The GOP in South Carolina

The Republican candidates met in South Carolina last night and it was a strange meeting indeed. First, they fell over each other honoring the philosophy of Ronald Reagan especially for his domestic programs and budgeting balancing. Unfortunately for them, history shows that the Gipper compiled massive deficits during his eight years.

Then Fred Thompson, rising out of the weary sunshine of Law and Order, launched an assault against Rev. Huck citing him as Christian but liberal. Sort of like an old Gnostic heresy. Then Huck answered a non question on why he said that women should be subject to their men--a paraphrase of the misogynous St. Paul; the governor concluded that it was a religious not a political injunction. This distinction from a man who has made religious values entering into politics his calling card.

Rudy who has talked so often about how he is a leader seemed remarkably unable to say what he had done to earn that title. And John McCain, who is ahead in the polls, told the audience that he expected the U.S. would remain in the Iraq theatre for a century. John never knows when to quit.

They all tried to step on Congressman Ron Paul, who from some reason insists that we cannot continue to be an empire rather than a republic -- we cannot afford it and cannot man it militarily. A tough question, but they accused him of sounding like a Democrat. That is the death rattle. Actually he sounded like historian Arnold Toynbee who observed that 19 out of 22 empires fell from intently causes.