I think that Mitt Romney and John McCain did fine. Romney did much better than last night. McCain was more low-key and seemed dignified. Once again, Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson played interference.
I really doubt that this moved the ball too much.
Tags: Debate, New Hampshire
The loser was clearly the moderator. What was Alan Keyes doing there?
But I thought that Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson did well.
Interestingly, CNN and Fox both had dial focus groups. CNN had a Huckabee clip that he performed well on. Fox had Romney and Thompson.
Probably the most memorable piece was Thompson refusing to raise hands. That’s kinda lame.
I also think that Huckabee dodged a bullet. It could have been a great opportunity for everybody to whack at him. It was probably the last opportunity for people to do that. And it didn’t happen.
UPDATE: Also, there was Rudy Giuliani’s line that might come back to haunt him.
Tags: Debate, Iowa, Republicans
I didn’t get the chance to live-blog this, but I did take notes. There were some great moments. Rudy Giuliani’s slap of Romney with "sanctuary mansion" was outstanding. Mike Huckabee’s handling of the death penalty question was masterful. The complexity of his answer to the literalism of the Bible question was even better, especially if you understand the denominational-political overtones. The John McCain-Ron Paul exchange.
There were also poor moments. Romney dodged the Social Security question, "the most important question for a generation."
But, ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you don’t remember it, it cannot be turned into an ad. And the moments belong to McCain and Huckabee. I won’t bother trying to order them.
There was clearly a second tier that contained Rudy Giuliani. I don’t think that he went backwards today.
And Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney? They looked bad. Bad.
Tags: Debate, Republicans
An Iraq veteran family asks about "the rush to war in Iran." Of course, Drudge links to a story on Iran:
The way to do that is to not ratchet up the winds to war here. A lot of people voted for that … a serious, serious mistake. It convinced the rest of the Muslim war that this is a war against Islam, not a war against Iran.
Clinton:
I oppose a rush to war. Started speaking about it back in February.
Obama:
We should not take steps towards increasing troop presence in Iraq.
Richardson:
End military contractors. Reform our military.
Edwards:
This administration has done more than abuse the Patriot Act. … We are going to take the steps to restore the profiling. Stop the illegal spying in America. … Closing Gitmo. No more secret prisons. No more renditions. … No torture will be tolerated in the United States.
Richardson:
I’m the only one who has addressed immigration directly. … I am the first governor to declare a border emergency because the federal government wasn’t doing its job stopping drugs and illegal immigrants.
Social Security.
Clinton:
I am for getting back to fiscal responsibility. We have long-term challenges with social security. Now we have a crisis in Medicare. … I want to move back towards fiscal responsibility. … We have to have a bipartisan commission. … If you lift the cap completely, it is a $1t tax increase.
Obama:
Only 6% of Americans make above the cap. … This is the kind of thing that I would expect from Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani. … This is the top 6%, not the middle class.
What qualities must the appointees to SCOTUS have. Dodd:
A balanced sense of justice. Not just there as academics. Have a clear record. … Demonstrated that ability to be fair. I don’t necessarily believe in applying litmus tests. … I would not want justices to be appointed who would overturn Roe v Wade.
All would implement a pro-choice litmus, which various emphases.
Then I got bored with the questions.
Tags: Debate, Democrats, Live blogging, Nevada
They ask Clinton about illegal immigration. The question cites other candidates saying that she doesn’t answer questions.
The American people know what I have been fighting for 35 years…. Fighting for issues for women and minorities, workers and families.
They ask Obama to whip Clinton:
Senator Clinton is a great politician. … Politics of parsing. … Straight answers to touch questions. Not what we have seen from Senator Clinton: drivers licences. Two weeks to get a clear answer. … Need a different kind of politics. … They don’t feel that Washington is listening to them…. Listening to the American people to get things done.
Clinton responds:
Taking strong positions. Obama’s plan would leave 15m people out of health care. Fighting this battle against the special interests for more than 15 years… We can have more a different kin of politics, but the special interests aren’t going away. The Republicans aren’t going to stop fighting.
Obama responds:
The only difference between Senator Clinton’s plan and mine is that no one has mandated. … People would love to have health care, … but they can’t afford it. … That’s what they are looking for. That’s what they deserve.
Clinton responds:
Senator Obama’s health care plan doesn’t come everyone … children’s health care plan. … He does not mandate the kind of coverage that I do. … There’s a big difference between Senator Obama and me.
They ask Edwards to way in:
The issue is whether we have a president who can restore trust in the American people. … Senator Clinton says she will end the war. She also says that she will keep combat troops in Iraq. … On Iran, she voted with Bush and the neo-cons. … …. …. She says that she will bring change to Washington, when she will not speak against a system that is corrupt….
Clinton responds:
I respect all of my colleagues on this stage. We are all Democrats. … What I believe is important is that we put forth what we stand for. I have been active for 35 years. … When Senator Edwards ran in 2004, he wasn’t for universal heatlh care. … We need to put forth a positive agenda for America. …
They ask Biden. Not an impressive dude:
The American people don’t give a darn about what we are talking about here tonight. They worry about their children are going to run into a drug dealer tomorrow. …. mortgages, Iraq… Who among us understands how to deal with Pakistan, … Georgia, … Passing the Violence Against Women Act, Passing the crime bill.,
Next question to John Edwards about changing positions:
It is different to say two contrary things at the same time to different people. In Washington, she said she would vote for the Peruvian trade deal. In Iowa, she told a bunch of union workers that she wanted a moratorium against trade deals. …
Dodd. Surprised at just how angry Edwards is:
There is a shrillness to this debate. The American people want results… They wonder if anyone in Washington is paying attention. … If we waste time on the shrillness of this debate we lose teh American people.
I am Bill Richardson, I am the governor of New Mexico. It seems that John wants to start a class war. Barack wants to start a generational war. It seems that Senator Clinton doesn’t want to stop the Iraq war. I just want to give peace a chance …. end the war … energy independence … Let’s stop going after each other on character and trust.
Support Dem nominee. Everyone is for that? Not that loon Kucinich. Now immigration. They ask Obama:
They are justified in feeling frustrated. … The reason that Americans are feeling concerned is that they feel like their jobs are slipping away. … Will make sure that we the kind of border security we need. … Employers have more of a chance of getting hit by lightening than being investigated. … Once again be a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
"On the issue that apparently tripped up Senator Clinton … You apparently support illegal aliens getting drivers licenses." Who supports drivers licenses for illegals? "This is the kind of question that is available for a yes or no question." The question assumes comprehensive immigration reform is not possible. Obama ducks. Edwards: No. Dodd: No. Obama: Yes. Clinton: No. Richardson: Yes and I did it. Biden: No
Education. Performance pay in education. What’s wrong with that. Dodd:
Every other question depends on having the best educated generation ever.
Richardson wants a chicken in every pot. Clinton supports "school based merit pay."
They ask Biden about Pakistan:
I do not think that we should maintain the same aid we are giving. … Move from a Musharraf policy to a Pakistan policy. … Significantly increase our economic aid. …
Richardson:
I would condition the assistance to Musharraf. … Unless you restore the constitution, have elections in January, end the state of emergency, allow Bhutto to run, reinstate the supreme court, … fight the terrorists.. It is not about what Halliburton wants in Iraq. .. Our strength as a nation is about our values. …
Edwards says nothing (except nukes)
Human rights more important than national security. Richardson says yes. Obama says not incompatible. Dodd says national security. Clinton does too.
Kucinich is crazy. "Hello. Hello."
Is General Patreaus correct in talking about more security in Iraq: Richardson:
The surge is not working. … [can Richardson say the world "mental"]
Obama pledges to get combat troops out in 16 months. [but 100k troops forever]
John Edwards:
We got something we don’t need. We got NAFTA. … replace corporate republicans with corporate democrats. …
Clinton:
NAFTA did not do what many had hoped. … NAFTA was a mistake to the extent that it did not deliver what was promised. That’s why I have called for trade time out.
Dodd:
We are in a global trade environment
Obama supports Peru. Opposes CAFTA and South Korea. "Why hasn’t the United States supported the same rules as Japan." "
If you are not behaving properly … If you are not looking out for American workers.
China is supposed to look out for American workers? That is their problem?
Richardson on energy:
The future is renewable. … Turn Yucca Mountain into a national laboratory. … 30% of our electricity renewable. … American people sacrificing a little bit. [applause line]
Clinton. Piling on line.
I am not playing the gender card. I am playing the winning card. … They are not attacking me because I am a women. They are attacking me because I am ahead. … It is clear from women’s experiences that from time to time there are impediments.
Edwards:
Senator Clinton defends the system, takes money from lobbyists, etc. … But every one of us should be held to the same standard.
Tags: Debate, Democrats, Live blogging, Nevada
Well, McCain’s lines dominated the debate:
I posted my notes, and I am having trouble finding other things that struck me deeply. Giuliani did well on Hillary’s spending and teachers.
Thompson was certainly more lively, and he had a nice closing.
My hunch is that McCain wins. We’ll see what people say.
On a deeper level, McCain clearly moved the ball. Thompson clearly moved the ball. Giuliani is fine treading water. He looks like he could be President.
I think it was a bad night for Romney. And Huckabee had some cute lines, but he needed to really rock tonight to drive through his straw poll victory from the Value Voters conference. And he didn’t.
And get the rest of these guys off the stage.
Tags: Debate, McCain, Republicans
It seems that John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are on. MItt Romney is struggling (although Hugh Hewitt has probably already writing his post for Romney’s victory) and I am not inspired by Fred Thompson.
Mike Huckabee’s new Buchananite turn, which I predicted, is alarming me a lot.
It seems quite likely that the quotes of the night are going to be:
Tags: Debate, Live blogging, McCain, Republicans
They ask Romney about his liberalism and 1994. He dodges. He won’t talk about his past.
Thompson cracks jokes at Kennedy’s expense. He gets to talk about his details. Then he whacks at Rudy on abortion, immigration, and gun control.
Rudy says, "Fred has his problems too. Fred was the single biggest obstacle to tort reform in the US Senate."
They ask McCain about Romney and who is more conservative. McCain rattles off his record. "I lead. I didn’t manage for profit. I lead for patriotism."
Why is McCain wrong on "conning". Romney talks about securing his borders (huh?) and other things.
They ask McCain about Romney’s lawyers/Iran comment. "Governor Romney, you’ve spent the last year trying to fool people about your record. I don’t want you to fool them about mine."
Romney gave another non-answer.
They ask Ron Paul about gay marriage. He talks about federalism and religion. Are they teeing this up for Romney?
Yup. They want to help Romney. They ask him. Romney invokes the Catholic church and adoption. But didn’t he require the Catholic church to provide birth control and the abortion pill?
They ask Rudy why he supports gay marriage. And Rudy pushes back. He didn’t talk about kids.
They ask Thompson about lobbying for a pro-life group. He pushes back, but the delivery isn’t so hot.
They ask Tancredo about all the conservatives. "A nice think about being a book end." Then Fox cuts to him on the end… That was awesome. DId he say anything?
Now they talk to Duncan Hunter. And he hits it out of the ballpark about Democrats, Cuba, El Salvador, and Iraq. Nice.
Healthcare
Romney. Would you sign the plan that you passed? He didn’t answer the question, as usual. Why doesn’t Fox force him to answer.
Hunter pokes back at the mandates. Romney then changes the language on mandates.
Huckabee says, "we don’t have a health care system, not a health care maze. We don’t have a health care crisis. We have a health crisis." And drops his old hippies line again.
Education
Thompson on problems with NCLB. Some good lines, but … what? Need more fathers.
They ask Giuliani about the NYC schools. "There teachers … but I really care about the kids more." NICE. He repeated the line about education and choice being a civil rights issue.
Clinton
Romney and commander-in-chief. And he talks about China… Nice. He says that she’s never worked in the private sector. Wasn’t she a corporate lawyer? They re-ask the question. And Romney won’t say that she is not qualified to be CINC. He says he wouldn’t vote for her.
Rudy pokes her on phoniness on the Yankees. And the "million ideas. America can’t afford them all. … America can’t afford you!" NICE! And Rudy gets to whack Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, two or three Florida comments, and polls.
McCain. Iraq contrast.. The question is whether the war will get in the way with Hillary. McCain gives the right answer in the abstract, but would GOPers rather beat Hillary or win the war? McCain makes, perhaps, the line of the debate when talking about the Woodstock earmark with "I wasn’t there. I was tied up at the time." As a number of people are saying, this guy looks like an adult.
Huckabee on reaching out to minorities. But Huckabee wouldn’t attend the Hispanic debate. "There’s nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being President." And he talks about taxes and Islamo-fascism. And he talks about the Law of the Sea. And he’s gone south on immigration.
Thompson. Was there substance other than "Hillary bad?"
Paul. Did he just run to the left of Hillary on the war.
I will ignore whatever Thompson just said. I already don’t remember it. Giuliani just said that we need private accounts. Fine but how?
Romney does say that he won’t cut benefits for poor people. He’s running for a general… If he gets there. Nice Huckabee joke.
Paul on monetary policy as a response to social security? There’s something correct but weird.
Duncan Hunter explains how protectionism will protect us from running out of money for Social Security? This guy is a clown. I don’t even know any socialists who believe that. Fox kicks back, and Hunter continues to demonstrate his ignorance by equating trade and federal account deficits. Huh? And then Tancredo wants to solve it with illegal immigration. More clowniness.
Foreign Policy
McCain and Russia. "When I looked into Mr. Putin’s eyes, I saw three letters. A K, a G, and a B." AWESOME. And he lays most of the serious problems at Russia’s feet. The UN Security Council, Iran, etc. Good deal. China may be a threat, but Russia certainly is. And he talks about missile defense. It all happens. Duncan Hunter geeks out in response. Whatever.
Giuliani talks about expanding NATO and expanding democracy. An important discussion.
Thompson. For the first time tonight, I have really liked his answer and his style tonight when he talks about Iraq, Turkey, etc. And then I don’t remember enough about any of the statements of the other candidates on this. Nothing that interesting.
Paul. Who left the GOP? Paul argues that we need a Taftian policy. And the crowd is unhappy.
Giuliani and Iran. He says that a nuclear armed Iran is more dangerous than war with Iran. He has a nice comparison to
They rip into Thompson with a question. And he talks about his serious experience. And ends with a great line, "If a man can do all that and be lazy and do all that, I recommend it." But the follow up about the kids isn’t so strong.
Tags: Debate, Live blogging, Republicans
If the test of a debate is memorable lines or gaffes, then Mitt Romney’s line about lawyers was a big problem. Marc Ambinder has the exact quote:
"We’re going to let the lawyers sort out what he needed to do and didn’t need to do."
Dave Freddoso at NRO doesn’t buy it either. This speaks to his biggest weakness. Combine this with his line about his kids serving America. That’s a problem. At that point, Rich Lowry said, "Not very crisp. Not his greatest night."
On the other hand, Romney’s line about Fred… "Great cast and Fred Thompson comes in at the end," was quite good. As Patrick Ruffini notes, this was repeated on twitter a bunch.
If people were worried about Fred Thompson, then I think that he did pretty well. A couple of people suggested that he looked old. But the spin was, if he doesn’t fall on his face, he wins. And he didn’t. Does that mean he wins?
John McCain did pretty well. Someone is going to make fun of his squinching to hear. It is also striking that everyone is saying that McCain is right.
In the end, I would say:
No clear winner, but incremental progress for McCain and Giuliani. Thompson does what he has to. Romney struggles. Again.
Tags: Debate, Economy, Republicans
They start with Fred Thompson.
Thompson: No reason to believe in a recession. He rattles off the numbers. He cuts to long-term spending, which is right up his ally. They follow up and ask about the polling and the angst.
They switch to Romney and ask about foreclosure. 1/100-some. Romney responds. "Inexcusable that Michigan is suffering a one-state recession." Good line. Invest in technology and research. Fix schools. Etc. He gets in a great line about Granholm’s taxes.
Matthews asks Giuliani about private equity. Rudy responds that "the market is a wonderful thing." He gets his whack at Hillary. "Presidents have to work on the fundamentals." It is interesting that he throws in tort-reform as a basic economic issue.
Matthews asks Ron Paul about the Hedge Fund industry. Paul gets to talk about inflation and the working class.
Now they ask McCain about the income gaps. McCain responds about industrial jobs and health care. Whacks at S-CHIP. The smoking line doesn’t quite work though. But it does point out the absurdity of the funding mechanism for S-CHIP.
Mike Huckabee jokes that people want to spend money. He then talks up the Fair Tax. He makes a nice point about the underground economy. Then he pivots to talking about poor-people.
Duncan Hunter then makes Mike Huckabee look like a radical free-trader.
Thompson responds as a decent free-trade advocate.
Sam Brownback pledges not to raise taxes. Solid and easy. He pivots to a flat tax. Then he talks about spending. Brownback then gives a back slap to McCain. They really are buddies.
Tancredo makes the right point about earmarks and mandatory spending.
Mitt vs. Rudy on taxes.
Rudy talks about his tax cuts. 23 times and a 24% income tax cut.
Romney talks about his tax cuts and spending. And he bashes Rudy on the line-item veto.
Rudy crushes Romney on the response. Romney struggles. Rudy delivers a great line. Rudy did won that exchange.
Job losses and manufacturing.
They ask Thompson about people who lose jobs. He doesn’t say that much that is interesting.
Hunter then talks more about rules and China.
McCain talks about the new economy. "We know that the people have been left behind." He talks about the differences between health care between UAW and non-union plants. He talks about retraining. He then riffs on spending.
Trade
Romney says that he is a pro-trade guy… $9k/family richer because of trade. He talks about his business record. He reminds the business groups that he would be their tool
Giuliani. He talks up trade more. But it did duck the question about foreign ownership.
They ask everyone about a Dubai company buying part of NASDAQ. Paul yes. Huckabee dodges and talks about tariff and tax systems. McCain yes. He then sounds like an adult on trade. Romney yes. "America can compete around the world." Thompson, yes. Hunter, no. Brownback, yes. Tancredo, no.
Taxes. Thompson. AMT. He gives a good riff on taxes. Phase out AMT. Short-term is to index for inflation.
Iraq
They ask Thompson about Iraq. He says that "this is the right policy." "Not have to leave with our tail between our legs."
They ask McCain about his criticism of Bush. He would have asked people to join the military, the Peace Corps, Americorps, etc. Gives Rudy a back slap. Points out his Rumsfeld criticism.
They ask Ron Paul about "war for oil". Paul rejects that. So does Brownback. "I voted to go to war in Iraq to fight the War on Terrorism." Brownback plays up his partition plan and that meeting.
Congressional Authorization of an attack on Iran. This is a good question.
Energy and Oil Independence
Rudy gives the generic answer…
Brownback talks about "energy secure." And says we have to chase it down. "Get more electricity involved in our car fleet." Supports ANWR and Florida drilling if it is environmentally sound.
Tancredo gives the generic answer.
McCain says that the energy companies should be using their profits to invest.
Huckabee is asked about ethanol. He says that national security is a good reason to subsidize ethanol. Hmmmm. Huck then talks about renewables in general.
Thompson on ethanol. He repeats Huck.
They ask Romney about subsidizing farmers. He is for it. Of course, that’s not what he used to think. FLIP-FLOP.
How does the GOP win back the economy as an issue?
Social Security. They ask Thompson what he would do about social security. He talks about indexing to wages. He talks about accounts. And he talks about growth.
Trade. They ask Tancredo about Romney’s comment about the Bush administration trade negotiators. Tancredo says that the agreements have been lousy. I more or less agree.
Health care. Romney talks about market dynamics in health care.
Are unions good for America?
GM and Ford. McCain. McCain points out that health care is a good bunch of the problem for companies like Ford and GM. "My dear and beloved Ronald Reagan. He must be spinning in his grave." Awesome.
Chrysler. Thompson. The government shouldn’t step in. The right answer is markets. Matthews pushes back. Thompson slams him, "That’s your opinion, Chris." Nice.
Internet stuff.
Giuliani. Don’t tax the internet. Police the internet. Don’t need a new organization.
McCain. Must stop internet pornography. Go after the money.
Tags: Debate, Economy, Michigan, Republicans
My 2008 Ticker
