Watched the Republican debate moderated by Fox on Thursday the 10th. I was not impressed. Reminded me of some elements that I have encountered during my life, especially in grade school when a small group would try to start fights and cause dissension among the others, and invariably they were successful and managed to harm others. This same small group patted themselves on the back and were proud of their efforts. This is the impression I gained from this debate.

I think it would have been far better if they had told the debaters they couldn’t mention each other and gave them questions of substance for each of them to answer. This would have led to a far greater understanding of their substance, character, and judgment. The questions asked were to deliberately cause dissension to erupt and it succeeded to the detriment of the political process. I have noticed quite a change in the way Fox presents the news. They are not quite as fair and balanced as they were. The analysts brought on to discuss the debate as soon as it was over were two Democrats, Pat Caddell and Kirsten Powers.

Kirsten Powers is on Fox so much, makes me wonder if she is someone’s relative in the Fox News hierarchy. I think they are reaching the point where there are more Democrats in their stable than Republicans. Examples:

• Juan Williams
• Mort Kondracke
• Shepard Smith
• Alan Colmes
• Kirsten Powers
• Geraldo Rivera
• Bill Hemmer

and the list goes on and on….

There was a voice for Conservatives, finally, when Fox came on. Up until then we had had no voice to communicate Conservative views. The Conservatives were delighted to have someone blunt the attacks of all the liberal networks on Republicans and Conservatives. That is disappearing and I watch Fox News much less than I used to. The way they bested CNN in audience numbers is not what they are practicing these days. If you’ve noticed, CNN bested Fox on the night of the New Hampshire primary. This is not a sign of good things to come for Fox.

Alan Colmes loved the debate. I guess he could see as I did that the dissension fostered by Fox was one of the best things to help defeat the Republicans in the general election. I would prefer no debates if they are to continue in this manner. Charlie Gibson did a lot better than any others in the way he moderated. They asked questions about energy, but where were the questions on drilling in ANWR, nuclear energy, and using the oil shale in Colorado? Our energy problems will be allowed to continue with ethanol, wind power (but of course not in my backyard,) and solar (will not cut it). The problem is as severe as social security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but as with those programs, this is another third rail that politicians have no desire to touch. I don’t know if this is collusion between the debate moderator and the politicians in these debates that are matters that cannot be discussed.

The politicians only talk about research and development and encouraging new forms of energy. They don’t even realize that their ethanol program, with its subsidies, will be one of the major causes of destroying the economy. Don’t get me wrong - I have not switched to MSNBC or the Clinton News Network, but I do spend a lot more time on the internet. I think that all the candidates are not well versed on immigration or they would have mentioned the results being realized in Arizona and Oklahoma with their enforcement of their immigration policies recently enacted.

One thing I would ask from two of the Republican candidates - PLEASE McCain, please stop using “My friends…” and Huckabee, please search your vast resources for another gem of repartee and replace the flak over the target zinger.

Finally a 527 comes out, thanks to McCain/Feingold’s campaign finance bill, about Huckabee arranging the pardoning of a murderer who killed again within a year. What I like to see him do now is sit in a tank with a helmet on - shades of Dukakis. I would also suggest to him that he get in touch with Comedy Central for when he becomes an also-ran. As far as McCain is concerned, I would like him to make like an old soldier and just fade away.

The campaign that the Democrats mounted to affect the economy is working, as you can see by the stock market. I am sure they are very gratified with what they have accomplished since it gives them an issue to use against the Republicans in the election. The only problem with this is that old problem of “They may have peaked too soon.” Suppose a stimulus is devised and the economy roars back just prior to the general election - that will take away some of the dissatisfaction they have generated.

There is no doubt that constant comments down-playing the economy has its effects. But the 89 percent of Americans satisfied with their lives at the moment, as there is, will have an offsetting influence to this and they may not realize their wishes for a recession. Seems to me that their wishes for the economy to falter and the Iraq war to be lost shows a great lack of patriotism. I think they believe the Democratic party is their country.

I would like to ask if it would be possible to isolate the votes in New Hampshire that were placed by people who registered on voting day and said they were planning to move to New Hampshire. Can you imagine how many people from Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and other points across the country were planning to move to New Hampshire on voting day? Can anyone smell voter fraud? I know the great minds of the Supreme Court can’t encompass voter fraud, but we common people can!

There is one thing that puzzles me about laws governing how much an individual can give to a candidate - $2300 for the primary and $4600 for both the primary and general elections, and yet Hillary has gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars from the insurance, oil, and pharmaceutical corporations. Seems to me that is another form of voter fraud.

May God continue to bless the USA.