If You Can't Take the Heat.....

Like everyone else in the world, I watched with great anticipation the Republican Primary debates. Donald Trump is the reason why most people tuned in.  He is not the reason why I watched both debates as I would have without him.  He is the reason why I watched with enthusiasm.  While we all have a decision to make concerning the 2016 run for the White House there is no doubt that Donald Trump has made this the most interesting primary race in my lifetime.  

Everyone knew there would be drama. We were all on the edge of our seats. The pundits were talking about it for weeks. What will he say, what will he do, who will he go after?  It was as if they were talking about the next heavyweight-boxing match.  Snacks in hand, phones off, DVR set on record my heart was pounding.  Then -- boom -- right out of the gate Bret Baier asked the candidates to raise their hands if they would not support the person nominated if it was not them, and not run as a third party candidate.  And there it was.  Donald Trump with his hand up.  Bret tried to get him to change his mind reminding him of what he was doing, but Trump said I understand and kept his hand up.

My heart sank, my mind went blank for a minute, I thought to myself, well, that is it; it is over for him and the immediate reactions of the focus group were in agreement with me.  Having had a night to sleep on it and consider the whole thing, I have a different take.  Donald Trump is a businessman.  He has made billions of dollars negotiating deals.  His leverage in this situation as he sees it is the threat to run third party.  He has said in the past that if he was not treated well by the RNC he would do just that.  He did not want to give up his leverage at this stage in the game.  If he gives that up now, he will have given in to the RNC's demands.  This is exactly the kind of negotiating that we need with respect to Iran.  John Kerry did the opposite, gave in too soon and gave the store away.  You negotiate from a position of strength or you lose.  Had Trump not put his hand up he would have been in essence crying uncle.  

The other point about this that I would like to make is he told the truth he said what he honestly felt. He did not lie, he did not waiver he did not look around the room to see what the others would do, he stuck his hand up.  He cannot be bought, he cannot be bribed, he will not go along to get along.  This country has been weak for too long.  We have allowed political correctness to run us into the ground.  I do not know if Trump is the answer, but I do believe that whoever ends up at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. needs to take a few pages from his book.

Reeling from that answer,  I snapped back and watched Megyn Kelly asking Trump about things he has said about women in the past.  Donald Trump has a mouth and he uses it, he has no filter and he is an equal opportunity critic.  He will call a woman or a man and idiot, a pig or anything else that comes to his mind.  Megyn Kelly should know better.  You cannot say you are for equal rights and then say but you had better not say mean things about women.  It is either or, not both and. 

Another example: In mixed double tennis, men do tend to hit softer to women than they do other men.  They will hit a hard serve to the men and softball it to the women.  They do that, until and unless they are losing then their competitiveness kicks in and they hit  just as hard to the woman.   Women who play tennis or any sport with men do not want to be treated differently because they are female.    I find a double standard exists but it is women who are perpetuating it,  not men.   

 Carly Fiorina did well in the debate, of that there is no dispute.  However, I have to wonder is she getting all this attention because she is a woman?  Carly Fiorina had a failed campaign for Senator and was fired as CEO of HP. She was an advisor to John McCain's failed run at the White House.  She has been touted as a great leader and at the same time the worst CEO ever in some circles.  She talks about her "good friend Bibi Netanyahu, but mispronounces his name like everyone else does.  

If Megyn Kelly had been asking the questions of Carly, would she have gone so personal, or would she have given her a break because women need to stick together?  We may yet have a chance to find out if Carly is able to stay in the race.

In the mean time, pay attention to Trump, he will either rise up out of the ashes and take on momentum or sink like a rock to the bottom of a pond.  One thing is certain, it will not be boring.