THE DEBATES, ONE WEEK LATER

SPECIAL POST

Well, the last of the dust is finally beginning to settle; even the press and the media are finally running out of ways to regurgitate their opinions of what the opinions were about the opinions on the event.  

So, where are we now? 

Well, in my opinion... You may recall that I said, right after the debate, that I felt FOX NEWS was out of line in the way it set Donald Trump up and in the tone and tenor of some of their questions.  Trump, true to his history, spat right back; and after the debates, Trump let it be known in no uncertain terms that he did not appreciate Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier or FOX NEWS for the questions they asked or the manner in which they were asked.  

When Kelly went on the air Monday night and refused to delve into the resulting fireworks, when she refused to defend herself... I knew then that the top dog at FOX had received the message, and that he didn't like it.  By Tuesday, Roger Ailes had called Trump personally to apologize and to try to mend the fences.  Trump did something I would not have done... he accepted the apologies and they are at least back to talking with each other again.  I would have let FOX stew in its own broth for another week or so.  

Trumps poll numbers showed that he had emerged from the skirmish unscathed and was still in firm command of the lead.  More interesting to all of us is that Carson and Fiorina emerged in stronger positions, as did Cruz.  Over in the Democratic camp, Bernie Sanders managed to take the lead away from Hillary in New Hampshire.  The common denominator here is that all five of these names... Trump, Cruz, Carson, Fiorina and Sanders... are tackling the established political hierarchies with welcomed vengeance.  

Those candidates who manage themselves and their campaigns in the traditional "old style" of politics are slowly... very, very slowly... realizing that the dust is about to settle on them.  Now, well after the dance has started, the participants are discovering that the traditional beat of the music has morphed from a tip-toe, soft-shoe waltz to a strong, robust John Philip Sousa march.  

Americans are sick and tired of the constant spin cycle of political business-as-usual in Washington.  They want, expect and demand change... the type of change that was never remotely in Barack's game plan.   They want to see good old reliable, patriotic and sensible leadership, all of the way from the top down into the trenches.   

Right now, in my opinion, those who represent "the establishment..." the Grahams, the Bushes, and the Clintons of the world, are probably going to end up on the outside looking in... as they damned well should.  

The winds are blowing in a refreshing direction.  

That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.