually) for sticking by him so long.

This surprising news comes less than one week after fellow presidential hopeful, Jim Webb, decided to call it quits. While Chafee’s poll numbers hovered around zero, Webb’s support was in the neighborhood of 2%, very respectable for a man who never really ran a campaign.

With Biden announcing he would not seek the Democratic nomination, only two and one half candidates are left standing: Clinton, Sanders and O’Malley.

Democratic National Committee chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, couldn’t be happier.

“Unlike the dysfunctional Republican Party, with its truckload of candidates, we have just the right size, three; barely enough to fit in a Pope car, a Fiat 500,” said an excited chairwoman.

The pressure will build on the remaining half-candidate in the race, Martin O’Malley.

“I know my poll numbers are currently low, but people are just starting to know me. I expect to improve dramatically on my 3%,” said a confident O’Malley. Speculation has it O’Malley is positioning himself as a possible VP pick for Clinton or Sanders.

Because the Democratic field has been reduced so drastically, the next scheduled Democratic debate will be aired by CBS from Clinton’s Chappaqua three-car garage.

“I thought it would present a nice, homey look and make an important point,” said Wasserman Schultz.

Photo | cnn.com

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It was not quite a love fest but the first Democratic presidential debate should remind everyone what real politicians sound like and how they behave. There was no mud slinging or Animal House food fight as was seen in the first two Republican debates. Granted it was not as fun to watch, but for those who wanted to hear candidates talk about real issues, they were not disappointed.

The five presidential candidates – Martin O’Malley, Lincoln Chafee, Jim Webb, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton – showed how one could disagree without being disagreeable.

Hillary Clinton’s biggest liability, the email “scandal,” was not used as an attack vehicle by any of her four male opponents. In fact, the highlight of the debate can right after Clinton answered the predictable Anderson Copper question about that very controversy.

Clinton, as she’s done on many occasions, admitted that having her own server was a mistake. “What I did was allowed by the State Department, but it wasn’t the best choice. And I have been as transparent as I know how to be,” said Mrs. Clinton. The last part of her answer, however, will surly give her Republican rival great ammunition if she becomes the Democratic nominee. The attack ad almost writes itself.

As Clinton was dragging out her answer, Bernie Sanders came to her aid.

“Let me say something that may not be great politics, but I think the secretary is right,” said Sanders. “I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.” Clinton turned towards Sanders, flashed a big smile and shook his hand.

Many will say that Hillary was the debate winner. She was confident, relaxed and aggressive when needed. She was not the robotic, inanimate speaker that she can be at times.

Supporters of Sanders will say their candidate stood out among the field. He was passionate in his many take-downs of the wealthy elites he believes control our country. If you’ve seen Bernie speak before, you could take comfort in the fact that Bernie was Bernie.

The second-tier candidates, O’Malley, Webb and Chafee, did not produce the breakthrough performances they had hoped for. Not one of them was able to pull a Fiorina, although O’Malley did have his moments when he talked about gun control.

The first Democratic presidential debate was not just a win for the Democratic Party, it was also a win for an American public sick of the chaos and pettiness that has engulfed the Party of Lincoln.

The second Democratic Party debate is scheduled for Nov. 14 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It is sponsored by CBS news, KCCI and the Des Moines Register.

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Photo | The Washington Post