Well, after the first Republican presidential debates, candidates' TV and radio appearances, political establishment biases, media inspired brouhaha and the Trump factor, here's my Pick Six of the candidates that are my personal favorites – in hopes that one of them will win the Republican nomination and go on to win the presidency.
Donald Trump. He takes non-political-correctness to a new level. I do not agree with his personal attack tactics, but that's his style.
Ben Carson. He answered questions during the debate with surgical precision and clarity. He's not flamboyant, but
his responses are compelling.
Carly Fiorina. She surprised a lot of people with her specificity, clarity and controlled passion. Just
ask Chris Matthews.
Ted Cruz. Consistent conservative
challenger to the congressional establishment. He supports replacing the tax code, possibly with the Fair Tax.
Mike Huckabee. He got out of politics long enough to better connect with Main Street America. He supports replacing the tax code with the Fair Tax, knows the issues, and is articulate with a welcome sense of humor.
Marco Rubio. Quick thinking and articulate on the issues. If he starts talking convincingly about replacing the tax code instead of "reforming" it, then his appeal as a presidential candidate could rise.
These six candidates are not selected just based on poll rankings, but they are based on what I consider to be strong leadership and decision-making qualities. All six of them received very high grades in our previous
presidential rankings, which are starting to prove accurate.
Other Republican hopefuls could break into this pick six of candidates as the presidential race continues to unfold, but not unless they show the vision, potential leadership and specificity shown in this group.
No, there are no Democrats on this list because, as I said previously, they are all big government socialists. To paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, they are running out of other people's money.
Any of the Democrat candidates would be a reshuffling of the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. The differences among the Republican Pick Six are style rather than ideological substance.
In my mind there are now six promising candidates and not twenty-two. We have a long way to go in this process, so let's watch things unfold.
We just might learn something!
