Does Ted Cruz Become Our Least Liked President

For anyone who is even loosely following the GOP primary race, it’s no secret that NOBODY, be it GOP or Democrat, likes Ted Cruz. Well unless, you’re a answering an Iowa political poll, in which case there’s a good chance you like Ted Cruz because he has taken the lead in the polls.

Article, after article, I continue to read about established GOP member talking down about Ted Cruz. George W. Bush has had bad words for him and John McCain is questioning his eligibility based on his citizenship…that’s a birther movement from Cruz’s own party! So far my favorite has been Bob Dole, who after endorsing Jeb Bush, comments on all the GOP candidates saying “I like nearly all of them, except Cruz.” Now that’s a strong, strong message and shows the true concern of the party. My personal feeling is that they feel that if Cruz wins the nomination a few things are going to happen:

• The fact that Cruz is so disliked by the establishment, that he will not receive the local and state support he needs and they lose the election to the Democrats

• Cruz’s ultra conservative stance and inability to compromise further deadlocks Congress and angers the American public so much that the GOP faces catastrophic losses during his presidency

• This further splits the GOP in the Ultra Conservative sects and Moderate Sects into a possible third party, with neither sect being able to challenge a consolidated Democratic Party

I often wonder what that says about Ted Cruz as a person. Apparently, he acknowledges that he’s an acquired taste and once commented that “If you want someone to sit down and have a beer with, I’m not that guy, but if you need someone to drive you home, you call me.” That quote made me chuckle, but it truly encompasses Ted Cruz’s feelings on his role as a politician. He’s of the opinion that “I’m not here to be your friend, I’m here to do what’s right for you” and, while that is a great sentiment and his poll numbers show the message is landing with voters, I think you have to look into that same statement and say “Do I really trust this person to look out for my best interest.”

Of course the strong counter point concerns the large portion of the country that has an opinion left of Ted’s extreme right. While I am sure Ted would do that he feels if the right thing for the country, what percentage will agree with him, is that enough to drive real change, and what about all our currently elected officials? Washington is a buddy game and you have to be a great negotiator to make change. I think Bill Clinton proved this point in the amount of legislation that he was able to pass during his terms, regardless of his extracurricular activities. He left office and America was doing great. Obama, on the other hand, stepped into a bad situation and one that, if he was a little better at playing the buddy game, he should have better be able to turn around and leave office in a much better place. Now, he made some significant changes, but he had to fight tooth and nail for everything inch- the last 8 years have been a war of attrition. My fear is that if Ted Cruz steps into office the exact same thing will happen. I never felt Obama had full support of the Democratic Party, but he had enough to do something, however difficult. How will Ted Cruz accomplish anything when the entire establishment, his party and the opposing party, do not like him or want to work with him? Who supports his initiatives, the handful of other ultra conservative?

You have to understand that regardless of how you feel about Ted Cruz, he is a talented strategist. He’s a chess player and his eye is always on the king. If you read about his background and especially his debate experience, he is an expert in the art of redirection- the Floyd Mayweather of Washington if you will. The man is hard to hit and every time a jab is thrown at him and feints out of the way and strikes back in a positive way. Recently, George W. Bush made a comment to the effect of he was not a fan of Ted Cruz, which is not terribly surprising based on the fact that Ted Cruz is putting a Texas sized whooping on his brother. If you didn’t know the history, Ted Cruz worked on George W’s campaign team and led the team involved in the Florida recount. So when Ted heard that his former boss had bad words about him, his response was “I met my wife working on his campaign, I have no bad words for him” George took his shot and Ted redirects into something positive. A footnote to that story is that after George W finished the campaign virtually all his key players were awarded very high visibility positions in the administration….well except for one. Can you guess who it was?

I think if the last few years have proved two things, one is that no one likes Ted Cruz and two is that Ted Cruz does not care, not one bit. What does the mean for Americans? Well that an interesting question and one that we’ll have to watch unfold in the coming months.