MONDAY (11/9): Ben Carson Pulls A Joe Biden

Ben Carson took a page out Joe Biden's book this week (he exaggerated stories about his youth and plagiarized a speech in 1987). Carson claimed he was offered a"full scholarship" to West Point yet there is no record of his application, never mind his admission to the Academy or the fact that West Point doesn't offer "full scholarships." Carson's response to the allegations of falsehood: "It was, you know, an informal 'with a record like yours we could easily get you a scholarship to West Point'" kind of deal. 

 Pnut's Interview With Dr. Carson

 

TUESDAY (11/10): Ted Cruz Vs. Everyone

 

Ted Cruz took on the Republican establishment yesterday, calling Senate Majority leader (a Republican) the "most effective Democratic leader." Cruz was furious that Sen. McConnell had worked with Democrats to fund the government (the audacity) and that he was denied a protest vote on the matter. Republicans grew so tired of Cruz's antics that they yelled out "No!" when he tried to push his case. With friends like these… 

 

WEDNESDAY (11/11): Fourth Time Is The Charm As Candidates Actually Address Policy

The fourth GOP debate was by far and away the most substantive yet (low bar). The candidates focused on the issues and what it meant to be "conservative" (in part thanks to the Fox and WSJ moderators who kept them in line). We even heard about the economy, immigration and a little bit of foreign policy. Jeb was not quite as awkward (also a low bar), and Trump's boxing gloves rarely came into use. Hillary bashing nonetheless served as a uniting force among the motley crew.

It was nice to finally get a serious look at the different ideological camps within the Republican party (isolationism vs. global leadership, pragmatism vs. brinkmanship). Hopefully this keeps up.

 

THURSDAY (11/12): John Kasich... The Sensible Republican?

 

Ohio Governor John Kasich drew conservative boos during yesterday's debate when he said he would bail out Bank of America if another crisis occurred (objectively therightanswer). Rush Limbaugh said he was "running as a Democrat" because of his stance on immigration, and Glenn Beck called him "EPICALLY BAD" on Facebook. Anybody capable of pissing off those two probably has decent policies. 

 

FRIDAY (11/13): Democrats... They Are Also Running For President

With all of the hullabaloo surrounding the Republicans, one often forgets that there are three candidates also vying for the Democratic nomination. But fear not, if you happen to have your Saturday night free you can spend it watching Clinton, Sanders and O'Malley (why is he still in the race) debate in Des Moines, Iowa. The debate will focus on the state of Iowa, a state which accounts for approximately 1% of the US population and GDP yet still determines the trajectory of the US election because of how early the state primary is.