Don't the Republicans have a bench?

My guess is that as a Democrat, I shouldn't be too worried about this. In fact, I should be elated. I look at the line-up of Republicans vying for their party's presidential nomination and I think to myself, 'this is it?' I mean, I'm even counting that "any minute I'm throwing my hat in the ring, I mean it this time" Thompson. Is he supposed to be the bench?

First of all, the starters look like a farm team--double A ball at best and they just keep looking worse. Last night, my husband had on an episode of The Family Guy in which the wife, Lois, runs for mayor. In a debate, she isn't getting any where with her well-thought out point-by-point plan, so she just starts answering every question with "9-11". Cheers erupt from the audience and she goes on to win the election.

Last night the Republicans also had a debate. If you didn't already know it, they're strong on defense--especially post 9-11. A high-point or low-point might have been Mitt Romney's remark that Bush "may have made some mistakes, but he has kept us safe." Is that all you can offer? I mean, if one terrorist slips through, Mitt's got nothing.

And anyway, has Bush really kept us safe? We've spent a gobzillion dollars on airport safety, but every other week there's a report about the latest test of the system where someone got through with a gun or a knife or whatever. Meanwhile, our subways are at risk, our cargo is not checked. Anyone can rent a truck and load anything into it. The infrastructure is crumbling. The weather patterns are shifting and wreaking havoc. I'm not crawling under my bed and hiding, but Mitt, man, you've got to do better.

Why not stand up and say, "Our party's in trouble. Bush screwed up. He took every opportunity after 9-11 and squandered it. We need to take back the party?" I don't know what these guys are thinking. Republicans--where is your bench? If there ever was a time to call in a wringer, now's the time. And guys, Thompson's not it. Thompson is not going to save your ass.

So now the question becomes, is there a bench? Or is President Bush just the tip of a very slushy iceberg? Did the Republican Party in some sort of drunk with power free for all, put everything behind that greedy, self-righteous, winner-take-all crowd headed by the likes of DeLay, Cheney and Rove and blindly follow them, leaving in their wake would-be statesman within the party who may have actually put the country's interest before their own wealthy constituencies?

There are some honorable Republicans out there: Warner, Snow, Lugar, Hagel. But I don't know if they even want to play on the same team with the current line-up. Guilliani? Okay, he looked in charge when the Towers fell, while George Bush read My Pet Goat and looked confused, but does the country know anything else about him? Look at the people he chooses to be around him. Remember the fiasco when he urged Bush to nominate former New York City Police Chief, Bernard Kerik, to head the Homeland Security Department? The guy's name was removed from the nomination process as skeletons began leaping from his closet. He has since plead guilty to corruption charges. Good guy.

Like I said, as a Democrat, I should be really pleased with this bunch, but as an American it is pretty hard to watch. The Republican Party represents a large percentage of Americans. We should want to see both parties put forth a roster of top talent--if only because it will force everyone to elevate their game.

Gratefully, I have at least five candidates on the Democratic side who I would happily pull the lever for in November: Biden, Edwards, Clinton, Obama and Richardson (in that order for now), but I'd like to think that it would be a hard choice.