Mirsky's List of the Strongest GOP Candidates for President: Fall of 2015

It’s the fall of 2015, and in future years we will look back on this time period as one in which nobody had any idea of who would become the next President of the United States in 2016.

Because nobody knows anything, because the process has been deconstructed by the new wave of Social Media and the new Entertainment Tonight quality of all TV news, I can say anything I want here and it just might have some relevance to reality . . .

So here is my list of the strongest GOP candidates for President in 2016, at the end of the crazy political summer of 2015 (I will write about the Democrats in a subsequent article.):

REPUBLICANS

1. Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida. Marco Rubio is running the perfect presidential campaign at the moment. He says very little, but when he speaks up at a debate, he sounds like JFK in 1960. There is an intensity and an energy in Marco Rubio’s presentation. In the last televised debate on CNN, Marco Rubio demonstrated that he is on a different track from the other candidates, not mired in the mudslinging, but speaking out only on serious foreign policy matters. The issues of today may not be what our next President has to deal with in office, but Rubio’s approach to these issues, especially the dangers of ISIS and the conflict in Syria, is making a mark on people and will likely be remembered.

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2. Ben Carson, former Pediatric Neurosurgeon. Dr. Carson is popular among conservatives here in New Hampshire. As long as the voters continue to want a true outsider, Carson, who is serious and reassuring in his speeches, will remain a contender for the Republican nomination. Although his views at times appear to be extreme, Carson has poise and is more intelligent than most of the other candidates, very few (maybe none) of whom would have made it through medical school.

3. Donald Trump, New York Business Mogul/Reality TV Star. For my take on Donald Trump, I refer you to the following link, in which I’ve said it all: Mirsky: New Hampshire, Reject Donald Trump (Although I think the National Review’s Rich Lowry said it better last night on Megyn Kelly‘s show on FOXNews in discussing Carly Fiorina’s effect on Trump in the CNN debate).

4. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Computer Giant Hewlett-Packard. Young people are wearing Carly Fiorina 2016 T-shirts, so I think this candidacy is for real. Also, Fiorina apparently has the endorsement of the National Review’s Rich Lowry, an important Republican opinion leader, who, last night on Megyn Kelly‘s show on FOXNews, just demonstrated the best way to get back at Trump.

5. Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator from South Carolina. Lindsey Graham has started running TV advertising in New Hampshire and has a real record of accomplishment on which to build a candidacy for President. Senator Graham was recently endorsed by U.S. Senator John McCain, who is revered in New Hampshire by Independent voters. The most important fact about Lindsey Graham is that he is a Senator from South Carolina, which holds a presidential primary immediately following the New Hampshire Primary, and the news media is so gullible these days that everyone will likely ignore the obvious unfair advantage of his residence in South Carolina when Lindsey Graham wins the South Carolina Primary. Senator Graham will then become a great star on CNN and FOXNews.

6. Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and Republican Candidate for President in 2008 and 2012. With the job market still in bad shape and the stock markets currently reflecting a general economic concern and malaise, there are many people here in New Hampshire who would give serious consideration to voting for a candidate who actually understands business and the economy. Romney should take note that the 1980 presidential campaign was Ronald Reagan’s third attempt for the White House. If former, less successful presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum are running, it makes you wonder why Mitt Romney is not. As you may recall, Mitt Romney was the Republican Party’s Nominee for President in 2012.

The other candidates, U.S. Senator from Texas Ted Cruz, former Florida Governor and famous family member Jeb Bush, Ohio Governor John Kasich, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, U.S. Senator from Kentucky Rand Paul, etc., these people do not seem to have a real chance anymore. Donald Trump may take a lot of heat in the coming weeks, because he is generating it with his blistering attacks on others, but Trump appears to have succeeded in demonstrating the weakness of most of these other GOP candidates, who just can’t seem to grab the public’s attention.

See you next time.