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.
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 Read more…
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 Read more…
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 Read more…
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 Read more…
Well, McCain’s lines dominated the debate: Putin Tied up To Romney about "fooling people about your record." "Lead" 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 Read more…
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 Read more…
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 Read more…
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 Read more…
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 Read more…