Like strong solid bookends on either side of a couple of trashy dog-eared paperbacks, two men that represent the best of what the Republican Party offers made speeches this week. Between them, another accusation-filled debate between the contenders for the GOP presidential nomination.

Continued...

On Tuesday, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels gave the party's response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. Not only did he clearly articulate how runaway government spending and an unaffordable national debt is the root of our ongoing economic crisis, he proposed common sense and unity where the president has advocated for already failed policies and class warfare.

In today's GOP weekly address, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) continued the charge against Mr. Obama's quest for four more years of failure. Referring to the State of the Union address, Senator Rubio said, "This president didn't talk about his record for one simple reason; he doesn't want you to know about it. But you do know about it, because you feel the failure of his leadership every single day of your life."

He went on to say that President Obama "tells Americans worried about their jobs that the way to help them is to raise their bosses' taxes. He tells those who are hurting that the only way they can be better off, is for others to be worse off. He tells all of us that the only way for some of us to climb up the economic ladder is for others to be pulled down. This divisive rhetoric, this effort to gain political support by convincing some that they will be better off if we punish others, this stuff has never worked anywhere it's been tried,"

Between these two speeches by these two conservatives who have earned respect in their chosen fields of service, there was another GOP presidential debate. During that contest, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich alternately swatted at each other in a pathetically immature display of political posturing with precious little substance.

On the campaign trail in Florida, the petty bickering continues with Mr. Gingrich complaining about the live audience at the debate and Mr. Romney complaining about Mr. Gingrich's complaints.

With dwindling time for primary voters to make their decision about who can best lead the party and eventually the nation, it is extremely frustrating that the official contenders for the nomination are spending way too much time in childish squabbles while the clear messages and strong leadership come from others.