On Sept. 16, CNN hosted a game show ... sorry, I meant to say debate, between the top 10 GOP presidential candidates. The debate (contest? audition?) was trumped (pun intended). As the it began, I started taking notes on each of the candidates' opening statements. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie arguably had the best opening, engaging the audience instead of speaking about himself, which the rest of his opponents did.
Next came the questions, which I had hoped would be more informative and revealing in regards to each candidate’s individual policies. However, the only thing that the questions of choice revealed was that Mr. Trump has made one too many controversial comments aimed at his fellow opponents. I felt like I was back in high school, sitting at one of the lunch tables and listening to a group of girls argue about whose prom dress was cuter, whose date was smarter, or whose up-do was more complex. You know, the kind of he-said-she-said sort of conversation buzzing all around me — just riveting.
After about an hour and a half of the CNN announcers basing questions on something that Mr. Trump had “previously said about your wife,” I re-read the notes I had just taken and was truly appalled. After a short tally, I observed that of the 73 questions asked that night, 32 referred to Mr. Trump in some way. Did I have the wrong channel on? Was I watching a bad game show? No, I was watching the GOP presidential debate where the candidates were continually pitted against one another and responding to questions based on Mr. Trump. They spent more time talking about how “ridiculous it was that they weren’t talking about real issues in this country” than actually talking about real issues.
It wouldn’t be entirely fair of me to pass right over a handful of golden moments from a few of the other candidates. Carly Fiorina certainly had an impressive night as the only woman on the stage, with a memorable quote on Planned Parenthood. “I dare Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to watch these tapes ... watch a fully formed fetus on the table ... while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.'" Mr. Bush had another memorable performance, admitting to smoking marijuana in high school. Mr. Paul accused him of running a state against medical marijuana, which would also deny the medicinal use to a child with uncontrollable seizures. Mr. Paul certainly needed that, considering he remained relatively peripheral otherwise. Dr. Carson clarified that his offer to give agricultural jobs to immigrants who came to the United States legally was not that of amnesty, and Mr. Christie impressed with his continual ability to grab a ridiculous argument between other candidates right at the climax and make them seem childish in comparison.
Eventually, we are going to have to vote on a nominee. However, it is nearly impossible to do so when you have an ego like Mr. Trump’s kicking down every other idea in its way. It’s one thing to persuade someone to agree with you, it’s another to yell over them that their opinion is wrong. Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to have any intention of listening to what anyone else has to say, in fact at one point during the debate he said, “No one has control of me,” to which he quickly added, “except the people of this country.” (Good save, Mr. Trump.)
I don’t want a future president who thinks he knows everything — I don’t want to have a president who thinks he’s always right, or one who truly believes he’s the best. I want a president who listens, who is humble, one who knows the audience to whom he or she is speaking to, and one who believes in Constitutional rights. How about a president who has moral character and a strong backbone? I guess that would be pretty cool. In my opinion, Mr. Trump is much too egotistical to be running this great country of ours. He should be proud of all of his accomplishments as a businessman, but he is not the kind of even-tempered person I want in charge of the nuclear codes. I’m sorry Mr. Trump, but you’re fired.
