Captain Rick ranks Candidate Performance ~ 1st Republican Presidential Debate of 2016

Captain Rick : I have watched every presidential debate since 1960 when John F. Kennedy was elected and became one of America’s greatest presidents. I will always remember the day I was eating lunch in the high school cafeteria and those terrifying words came over the school PA system that President Kennedy was shot and killed. It was a day that planet earth stood completely still, frozen in shock. That day had a profound effect on my thinking. It marked the day I became seriously interested in the candidates that run for President of the United States of America. 

Fox News hosted the first Republican presidential debate on August 6, 2015.  Sadly, it was only broadcast live to cable TV subscribers. Watch the official Fox News video rerun by clicking the image above.

As I have done for most presidential debates for decades, I kept score of how each candidate answered the questions. Each candidate started off each question with 5 points on a scale of 10. As they answered each question, I adjusted their score up or down based on what they said as it related to how I believe the mainstream voter would judge the answer. Their body language and audience reaction factored in. After the debate I averaged the scores for each candidate.

Captain Rick’s Scorecard of 2016 Republican Presidential Debate Contenders:

8.1 Donald Trump

6.7 Rand Paul

6.3 Mike Huckabee

6.2 Ted Cruz

5.7 John Kasich

5.6 Marco Rubio

5.2 Scott Walker

5.1 Ben Carson

5.0 Jeb Bush

4.8 Chris Christie

Donald Trump dominated the debate, in spite of loaded questions thrown at him by Fox News host Meagan Kelly, scoring considerably higher than all other candidates. Rand Paul came in a distant second, weaker than I had expected. Mike Huckabee’s third place performance was a surprise. I have a hunch we will be seeing more press on him in coming weeks. It squeaked Ted Cruz to a close fourth. The rest of the candidates all scored within a point of neutral 5.0. Scott Walker’s drop was a surprise. Ben Carson, with his excellent comment about the ‘brain of congress’ helped him fair a notch above Jeb Bush. Chris Christie came in last. I think he needs to excuse himself from the race.

I recognize that there is lots of commentary on how the candidates faired that is being broadcast across social media. I am honored to be one intelligent voice for your consideration.  

Captain Rick’s Closing Thought … I think America is sick and tired of both parties (Republican and Democrat) because of their poor ability to have a positive effect in the Presidency and Congress of the United States of America … which continues to ‘kick Americas debt can down the road’ for our grandchildren to pay for. They can not afford the bill of debt. Unless America begins to elect an intelligent president and members of Congress, America will soon witness the world’s largest catastrophe … the United States of America becoming a third world country. 

Interesting ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL Posts, Categories, Links and Stats are presented in Left Column

U.S. Jobs: Stalled . . . 5 Million discouraged Workers hopelessly Unemployed

Captain Rick: The December Jobs Report marked the tenth month in a row of lackluster job creation. Only 155,000 jobs added, just above the red break-even line of enough jobs to keep pace with population growth. That leaves 4.8 million discouraged workers … hopelessly unemployed.

1.84 million jobs were created during 2012. That sounds huge, but it only broke even with the 1.8 million needed to keep pace with population growth.

U.S. Unemployment rate is inept and meaningless … the real unemployment rate is about 15%

I no longer report on the U.S. Labor Department unemployment percentage, which basically counts only those who are registered and receiving unemployment compensation. It does not include the other half of the workers that dropped off of the government’s ‘radar screen’ … the 4.8 million who have exhausted their unemployment compensation and remain discouraged and hopelessly unemployed. The Labor Department should abandon the ‘unemployment rate’ and replace it with a figure that is closer to reality. The actual unemployment rate, sometimes called the ‘underemployment rate’, stands at about 15%, among the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The growing number of hopelessly unemployed is worrisome

Studies widely show the longer a person is unemployed, the weaker his or her chances are of getting a job. At some point, long-term unemployment can lead workers to become permanently detached from the labor force. That’s not good for the economy.

How long will it take to reduce unemployment to pre recession levels?

The Hamilton Project, an economic research arm of the Brookings Institution, publishes a “jobs gap” calculator that estimates just how long it will take to get back to pre recession levels, assuming the only major job market dropouts are Baby Boomers who are retiring. At the current rate of hiring, the Hamilton Project estimates it would take until 2025 to get back to a pre-recession job market. I must caution … that report does not consider the monumental fiscal challenge America faces with the upcoming Fiscal Cliff Sequester and Debt Ceiling issue. If President Obama and the U.S. Legislature continue to ‘kick the fiscal can down the road’, it could be far beyond 2025 before America recovers to pre recession unemployment levels, possibly never.

Caution for U.S. State Governors and City Managers

If you think America is on the road to recovery … THINK AGAIN !!! America is on a very serious fiscal downhill slide …headed for the ultimate ‘Fiscal Cliff’. Continue to spend money like there is ‘no tomorrow’ or prepare for coming reality by shoring up fiscal defenses.

Get Educated about the serious fiscal problems facing America … and the world

A great source: Captain Rick’s Fiscal Cliff Course 101 … The course starts at the very bottom.

Obama v Romney in Debate 1: … Who won? . …It all comes down to body language.

Captain Rick: Watching the debate last evening, I heard nothing new. It seemed to be much of the same old political rhetoric from both sides.

I did generate an overall perception of how the debate went … I think it all comes down to body language.

Many years ago I developed a very simple means of scoring the debates. It has proven to be very accurate over the years in predicting the next president. It works like this. I take a note pad and write Obama on the left and Romney on the right. I draw a vertical line between them and then place a mark every time I hear a remark that I think will be a winner among American voters.

My Obama / Romney scorecard results: Obama: 11 / Romney 20

But, an equally important part of my analysis is to turn off the sound and re-view the debate. It’s a great way to strip out all of the verbal rhetoric and just watch the body language. Obama looked like he was tired and somewhat mad with a frown on his face much of the time. Romney was full of robust and looked happy with a smile much of the time. I think America will consider this as a strong ingredient in their vote on November 6.

We still have several debates to go. I will be watching. I hope you will also. I will report the results as I see, hear and feel them. I welcome you to chime in and express your thoughts. Our world only improves when we ‘speak up’.

Ken of California: “I gotta get out of this liberal mess”… Arizona is a Pink state?

Captain Rick: I received an email today from my friend Ken in California. He said “Arizona is a pink state. You really need to get busy and turn it red. It’s hopeless for me here in California. I gotta get out of this liberal mess.”

Ken, thanks for your email. I hope you will become brave, like me, and post your future replies on my blog so that the entire world can enjoy your important perspective. I will give you a helping hand for your email today.

When I moved to Arizona in 1996, it was one of the most conservative ‘RED’ states there was in the entire country. During the nearly two decades since, many thousands of illegal aliens crossed our very porous border with Mexico…a border that the U.S. government poorly defends.  I do not blame them for wanting to come to a our great state of Arizona, in comparison to the poor economic conditions in their home countries. But the fact is that most of them came to Arizona illegally. America’s laws…or lack of them, allow them to vote. Over the years the Latino vote in Arizona has exploded. Latinos historically vote liberal “BLUE” because it is laden with lots of freebies like health, education and welfare at the expense America’s major tax payers…the middle class. President Obama has recently proclaimed that many children of illegals that were brought to this country at a young age will receive what I call ‘amnesty’. This political move has placed the Latino vote on fire and could become a leading factor in the decision for our next president. It is no secret that Obama is courting the Latino vote. Lets not forget Obama’s massive DOJ attack on Arizona’s SB1070 illegal immigration law.

So it is…Arizona fades from bright RED to PINK. The Latino vote in America will soon turn many of the “RED” states to “PINK” or even “BLUE” in the coming years. Our country is changing as a result of neglegence of those we elect to serve the best interest of America. Tonight’s prime time presidential debate could set the election and America’s course for the next four years.  I have never missed a presidential debate during my entire life of many decades. I urge all to watch and respond with your comments of which candidate you think did a good or bad job of presentation on a subject. 

America’s 1st Presidential Debate of 2012: airs Wednesday 10/3 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT

Captain Rick: This is part 1 of a what will be a continuing story as I investigate the “battleground” states in an effort to determine who will receive enough electoral votes to become the next president of the United States. This report analyses the current electoral map.

The first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will air across America on all major networks Wednesday 10/3/12 at 9 PM ET, 6PM PT/AZ.

I have copied the CNN Electoral Map below. It shows what I feel is the most accurate status available. Since my previous check, North Carolina has gone from ‘Leaning Romney’ to ‘Toss up’, shifting 15 electoral votes back to ‘Toss up’. Based on my calculations, Colorado, with 9 electoral votes will be the deciding state in this election. Obama now has 237 electoral votes allocated v Romney’s 191. This debate could change the map. I welcome you to chime in with your comments of how you think the debate went. 

In part 2 of my continuing story I investigate the leaning red and blue states. It was posted on October 19, 2012: https://atridim.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/captain-ricks-election-scenarios-what-if-we-turn-all-of-the-leaning-red-states-red-and-the-leaning-blue-states-blue/

Map Source: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2012/ecalculator#?battleground