As it happens I haven’t read much if anything of the reaction to the Republican presidential debate the other night, which was conducted by MSNBC and hosted at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. However for the record, and to prove I care (which I do) I’ll jot down my own take.
Rick Perry had to be the story, with all eyes on his first debate appearance, and I think he just plain did well. A defining moment was when he was asked about his statement in his book Fed Up! a few years back that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.” Brian Williams kindly explained that even Karl Rove has said that such an attitude is toxic and politically untenable. Rick Perry demonstrated why he’s soared to the top of the Republican polls by not stepping back a bit. One could imagine a lame politically-safer answer beginning with, “Well, let me tell you what I was really trying to get at with that rhetorical statement …” but instead Perry insisted that Social Security—while it can work for current seniors and those near retirement—is genuinely a Ponzi scheme when it comes to people in their 20s and 30s. It won’t be there in its current form for them. Continue reading “On the Reagan Library Republican presidential debate”
