When the Republicans said it was time to get tough

Trump displayed a bit of pantomime evilness by reminding Bush that he had received 43% of the votes to Bush’s three

I must confess that with the exception of Donald Trump, who has an irrepressibly jaunty optimism and hurls insults with a certain elan, I don’t think any of the others on the Republican GOP debate — aired on CNN on December 15 — who were making a bid for immortality, left much of a mark on the viewing audience. We were presented with a collection of vignettes that bumped into each other at awkward scene changes. All contenders with varying emphasis decided it was necessary to rubbish the administration of President Obama for its inability to stop terrorist attacks. Some believed Hillary Clinton should also get some of the flak.

Trump provided a certain amount of entertainment with his non-serious quips. But like the others, he didn’t say anything he hadn’t said before. Some appeared to be in a tearing hurry to get things off their chest. Others were slow and deliberate. But all, nevertheless, focused on the subject under discussion — how to make America safe for the American people and how to eliminate the climate of fear that has existed since 9/11. The emphasis was on toughness and the Republican voters had to decide which of the speakers came across as the toughest candidate to represent them in the fight against international terrorism.

So far, if the polls are anything to go by, Trump, the real estate mogul, who has been riding on the crest of his anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican wave, has been in the lead with his hate rhetoric and has projected himself as being the best Republican Party candidate for the job. In striking contrast to what he did in recent debates, he offered a measured performance, stylistically different from the fiery stump speeches he delivered at rallies to supporters. And the typically confrontational businessman largely avoided tangling with his fellow contenders.

Trump, however, came under sustained attack from Jeb Bush and some of the others, particularly Marco Rubio, for his anti-Muslim tirade. In fact, the only repartee that I felt merited attention was the one between Trump and Bush, not the one between Ted Cruz and Rubio. After a brief exchange of uncomplimentary remarks, Trump displayed a bit of pantomime evilness by reminding Bush that he had received 43 per cent of the votes to Bush’s three. Unfazed, Bush retorted defiantly that Trump still wouldn’t make it to the presidency.

If the American is not looking for a cowboy with a limited emotional palette who shoots first and asks questions later, but somebody who is aware of America’s military and diplomatic limitations, has a workable strategy, doesn’t disenchant allies and understands basic economics, he might select Clinton. The days of Teddy Roosevelt are over. One just doesn’t go around sending gunships with marines to rescue a school teacher who has been kidnapped by a lusty Sheikh.

At one point in time, it was being predicted that the tussle for the top slot for the Republican All Stars would be between Trump and Ben Carson, or Trump and Cruz, or perhaps Trump and Rubio. Let’s start with Carson, the only African-American on the team. Now, any man who thinks nothing of women and children being incinerated through carpet bombing because it would make some people happy should, in my opinion, be sent to Somalia. As Trump has decided to make Cruz his running mate, that leaves Rubio, the other also-ran out in the cold.

In Pakistan, I don’t think anybody really cares which of the two major US parties wins the next election or how the Americans handle their security problem. If a country goes around destroying other countries and destabilising foreign governments, as if it has a divine right, their leaders would be naive if they didn’t expect reprisals.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2015.

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