Redstate

By Erick Posted in 2008 — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Okay, so two days after the debate, I am liveblogging it on tape delay. I tivo'ed the debate and am now just getting around to watching it. Below are my thoughts as the debate starts.

Amazing that Ron Paul has been in Congress for 20 years. So much for the citizen legislator.

What's up with Mitt's hair? It looks disheveled. This is an ill omen.

The first question is actually a solid one. Naturally Rudy has George Will to hide behind. Of course, he's a good one to hide behind. But Will is not really a social conservative, just a fiscal one.

Again, what's with the Romney hair? That piece is sticking down like a tail. Now, Romney's been asked the "who's more conservative question" and he doesn't really answer beyond having to build up the coalition. He does say he's proud of his record. Good point on solving the budget crisis without raising taxes.

Read on. . .

Thompson now responds. His starting point of "we've got an hour and a half, maybe they can work on it" then gets in a jab on Kennedy. That's really good. "I was a conservative as soon as I put down Conscience of a Conservative when I was in college." That is a tremendous line for this crowd. But here comes the Thompson flaw. He is hard out of the gate, then gets to the um's and pauses.

Giuliani is back at Fred going after Fred on tort reform. Rudy is willing to throw these punches on tort reform, but is that really going to win the day?

These guys are aggressive this week. Good for them. This three way fight is interesting and so far, everyone is going after Rudy. "The Senator has never had executive responsibility" is a great line from Rudy against Fred.

Oh, thank God Mitt moved that piece out of his forehead.

Kudos to the Fox News crew for encouraging these guys to pick fights.

Now we're to the lawyers question and McCain gets the crowd's energy up. "Gov. Romney, you've been spending the last year trying to fool people about your record." Dang!

Romney gives a great answer on Bush going to Congress to go to Iraq. Well done and good defense.

Ron Paul is nuts. That is all.

FoxNews asks Romney about the gay marriage ban and says Rudy, McCain, Ron, and Fred don't support it. But I thought Fred did. Romney, however, gives a solid answer.

The debate has gotten kind of slow now. Huckabee though is laughing about the earlier fights and shows how good his humor is. "I'm not interested in fighting these guys," he says. "I'm interested in fighting for the American people." Then he goes on to the sanctity of human life. Good for him!

Fred gets asked about the abortion issue and says the abortion groups view him as their worst nightmare. It's a solid response.

Why is Tancredo still here and why did he get invited? He admits he's a debate "book end" and has admitted he's second tier, which of course just assumes there is no third tier.

John McCain gives a good defense of free market health care in the country. Ron Paul, on the other hand, goes nuts. Again.

Hunter does a nice job breaking down the mandates issue in healthcare by mocking the fertility coverage in the Romney plan. Hunter is really good on this issue.

"We don't have a healthcare system, we have a healthcare maze," Huckabee says. He continues to shine. Why isn't this man running for the Senate? He plays up the populist rhetoric about the insurance companies, though. He wants to leave this to the people, but they'll have to turn to the insurance companies. His line about the hold hippies is great.

Tancredo gets off a good line on Michael Moore.

Fred Thompson comes back on No Child Left Behind and says he was wrong to vote for it. That's refreshing. "I think we need to realize the proper role of the federal government." More people need to say that. Then he hits the "we need more fathers to stay and raise their kids." That's well said.

Rudy goes to education next. "What we need is choice." "I really care about the kids more [than the teachers," Rudy says. That's just good stuff. This is solid. Rudy does very well.

"Is [Hillary] fit to be President?" Chris Wallace asks. The audience yells "no." Romney has a great answer -- Hillary's never run a store, a state, or anything else. Well done. He highlights his business and government executive experience.

Chris Wallace points out that Giuliani is behind Clinton in the polls and Romney says Rudy can't beat Hillary. "You've gotta be kidding me," says Rudy. Rudy takes a good natured jab at Hillary over being a Yankees fan. Then he laughs about her comment that she has a million ideas, but American can't afford them all. Rudy does really, really well on this one. Then he thanks Florida for 2000 and blows a kiss. That's awesome. Then he pledges not to boycott Florida. Again, well handled.

Now to McCain. He hits hard. "I'd much rather lose a campaign than lose a war." He goes to spending. Okay, McCain steals the show with the Woodstock comment. Standing ovation from the crowd. Well played. Well played. "No one can be President of the United States that supports projects such as these." McCain really is doing well.

Huckabee now is up. He handles the question well. "There is nothing funny about Hillary Clinton as President of the United States." He really is handling himself well. He goes after the Law of the Sea Treaty. That's strong.

Fred next. He does a great job defending the troops and making the case that the Dems believe anyone who works is rich. "If we stick to our principles, we'll win next November." He's preaching federalism and free markets well. This is what he needs to do on the stump. "They're going to lead us down the road to a comfortable mediocrity." Great, great line.

Ron Paul is next. He's still nuts. And he can't pronounce "Clinton," he says "Cli'on." Weird.

Thompson is back for another question and goes for the difficult truths. Again, why isn't he talking like this on the stump? He's willing to take a chance on social security, etc. Good for him.

Brit Hume then goes to Rudy about Fred's social security plans and prescription drug plans. Rudy says we need a consensus behind private accounts. He gives a good answer. He wants to go for private solutions for Medicare and Medicaid. Good call on this. His defense of free markets in insurance is very well done.

Romney says he'll be bold, but not cut benefits. He's playing it too safe.

Huckabee says we need to talk about "personalization", not "privatization." And "keep the government from robbing the trust fund." What a great line about "taking out" the retirees. LOL. Great line, that one.

Ron Paul is up now. The Zionist Conspiracy instructs me not to say anything other than "he's nuts."

McCain goes next. A good line back to Huckabee and then some "straight talk." He's echoing Thompson. He gives a solid answer on requiring it to be a bipartisan solution. He makes sense.

Duncan Hunter is up next. He's all about protectionism. His scheme won't fly. That's nuts. Come on Hunter, you can and should do better.

Now Tancredo. Why is he here? Ron Paul has more a right

Okay, the lightening round is next and I'm bailing. I'm most impressed with Rudy, Fred, and Huckabee. Huckabee continues to shine in every category but the fiscal ones. Fred does so much better in the debates than the stump. And Rudy is just solid.

McCain really holds his own. Romney is polished, but forgettable.