Redstate

Posted at 12:23am on Feb. 27, 2008 Dems Ohio Debate: Who won?

And yes someone has to win.

By Kevin Holtsberry

I had to cover the Democratic debate tonight because of my job. Did Red Staters watch (whether out of patriotic duty, morbid fascination, or deep seated sadism)?

If you did watch who do you think won and why?

To kick things off I think Hillary clearly lost this segment:

Posted in 2008 | 2008 Democratic Primary | 2008 Presidential Campaign | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton | Presidential Debates — Comments (41)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:14am on Feb. 2, 2008 Hillary is “The Decider”

By Richard H Collins

Instead of the heavy-weight fight the media was hoping for, Thursday’s Democratic debate in California turned into a love fest; one with lots of pandering to the liberal Hollywood audience. But beneath the pleasantries it was once again clear that Hillary is seeking to have it both ways on a host of issues. She is the master of the non-answer and relentlessly offers her pat answers. One thing she never does, however, is admit a mistake.

Posted in 2008 | 2008 Democratic Primary | Barack Obama | Bill Clinton | Hillary Clinton | Presidential Debates — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 4:07am on Jan. 11, 2008 WS Debate Reax

By Ben Domenech

Dean Barnett loved him some Huck and Thompson, and thought Romney only did better than Paul. Actually, seems like all the Standard guys with the exception of Steve Hayes seem to like Huck and Thompson best, hated on Romney and Rudy.

I thought Fred was great for 99% of it, and the back and forth between him and Huck made me really, really wish they had shrunk these debates down earlier. The 1%? Well...I think it's unwise to attack Huck when you didn't sign the Norquist pledge yourself.

Posted at 11:37pm on Jan. 6, 2008 Mitt Romney's Finest Hour.

By Leon H Wolf

Although I have been a Romney supporter, I have not generally joined the chorus of Romney supporters who have claimed that he has won all the previous debates: he hasn't. Although he hasn't done poorly, exactly, I don't think he's had a debate where he actually shined, and stood out from the rest of the candidates - but he did tonight.

It's possible that Fred Thompson had the best objective performance of the debate, but let's be clear - for the purposes of New Hampshire, tonight was about who could win between McCain and Romney, and Romney was the clear winner. Although I have made peace with the possibility that McCain could win the nomination, and would cheerfully support him in the general, he did not perform well tonight. As contrasted with his widely criticized performance in last night's debate, McCain looked like he'd been force-fed Prozac before this debate. As a consequence, it was hard to remember at most points that he was even there, and when he was there, he was oddly and forcefully cheerful - a motif that just doesn't work for McCain. By way of contrast, Romney was clearly on his game, landing at least two solid blows against his old nemesis Huckabee, and on one occasion (when he interjected into Huckabee's immigration answer) provoking the temper that Huckabee has kept carefully hidden on the campaign trail, but which Arkansas know exist. Romney clearly impressed the focus groups, and spoke to issues that appeal to the folks of New Hampshire. And the thing that impressed me the most is that Romney let the "real Romney" out of the can a couple of times tonight - the guy that so many of us have been begging Romney to let out - this guy. The Romney who doesn't feel the need to be perfect and polished 100% of the time, the guy who you can believe actually gives a crap about the principles he is espousing. That guy has been conspicuously missing for too long (and I think the results in Iowa and polls in NH have reflected that), and it was good to see him tonight.

Although Romney has the resources to continue the race beyond New Hampshire even if he loses, the reality is that New Hampshire represents his last stand when it comes to having a realistic shot at winning the nomination. If Romney loses NH to McCain, he stands to lose MI to either Huckabee or McCain or both, and he won't get enough of a bump to take SC from Huckabee. So the real question from tonight was whether Romney could begin to swing the tide against McCain. If the Luntz group was any indication, he may have done just enough to accomplish that.

The next two days will tell us for sure, but the last two days may have righted the Romney ship in time.

Posted in 2008 | New Hampshire | Presidential Debates — Comments (101)/ Email this page » / Read More »