In viewing Wednesday evening’s debate I was struck by something which surprised me a bit. I found myself bored with much of the questioning, worse yet, many of the answers.

Mitt Romney, in a forum where there are no time limits, drones on to a point where his original thoughts many times disappear.

In my opinion, the same thing that drove Rudy from this race is part of his downfall. Stress your strengths, but leave the word Massachusetts out of the discussion. You will not be President of a state but of a nation.

At one point during the debate my husband who pays close attention to these contests said, “I am tired of hearing his voice.” Me too.

John McCain would have acquitted himself well to admit he made a “mistake” in his interpretation of Romney’s remarks on timetables and that would have put that issue to bed. As it was, we wasted a good twenty minutes as these two argued semantics.

The Senator is very weak in his answers on the economy, almost to the point where one wonders if he has any real command of the issue. Leadership in the US Military speaks volumes, but it does not translate to a handle on the nuts and bolts of dollars and cents.

Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul, whether we believe they are viable contenders or not, were in attendance at this debate and in my opinion were treated rather shabbily. (Funny, I thought Mike Huckabee had the best answer of the night on the final question as to whether Reagan would have endorsed him.)

I understand you want to draw information from the proposed front-runners, but to blatantly ignore others at the table, for at one point almost thirty minutes, is absurd. As a matter of fact, I believe it has the opposite effect of what is intended.

When they finally spoke, I was so pleased to hear another opinion that I actually found myself paying attention to their answers more intently than those of McCain and Romney.

Yes, the Reagan Library was a beautiful setting for this debate, however, Ronald Reagan is not running for re-election. Neither is George Bush or JFK.

I admire all of those men, but we live in a new era and the platform of the current candidates must be unique to our circumstances today.

Someone actually counted, and Governor Romney invoked the name of Reagan fifteen times last evening, the other candidates four to five times each.

As I do not appreciate Senator Clinton running on her husbands record, I also do not approve of the Republicans constantly invoking the name of Reagan in regard to their candidacy.

I know who Ronald Reagan was, I don’t need today’s players explaining his Presidency to me. He was the right man at the time he was elected, but please, enough already.

I want to know who these candidates are and what they stand for..and not through Reagan’s legacy but their own ideas which will one day, should they be elected, form their own.

So to wrap it up, I think CNN and Anderson Coooper did a dreadful job of handling this debate.

Far too much time was spent on single issues. The candidates with no time limits imposed did what politicians do best..enjoyed hearing themselves speak.

Am I pleased at the moment with our choices as Republicans, no. Will I stay home and not cast a ballot, no. Would I ever presume to encourage others, as some have done, to pass on their civic duty, no.

At this point, I see this election as a choice of the lesser of two evils with the knowledge that there is ample time for that to change.