Ron Paul: The Winner In GOP Debate

I came across a poll this morning on Yahoo!News. It appears that Ron Paul was the winner in last night's GOP (Goobers on Parade) debate:

Which GOP presidential candidate do you think won the Politico/NBC debate?

Rick Perry (8724)

 25%

Mitt Romney (6791)

 19%

Michele Bachmann (1545)

 4%

Ron Paul (11239)

 32%

Jon Huntsman (2529)

 7%

Herman Cain (1738)

 5%

Newt Gingrich (1670)

 5%

Rick Santorum (671)

 3%

I find these results to be more than a little astounding. From what I saw last night and from the reviews I read this morning, Paul contributed very little to the debate.

A quarter hour into the debate, Paul finally showed up and expressed his concern about safety regulations in the drug industry. Paul is apparently against federal regulations of any kind on anything and this is one that needs to go. He then faded back into the woodwork.

Then 20 minutes later Paul returned from the mists and said he would like to get rid of the minimum wage, he attacked Perry for having written a letter supporting Hillary Clinton's health care reforms, and then after releasing his grip on lucidity, "I do want to address the subject of $2 oil or gasoline, because I can do it much better than that. I can get you a gallon of gasoline for a dime." He took another failed attempt at rational thought and said, "You can buy a gallon of gasoline today for a silver dime. A silver dime is worth $3.50. It's all about inflation and too many regulations."

Paul later chimed in about TSA agents at the airport: "Sometimes they're accused of all kinds of sexual activities on the way they maul people at the airport." A bit later Paul fretted about the fence along our southern border, "Every time you think of [a] fence keeping all those bad people out, think about those fences maybe being used against us, keeping us in."

Did I mention that Paul wants to end federal regulations on drug use? That's one proposal I agree with and it may explain a lot about his performance last night, but I can't see it winning the debate.

Paul may have a point worth pondering on those border fences, though. If any one of those Republican/Tea Baggers get elected president there may be a mad dash to the border as a whole bunch of Americans try to escape from the land of stupid before it goes down in flames.

I have to wonder what parallel universe the poll responders resided in while viewing the debate. Of course, after a couple of hits on a bong, I might have voted for Paul based upon his drug stance.

One of the most impressive comments of the evening came from, of all places, the mouth of Michele Bachmann when she deflated the gasbags around her by reminding them that in "the first minute of stepping into the oval office" they wouldn't be repealing or abolishing anything.

Had these presidential wanna-be's bothered reading the Constitution they would know that federal law can be repealed only by an act of Congress, and not the President.

If the people in last night's debate are the best the Republican party has to offer, and especially if one of them gets elected, then this country is in deep trouble. I don't think those border fences are going to be enough to prevent a mass exodus to Mexico and beyond.