A spectator's Horoscope for tonight's debate

AS A SPECIAL benefit to keep you well prepared for tonight's Republican debate, we offer, in part, the actual forecast from today's Jacqueline Bigar Horoscope:

Mitt Romney, Mar. 12, 1947, Pisces: Zero in on a problem by observing instead of asking questions. You could be surprised by what you find out. Also, note what is not being said. Your sunny manner can help take the edge off for now...

Rick Santorum, May 10, 1958, Taurus: All the possibilities that surround a project might overwhelm you. A new beginning becomes possible professionally, if you worry a little less. Keep smiling. Your insights are appreciated...

Newt Gingrich, June 17, 1943, Gemini: Reach out for someone at a distance. Your ability to zero in on an issue might not be as sharp as you would like. You could find that a relationship becomes far more touchy in the next few weeks...

Ron Paul, Aug. 20, 1935, Leo: Use caution with finances in the next few months. You easily could make an an error. Others seek you out, but they also want to have more control.. Let them have their way, and they will better understand the complexity of your responsibilities.

Perry's losing scheme vs. the Ponzi scheme

THE CURRENT BUZZ word in the political lexicon is "Ponzi" - as in Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi. He was the Italian immigrant who arrived on these shores penniless in 1903, went on to take in about $15 million in a postage coupon swindle and from there went on to prison.

From the Republican right-wing tower commanding the presidential road show comes word from Texas Gov. Rick Perry that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Perry goes after some issues as though he is trying to lasso a rodeo bull with a rubber band. But as we have learned from rubber bands, they can snap back into your face.

Nevertheless, you will be hearing about Ponzi's schemes from the comfortable Social Security haters who obviously believe that if those recipients who survive on their monthly checks are going to starve, then let it happen quickly. The chorus of those who agree with Perry includes such modern-day social and economic philosophers as Tucker Carlson, Rush Limbaugh(whose current wealth could help restore Social Security to good health overnight) Fox News gurus Andrew Napolitano and Brit Hume and CNN contributor Erick Erickson. There are others, but this gives you some idea of where all of the Ponzi raps are coming from.

But wait. It should be an absolute in politics that if you scare the hell out of the public on issues like Social Security, you are destined to be an also-ran. On this point, I agree with Mitt Romney's aide who asserted after Wednesday's GOP debate that "Perry just lost the election."

Poor Carlo Ponzi. Wasn't it enough that he went to prison for his bloodless crimes that he must now have his name trashed even more by loony people like Rick Perry and the Fox/CNN crowd?

The NY Times falls for the carefully laid trap

SPEAKING OF NEWSPAPERS...

The omniscient New York Times fell for the non-debate Republican "debate" with a big Page One photo of the Team GOP bar code (see earlier post) and a frightfully long article on what it expansively called the "largest debate of the 2012 campaign." But the reality lies in the fact that the election is still 17 months away and these scrimmages are nothing more than an NFL exhibition game in August in which the rookies hope to show off their stuff to make the cut.

These are media-driven times in politics in which a single TV commentator chooses to cite the candidate who seems to have gained a point or two in a crowded field and is thereby elevated to front runner. My former boss Jack Knight regularly complained that the problem with the pundits is that they cover politics like horse races rather than spending much time examining the issues.

Seventeen months people! Anybody besides the candidates' immediate families want to swear that they will remember this parley a week from now?