Liveblogging The Debate

by rwnadmin | October 2, 2008 8:39 am

I’m not sure whether it will be Melissa Clouthier, Katie Favazza, me, or some combination thereof liveblogging the debate, but somebody will be livebloging it tonight. So, when you turn on Sarah and Joe, head on over to RWN and join us while we follow the debate.

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/liveblogging-the-debate/


Liveblogging the Debate

by Melissa Clouthier | September 26, 2008 9:00 pm

Here we go…..

Okay weird thing, what happened to Obama’s eyebrows? He looks like he has eyebrow shadows.

Obama pins the problem on McCain. Um….

Now, why isn’t McCain bringing up his solutions?

Obama says that two years ago he warned about the problem. Really? When? I’ve seen the McCain legislation, what did Obama do?

McCain talks about holding people accountable. Obama talks about “underlying issues” and says that McCain talked about “fundamentals are good”. ARGH! McCain is sounding like a Senator and not going at Obama. What in the hell?

Obama 1 McCain 0

8:10 p.m. CST What would you do to get Washington out of this crisis?

McCain says to get spending under control. Finally!

Obama says that McCain will have tax cuts for the rich. Oh here we go “tax cuts for 95% of working families”. Obama “pays for every dime of it”–of the plans that McCain brings up that Obama wants, including health care. The tax increases will pay for his plans. But only the rich will pay.

Interesting aside. I think Obama looks angry. And McCain looks intense, but he has obviously worked very hard to not look angry.

Round 2: McCain 1 Obama 0 Score: 1 to 1

8:21 CST What are you going to have to give up to pay for the rescue?

In 10 years time, Obama’s going to make America independent. Oy vey. It sounds ridiculous on its face and he keeps saying it. Does it focus group well, because to me, it sounds simple-minded.

McCain is all about cutting spending. “It’s hard to reach across the aisle from that far to the left.” Even Obama chuckles. Good zinger, John!

John Hawkins and I are chatting and he says, and I agree, that Jim Lerher[1] is doing a great job. He has a very nice temperament to moderate.

John McCain says that he would have a spending freeze, but Obama feels that there is not enough money being spent on early childhood education. Oh for the love of all that’s good and decent. The educational system’s problem isn’t lack of money. Shizen! Are his kids in public school?

John McCain goes after energy independence.

Jim Lerher goes after both John McCain and Barack Obama’s spending plans in light of the economy. Barack Obama admits that there are “tough decisions” but he’s concerned about priorities. McCain goes after spending.

8:34 What are the lessons of Iraq?

McCain: You can’t have a failed strategy–in 2003, he went to Iraq and saw things needed to be changed. Praises Petraeus.

My brother just texted me: “Serious tired head with this debate. Lerher format blows.”

Obama: Doesn’t believe we should have been there to begin with. Snort. He called the Iraq war “a distraction”. Now he’s running down how bad the war has been. I cringe thinking about our soldiers hearing that they’ve fought a wasted war.

McCain: The next president of the United State isn’t going to have to decide whether to enter the war, it’s going to have to decide what to do now. Pow!

Why does it feel like Obama is being more assertive and McCain is being passive on the military?

Round 3: Draw. McCain 3 – Obama 3

8:45 CST More troops in Afghanistan?

Obama: Yes. More dead Americans. Why do liberals fetishize dead soldiers. It is so dang irritating. Okay. No one is saying this, but I’m going to say it. Every time Obama says “Pakeesthan” and “Taleebahn”, he sounds middle eastern. Say it like an mid-Westerner if you want to appeal to middle America.

McCain: Talking about strategies for Afghanistan.

Obama is talking right now, but I was asleep five minutes ago. He talks too much. And he talks more when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That’s a common trait–to confabulate when you don’t know what you’re saying. He’s confabulating.

Another commenter says and I agree:

Does anyone else think Obama has that same annoyed and condescending look because he has to share a stage with someone he considers his inferior that Gore had when he debated Bush? We all know how that worked out for Gore..
Posted by AlexinCT

McCain is going after Obama, whew!

Round 4: McCain 1, Obama 0 Score: McCain 4- Obama 3

8:55 CST What about Iran?

McCain: If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it is an existential threat to Israel. The Iranians are putting IEDs into Iraq. He wants economic sanctions.

Obama: He believes that the war in Iraq strengthened Iran. And notes that they are funding Hamas and Hezbollah. As if they weren’t before the Iraq war. He is going to have “tough diplomacy”. I’m laughing. He’s going to talk a crazy nutjob to death. Actually, I think he could do it. Every time he’s talking on and on I feel masochistic.

McCain is eating Obama’s lunch about meeting with dictators. This was a big, fat softball.

Obama called Iran a “rogue regime”, but that he would talk to them. And did Obama just give Bush props for sending a negotiator? Now, he’s taking it back and talking about North Korea and reversing progress.

9:10 CST Now, to Russia.

Obama: Hmmm…..won’t answer the question. Again. He talks too much. The man can’t give a short, direct answer. Now, he’s showing off his geography knowledge. Saying he wants to bring the surrounding states into NATO but doesn’t want another Cold War.

McCain: He’s going after Obama’s “naivité”. McCain looks into Putin’s eyes and sees KGB. And McCain notes that Obama’s response was to say “both sides should show restraint”–going after him for the moral equivalence thing. McCain is showing his knowledge of the international community–he says to “watch Ukraine”.

Obama is reframing his wobbliness directly after the Russian invasion. So now, Obama is trumpeting his foresight. Uh huh. He is the best 20/20 in hindsight genius I’ve ever seen. Oh my! Obama now says he’ll do clean coal and nuclear energy and the way to deal with Russia is to use alternative fuels.

9:20 CST What is the likelihood of another 9/11?

McCain says that we are safer now than we were one day after 9/11. “We have to do a better job of our human intelligence”. Strong statement against torture. America is safer than after 9/11. We are safer, but a long way to go.

Side note: McCain doesn’t look old and mean. Obama is still talking too much. The man can’t say a short sentence. Ugh.

And now, he’s saying “We have the greatest country in the world BUT there is much to be done to restore our standing”. Anytime someone follows a statement with “but” it is an indication that he doesn’t agree with the original statement.

Now, in the wrap-up, Obama is trying to link McCain with Bush. Talking about Obama. Now he’s tromping down the road to China. Obama believes that because we have focused on Iraq, we’ve ignored every other country. Now it’s off to health care–we can’t fund it because we’re spending money in Iraq. Now off to Veterans aren’t funded. Soldiers suffering with PTSD.

McCain is talking about Obama’s judgment and stubbornness to not admit that the Surge was successful. “I’ll take care of the Veterans”.

Oh sheesh, Obama brings up the origin of his last name. And Obama believes that children around the world now don’t want to come here. Is he crazy? What? They want to move to China? Venezuala? Iran? Russia? Germany? France?

McCain knows how to deal with “enemies and friends”.

Overall, I think McCain won. Obama looks angry afterward. What do you think? Who won?

Endnotes:
  1. Jim Lerher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Lehrer

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/liveblogging-the-debate/


Liveblogging The Debate

by John Hawkins | January 30, 2008 7:55 pm

Tonight, at 8 PM EST, I will be liveblogging the GOP debate. If you’re planning to tune in and watch, come on over to RWN, chat in the comments section, and refresh regularly to read the commentary.

7:59: Is there still a point to having Ron Paul participating in these debates? I mean, if you have Ron Paul, why not Alan Keyes at this point?

8:02: Mitt almost has no choice except to try to take a big chunk of McCain while McCain can simply be presidential.

8:03: The problem with these debates so far, for all the people not named John McCain, is that the only debate that made a big difference was the one where Hillary made the massive screw-up over drivers’ licenses for illegals.

8:04: Mitt: I made things better in Mass. when I was there, but it’s not my responsibility to argue on Bush’s record.

8:06: Americans are better off, but things are tough right now. Need stimulus package, need to make Bush tax cuts permanent, eliminate alternate minimum tax — I think we are better off overall, but a lot of people don’t feel better off right now because things aren’t going as well. I agree with that. McCain had a pretty good answer here.

8:07: Huck says we’re not better off than we were 8 years ago. Romney dodges it. Huck is giving the Democratic answer — wait, he’s complaining about a 5% employment rate? Really? That was considered full employment not all that long ago in this country.

8:09: Paul, we’re worse off. Okay, how long until this….I didn’t even have time to finish the sentence…until he gets in monetary policy and empire, yada, yada. Sigh. He sucks so bad.

8:10: Now Mitt gets to tear into McCain. McCain opposed to drilling in Anwr, voted twice against Bush tax cuts, authored McCain-Feingold which has been bad, pro-amnesty bill, McCain-Lieberman, US only imposed Cap and Trade program on gas. Only we do that. Endorsed by the New York Times. Excellent answer.

8:12: Geeze, McCain is tone def. He’s bragging about being endorsed by a bunch of liberal newspapers. Someone alert him that’s not a positive. Romney raised taxes 700 million, job creation was terrible, 245 million dollar debt because of a health care plan, Mitt lost lots of manufacturing jobs. McCain didn’t answer Romney’s attack effectively, but he bloodied Romney in return as well.

8:15: Mitt’s time. Oh, we actually added jobs while I was in office. I didn’t raise fees as much as you said. Mitt defends his record and most people probably have no idea whether it’s true or not. But, now the fight is over Mitt’s record, not McCain’s. McCain wins that exchange.

8:17: Huck: “I wish Rush loved me like I love Rush.” I believe in lesser government. Lower taxes, not higher. One of the things Rush once praised me for was the “tax me more fund.” Good answer, but the fact Rush ripped on him hurts.

8:19: Mitt still not good on the defensive and he has been on the defensive a lot. Long answer — most people probably zoned out during it.

8:21: McCain, do you side with Ah-nuld or with conservatives? I side with Ah-nuld because of Federalism. McCain, what if Ah-nuld and I are wrong? What does it hurt? All we’ve done is give our kids a greener world. Wrong. We’ve wasted billions of dollars and significantly damaged our country’s economy. McCain is definitely in the Gore camp on this. McCain, I would not agree to a global agreement unless China was part of it. We have to address this non-existent issue!

8:25: We all agree that America should become energy independent — I don’t. It’s simply not possible with the technology we have. What McCain is doing is a 20% utility tax, a 50 cent tax on gasoline. Then the energy plants move overseas. They don’t call it America warming, they call it global warming. Excellent answer from Romney there.

8:27: Huck, I support California on the basis of Federalism. Not much from Huck on that one.

8:28: Ron Paul’s turn. We don’t talk about property rights and that’s the problem here. Anderson rudely blows off Ron Paul.

8:29: I don’t know if Huck’s stimulus idea is a good one or not, but building a highway is certainly a legitimate use of government funds. Ooooh, Huck makes an unintentional funny there about the highway.

8:31: Investment in infrastructure is good for the country, Mitt. The Big Dig — America’s biggest carwash? Joke falls flat. Way too much talk here without anyone hitting McCain.

8:32: Ron Paul. Free up the market. Can’t expect the government to do everything. Monetary system. Empire. Geep, glorp, gloop. He’s like a broken record. 40% music, 60% annoying skips.

8:34: McCain — there are greedy people on Wall Street who need to be punished. This is pure pandering. People didn’t get fooled, they knew what they were doing. They bought houses they knew they couldn’t afford and they got burned by it. McCain repeats a bunch of conservative talking points that sound good. Ron Paul and I agree that spending is out of control.

8:36: Good question for McCain. You said the tax cuts were too skewed to the wealthy and that they weren’t paid for. So what has changed? I disagreed when spending got out of control and guess what, spending got of control. Had we done what I had wanted to do, we’d have gotten spending under control and we’d be talking about more spending.

8:38: Ronald Reagan would have said sign the tax cuts, but McCain voted against it. 60% of our spending is for entitlements and it will be 70% soon. The military is 20%. We have to deal with entitlements. We can’t fix the problem with the 20% that is left over. We have to change the deal for 20, 30, 40 year olds or we will bankrupt the country. Good answer for Mitt.

8:40: Huck dodges the anchor baby question. We need to secure the border. Fence built in 18 months. People here need to go to the back of the line and start over. Huck didn’t help himself much on this question because it left his stance on amnesty fuzzy.

8:41: Mitt, my plan is no amnesty for people who are here illegally. People who have been here 5 years, we let their kids complete the school years before you send them home. Ehr, what? How would that even work? You catch them, let them go to finish school, and you will never see them again. Mitt attacks, accurately I might add, what McCain’s Z-Visa would have done. Not a criminal, you get to stay here forever under a Z-Visa.

8:44: McCain, if your original plan came to the Senate floor, would you vote for it? McCain dodges to keep from admitting that he would. We will secure the borders first. I will have the border state governors say the borders are secure. Employers will have to hire people who are here legally. That will cause attrition by enforcement. We know now we have to secure the borders first. McCain, I will not answer how I would vote on my own bill.

8:47: Huckabee won’t even say Sandra Day O’Connor was the wrong choice? Yeesh. What happened to this guy? He used to be great in these debates.

8:49: Ron Paul, I wouldn’t have appointed Sandra Day O’Connor. Good answer, Ron.

8:49: John McCain. I am proud of O’Connor, but I would appoint people like Alito and Roberts.

8:49: Mitt: I would much rather have a justice like Alito, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas than O’Connor.

8:51: Commercial break: So far, no major blows have landed although McCain has had more of his record dragged out here than in previous debates. I hate to say it, especially since I am supporting Huck, but Huck and Paul are just wasted space in this debate so far.

8:56: Huck seems to be campaigning for veep here and Mitt hasn’t been nearly aggressive enough.

8:57: Peggy Noonan, Bush broke the Republican party. Is the GOP better off than it was 8 years ago? Mitt, no, it’s not. Not all Bush’s fault. Really Washington’s fault. Bush has kept us safe these last 6 years. I watch the Dems with horror when they say it’s more important to get out of Iraq than win. We have overspent in Washington. We did not deal with entitlements. I think No-Child Left Behind takes the ball forward. Good answer for Mitt.

9:00: McCain is lying about my setting a specific time for withdrawal. McCain is a liar. Let me make it absolutely clear, McCain is a liar, I will not pull our troops out of Iraq until we’ve gotten the job done. McCain smirks while this is going on. It was a dirty trick on McCain’s part. Lots of clapping. Good answer.

9:02: McCain, well of course he said he wanted a timetable. McCain, Mitt wouldn’t talk about the surge while I was pushing the surge. McCain is being sleazy here.

9:03: Mitt calls McCain on it. Claps. Now McCain is trying to be slippery.

9:04: Cooper reads the quote. Honestly, you CAN interpret that quote from Romney as wanting to set a secret timetable. It’s admittedly, ambiguous, but that is a fair interpretation of it. More McCain smirking. Wow, that is annoying.

9:07: Mitt on the surge — McCain smirking — Mitt is obviously royally p.o.’d about McCain dropping that secret timetable charge before Florida. Even the New York Times admits it’s a lie.

9:08: McCain, I think my interpretation was right. Also, you got a lot of nerve, Romney, using your own money to run all those sleazy negative ads.

9:10: Ron Paul, we shouldn’t have even gone into Iraq. Empire! Wait, I have forgotten what question they asked the guy. Does it have anything to do with whatever he’s is talking about? I think. There were Al-Qaeda there, Ron. They did commit aggression. It wasn’t unconstitutional.

9:11: Mike, I didn’t come here to umpire a ballgame between these two guys. We need to leave with honor and victory. If we leave a bigger mess in Iraq, it will erupt and give Al-Qaeda and Iran to take advantage of the situation. We can’t leave it vulnerable in Iraq and we’ll have to come back. Really good answer from Huckabee.

9:13: McCain, it’s a false argument. It’s American casualties, not American presence. Spot-on. We’re not talking about timetables, we’re talking about winning. Americans will come home with honor. Good answer from McCain.

9:15: Huckabee on Putin. People’s eyes can lie, but their actions don’t. — Wait, was that Alan Keyes in the audience? Back to Huckabee. We need enough troop strength.

9:17: Putin is a bad guy. There are 4 types of strategies in play. People using energy resources. People using Communism and wild-west capitalism. Then there’s Al-Qaeda, and then there’s us. That’s actually an interesting way of looking at it. Good answer.

9:18: McCain, what makes you more capable than Mitt to run the economy? Leadership, vision, and then McCain goes into his stump speech. Foreign policy, I was a POW, I was in the military, That’s a little too try hard — everyone knows he was a soldier…he should be getting into fiscal conservatism here soon…he didn’t? Odd. Not a great answer.

9:20: Mitt, he’s a fine man, but I am a better economic leader. I am not a senator. I spent 25 years in the private sector. I turned the Olympics around. I went on to become a governor. Good answer.

9:23: Mitt, why are you a better commander-in-chief? I don’t think you have to serve to be a great foreign policy leader. I can bring in the perspectives of the entire world. Abe Lincoln wasn’t a military expert. Eh…he didn’t make a good case.

9:24: John McCain. Mitt sometimes made people lose their jobs — he’s like your boss! Blah! That was really hamhanded. I am ready to step in and lead. Look at all these people who support me.

9:25: Paul, why would you be the man to run the economy or foreign policy. Paul, it’s not the job of the President to run the economy. True, but he’s not making a case for himself. We can’t print the money out of thin air! Commander-in-Chief — wise foreign policy, not be involved in so many things. Humble foreign policy, not policeman of the world. Last part of the answer was coherent, not terrible.

9:30: Would Reagan endorse you, Mitt? He would. Ronald Reagan and I are practically twins and we would agree on every issue. Getting lots of issues out here at least.

9:31: Ronald Reagan would not approve of someone who changes his position depending on what the year is. Reagan was a man of principles and so he would endorse me. Of course, they’re very different principles.

9:32: I supported Reagan in 1976 and 1980. Reagan campaigned for me in 1978 and I don’t know what he would do, but he was very sympathetic to the gold standard. That would be the key issue.

9:33: It would be presumptive to assume what Ronald Reagan would be. I don’t know if he’d endorse me, but I endorse him. Reagan wasn’t just about policies, it was that he saw this as a great country and he loved this country. Great answer from Huckabee.

Summary: CNN did a decent job. They brought out more of McCain’s record than the other debates did, asked some tough questions, and overall, I have no complaints.

Loser (Ron Paul): Same as always. 40% good stuff, 60% incoherent babbling about monetary policy, empire, yada, yada, yada.

Mike Huckabee: Awful in the first half of the debate, but he improved a lot in the second half of the debate and finished strong. He was hurt a bit by not getting as much time as McCain and Romney.

John McCain: Romney definitely scored some points against him and McCain slipped into his canned speech a bit too much. There was a lot of smirking, too, which was really annoying. In my opinion, this was a weak performance for McCain, but I think he was just trying to play it safe and ride out the momentum of his Super Tuesday win.

Mitt Romney (Winner): This is Mitt’s 2nd strong performance in a row. He defeated McCain pretty handily in this debate by pointing out some of McCain’s weaknesses and highlighting his own strengths. On the other hand, although Mitt won, I don’t think McCain was damaged enough to hurt him badly on Super Tuesday. So, a win? Yes. A difference-making win? Probably not.

PS: If you watched the debate, let me know who you think won in the poll below,

Who won the debate?
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/liveblogging-the-debate/


Liveblogging The Debate

by John Hawkins | January 10, 2008 8:54 pm

Tonight at 9 PM EST, I’m going to be liveblogging the GOP debate out of South Carolina. I had considered actually foregoing the liveblogging and attending in person, but I figured it would be a madhouse and that I’d get more traffic out of liveblogging than actually attending and taking pictures. So, liveblogging it is: Tonight, 9 PM EST, make sure to tune in and refresh RWN while you watch the debate.

Update #1: Whoops! Originally in this post, I said the debated started at 8 PM EST. It’s actually 9 PM EST.

8:54: Ok, almost time to rock and roll.

8:59: It goes without saying that this is a huge debate and don’t be surprised if everyone takes shots at McCain, who is now poised to blow the race wide open. The latest polls in Michigan AND South Carolina have him ahead. If he wins both of those states, he probably wins Florida and then sweeps through Super Tuesday like plague wasting everything in his path and cruising to victory.

9:03: Oh boy! Ron Paul is in this one. That’s just what we needed: a little more crazy.

9:05: Decent answer from Mitt. Not spectacular, but solid.

9:06: Ugh. I am not picking on McCain here, but the camera is putting a horrible angle on McCain’s neck — it’s not looking pretty.

9:08: McCain emphasizing his fiscal conservative credentials, which is good. Lot of canned lines.

9:10: Everybody talks energy independence. Technologically, there is nothing on the horizon that will allow that to happen anytime soon. Maybe a miracle will happen, but what it will be, I don’t know and neither do they.

9:11: Ok answer from Huckabee. Nothing that blew me away.

9:11: Way to explain the Laffer Curve, Rudy! Also, I like the mention of the Club for Growth. A NYC mention, 2 Reagan mentions in this answer. No 9/11 mention though. Still, I like Rudy’s answer.

9:13: Oh, now McCain wants to make the tax cuts permanent. He voted against them originally. Now, he’s invoking Reagan — he’s no Reagan Republican. I will give him credit though, McCain has solid credentials on fiscal conservatism.

9:15: Recession, depression, what? We’re delaying the recession. The Housing market is in depression. He sounds like he’s trying to say 8 things at once. That’s one of the problems with Paul: he can’t explain anything.

9:18: Fred’s a little perkier than he was this week-end. Decent answer from Fred, but he looked at his notes a touch too much and got a little into the weeds, a little too deep for the audience I think.

9:19: Good question to Huckabee. Huck is really working to get all the conservative talking points in. Get job there. I kind of like his answer.

9:20: They’re handing McCain a chance to beat up on Huckabee. He’s going back to fiscal conservatism and the Bridge to Nowhere. Nice…ugh, now he’s getting into climate change. All in all, still a strong answer from McCain. When he’s off immigration and isn’t being thin skinned, he’s a lot better at these debates than people generally give credit for.

9:22: Mitt gave a decent answer, but didn’t give a laundry list of his positions like Huck and McCain.

9:25: Fred is going for Huck’s throat and he got a huge round of applause for it. Bravo, that was the first really good answer of the night. Outstanding.

9:26: Huck got a laugh on his reply, which is nice, but didn’t respond to most of what Fred said. …ooooh, a lot of things. The CFG would be against Reagan? Huck got a round of applause, but Fred scored on him with that exchange.

9:28: The The Sundries Shack[1] is also liveblogging.

9:29: Rudy a conservative? Please. It’s embarrassing for him to even claim that. Still, Rudy is doing a decent job of emphasizing his strengths although I see no evidence he can compete in those blue states.

9:30: Ok, I can’t complain about Ron Paul’s answer. He asked them to please stop the Truther stuff and that he doesn’t believe it. Ha! They cut to Mitt and he was looking at Ron Paul like something he scraped off of his shoe.

9:35: Did the commanders in Iran make the right call? Huckabee, they aim at us and they’re going to the gates of Hell. W00t! Liked it! Hume’s question is kind of ridiculous. He keeps inviting Huckabee to 2nd guess the people in the field. Of course he shouldn’t do that.

9:37: Fred, agreed with Huck. They almost got to meet those virgins. Funny applause line. Heh. Fred is on fire so far.

9:38: Rudy: Be cautious about Iran. Okay answer.

9:39: Brit Hume keeps trying to get these guys to double guess our troops in the field. Come on, Brit, this is the sort of dumb question I’d expect from one of the lesser networks. McCain, be cautious about the Iranians. Okay answer.

9:41: Ron Paul — We’re not cautious enough? Gulf of Tonkin? What? No one advocated attacking them. What the hell is Paul talking about? He sounds like an idiot.

9:42: Brit Hume — Your answer makes no sense. Ron Paul had an Admiral Stockdale moment. He can’t hear them. Everyone is laughing at Paul. Does he even know what’s going on up there?

9:43: Mitt scores an easy hit on Paul.

9:45: Good answer from McCain on the surge. He is always really good on foreign policy and this is no exception. McCain gives a nod to Petraeus. Applause line. Our troops will come home with honor. Good answer. McCain has benefitted by the focus on foreign policy in this debate so far.

9:49: Rudy, hey I supported the surge, too. Pretty much everyone on the stage except for Ron Paul did.

9:49: I can’t disagree with Paul on the Israeli/Palestinian question. We’re not fixing anything over there. It has been going on forever and we’re no closer to fixing it than we were 50 years ago. Incidentally, that was the only good answer Ron Paul has ever given.

9:51: John McCain mocks Ron Paul with a funny line about trading with Al-Qaeda.

9:51: Now Ron Paul is back in rant mode.

9:52: John McCain. It’s American casualties that matter, not the time we’re there. True.

9:53: Fred Thompson? Go against a poll? My goodness. Then a shot at the New York Times. Fred is rocking this debate tonight.

9:56: Mitt’s answers tonight have not been bad, but he comes off a little light compared to Thompson, McCain, and Giuliani on foreign policy and the whole debate has been about foreign policy.

9:58: Speaking of “light” on foreign policy, Huck is weak, too. I do agree with him that we should defend Israel and think it was smart for Huck to hit Paul on that and score some points. Still, I agree with Paul that we should get out of the peace making business between the Israelis and Palestinians. Wow, did Ron Paul give another pretty good answer? Twice in one debate? Has that ever happened before?

10:00: I can’t agree with Rudy because Israel is a step child of ours in a lot of ways. We make them do all sorts of stupid things.

10:02: Fred took another chunk out of Huckabee. He made him look kind of Mickey Mouse there on Pakistan.

10:05: Funny answer from Mitt there. Voters want change, not experience. Also, Mitt is getting back to domestic policy away from foreign policy. Emphasized his resume, talked issues. This is Mitt’s best answer of the night.

10:07: McCain is going back to the surge and spending. That’s probably because he really doesn’t have much going for him besides that. I’m scared of having McCain change things and a lot of the changes he made as a senator were for the worse.

10:09: The schools in Arkansas went from 49th to 9th? That is pretty good. Still, he didn’t take on the big government Republican charge, which is what he should have hit head on. They really did him a favor by asking him that.

10:12: Fred is just beating Huckabee to death tonight. He has done everything but whip out a cane and just thrash him. D*mn, Fred is good tonight.

10:15: Rudy got in the funny little lines about change, but he’s now repeating the same old things again. Truth is, Rudy does have a weak record on foreign policy.

10:16: Now McCain is back to foreign policy again, which benefits him. Fox has really structured this debate to help McCain out, if you ask me.

10:19: A wife must submit to her husband? Mike Huckabee with a funny answer on religion. It is true. Very funny. Brilliant answer. Mike on marriage, Mike sticking up for God, Mike being funny. Huck turned this into a towering home run.

10:20: Ron Paul is unelectable because he’s a kook who appeals to other kooks. Who listens to this crap and goes: “Yeah, he sounds a little crazy and shrill and has tons of ridiculous positions, but he says constitution and small government in every 3rd or 4th sentence, so I love him!”

10:24: Immigration, finally. I have never seen any evidence that John McCain knows how to secure the borders or intends to do so. So, amnesty for 10 million if John McCain is President.

10:26: Tell ’em, Mitt! No special pathway or privilege to stay in this country for illegals. Get in line with everybody else! Good answer, Mitt.

10:27: High fences, wide gates and we decide when to open and close the gates. Good answer from Fred. We will have enforcement by attrition! Bam. We have to be worried about another 12 million people. Bam! I disagree with Huckabee who wants tuition for illegals. Very good answer for Fred.

10:29: Ron Paul, if you subsidize something, you get more of it. Bingo, Ron. Welfarism is a problem. Naturally, he had to spoil it by getting into Iraq.

10:31: Huck is right. Hispanics are not all pro-illegal immigration. The government didn’t round up the illegals to bring them here, we don’t need to round them up to send them home. I like Huck’s language on this. People should be here legally so they can hold their heads up.

10:33: Rudy is back on the defensive on illegal immigration and sounds canned again. Also, no one is going to believe he is the best guy to end illegal immigration.

10:34: Wasn’t this debate supposed to be over 5 minutes ago? Oh, there we go.

Summary: If you ask me, Fox really structured this debate to help John McCain. He really didn’t get a lot of tough questions while Huckabee did. They spent a lot of time on foreign policy, they didn’t hit McCain on the vast number of issues where he differs from the conservative orthodoxy.

PS: This was the most energetic and watchable debate that has occurred in quite a while.

6) Ron Paul (Loser): In my opinion, this was Ron Paul’s best debate ever and yet, he’s still in the bottom slot.

5) Mike Huckabee: Mike had a nice moment or two, but Fred Thompson beat him half to death tonight.

4) Rudy Giuliani: Rudy did a little better than in the last two debates, but was still a little canned and was tough on illegal immigration.

3) Mitt Romney: Mitt was good tonight, but McCain was very good on foreign policy while Mitt is just so-so — and they spent a lot of time on foreign policy.

2) John McCain: It was very tight between Mitt and McCain, but McCain benefitted from all the foreign policy questions.

1) Fred Thompson (Big Winner): He was energized, funny, gave good answers and just tore Mike Huckabee up. This may have been Fred’s best debate yet.

Who do you think won the debate?
Rudy Giuliani
Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Fred Thompson
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Who do you think lost the debate?
Rudy Giuliani
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Fred Thompson
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com


Endnotes:
  1. The Sundries Shack: http://www.sundriesshack.com/?p=3893

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/liveblogging-the-debate/


Liveblogging the Debate

by John Hawkins | December 12, 2007 2:00 pm

I’ll be liveblogging today’s debate starting at 2 PM EST. You can watch the debate on Fox and you should check it out if you have the opportunity because this will be the last one before the Iowa primary.

2:01: A debate run by the Des Moines register. Isn’t it almost a given that it will be better and more professional than the last debate run by CNN?

2:03: Alan Keyes is participating in this debate, which should be an experience. He’s an excellent speaker (I have seen him talk in person, way back in the day), but his style tends to be over-the-top for something like this.

2:04: Everybody gets to talk fiscal conservatism here, which they’ll love.

2:05: Rudy’s answer wasn’t splashy, but was pretty decent except for the fact that he didn’t mention entitlements, which are the real killer.

2:06: This should be Ron Paul’s time to shine if he can restrain himself from getting into other areas. Good answer from Ron, which is something I rarely say.

2:07: Tanc’s answer was sort of so-so.

2:08: Fred hit entitlements. Nice, but not splashy.

2:09: Being able to watch the focus group numbers while they talk is pretty neat. I like that feature, which I’m getting on Fox.

2:09: Decent answer from Mitt.

2:10: Huckabee’s answer is mildly disturbing because it suggests he wants to make us self-sufficient.

2:10: McCain will make us oil independent in 5 years? That’s complete and utter bunk.

2:11: Keyes toned down a bit. Ok. Answer.

2:12: 10% cuts across the board except for the military. I love it, Rudy. Good answer from Rudy.

2:13: Ron Paul says it’s unnecesary to sacrifice to balance the budget? Please. And the foreign empire crack? Ugh.

2:14: It really isn’t the business of the federal government to nag people to be healthy. Two weak answers in a row from Huckabee.

2:15: Mitt’s answer isn’t as meaty as I’d like, but he sounds good tonight so far. Nice energy.

2:16: Saying “Follow the Constitution” sounds good, but how do you implement that when much of the other politicians and the people want them anyway. Social Security and Medicare are great examples.

2:18: Fred is so right about Social Security and Medicare. I like his answer. Bam. No, Warren Buffet, we can’t take care of their Medicare.

2:18: Now, we give the candidates a chance to lie about the poor and middle class being overtaxed as compared to the rich.

2:19: Alan got a little off the beaten track there.

2:20: McCain, good answer.

2:20: Fair tax, which Huckabee is relentlessly flogging, is unpassable. So, why talk it up so much?

2:20 Mitt gives the politically correct answer.

2:21: Fred gets the first funny line of the debate off tonight. He’s doing really well.

2:21: Wow, this is a machine-gun-fast debate. It’s issues, issues, issues, and fast. Much better run than CNN.

2:21: Tanc and Paul’s answers were weak.

2:22: Good answer from Duncan, who talked about flattening the code in addition to the fair tax. I favor flattening the code.

2:23: Rudy, pretty good answer, too.

2:23: Wow, they’re letting them make a pitch? That’s a nice feature, too.

2:23: McCain’s statement sounded ok, left me a little cold.

2:24: Duncan’s statement sounded really good.

2:25: Weak answer from Ron Paul.

2:25: Mitt is wise to emphasize his time in the private sector. Makes him sound good. Re-negotiate China trade deal. Good deal. America can compete anywhere and we must to remain a super power. Good answer from Mitt.

2:26: Too much litigation from Huckabee. So true.

2:27: McCain is a huge free trader who wants to open markets. Good answer.

2:28: NAFTA from Rudy. Rudy loves and defends it. Good. We do want to embrace a global market. How much can we sell to these people as they come out of poverty? Very good answer from Rudy.

2:29: Fred Thompson: Mexico better think about criticizing us when they realize how good NAFTA has been for them. Too many people close their markets to us. We can’t stand for that. Really good answer.

2:30: Tanc. NAFTA sux0rs. Don’t agree.

2:30: I love Duncan, but this is the one area where we disagree the most, although he is right about our not working hard enough to get good business deals.

2:31: Ron Paul is screwing this up. He should be talking resume instead of going on another rant. I am Ron Paul, a former doctor and I served in the military, yada, yada. He wasted his opportunity.

2:32: Fred is looking fired up tonight. I guess he figures it’s now or never.

2:32: Fred ain’t doing any hand shows. Fred isn’t answering without giving details. I love it. That’s his second good moment of the debate.

2:33: McCain is a little scary on this issue. He’s an alarmist. His answer is lame. We’ll spend billions and kill jobs with new regulations and it won’t hurt anything. Right.

2:34: Giuliani wants energy independence? We’re not nearly close to being able to do it.

2:35: Mitt doesn’t want to buy oil from foreigners. Makes sense, hard to do. Let’s not put a burden on us alone! Good answer from Mitt.

2:36: What is Alan talking about? Total dodge and totally off topic. He is bombing. No wonder he got killed by Barack Obama in his election.

2:36: Fred gets off a funny response at Keyes’ expense.

2:37: Who said, “Doctor Heal Thyself?” Funny.

2:37: Huckabee is another global warming alarmist. Spend lots of money, create lots of regulations, and there’s nothing for us to lose! Wrong.

2:38 Rankings so far.

Thompson
Romney
Giuliani
McCain
Hunter
Tancredo
Huckabee
Paul
Keyes

2:39: The government knows the right amount of mandate to impose on the country. He trusts the market more than he trusts the government. Good answer from Tanc.

2:40: You can tell that Tanc isn’t a serious candidate because 7 of the 9 candidates now basically have the same position as he does, and yet it’s still the primary focus of his campaign.

2:41: Huckabee’s answer is a little flat.

2:42: This debate is so fast and well organized compared to the others that it’s difficult to liveblog. The answers are so quick, just machine-gun style, that you don’t have time to write much.

2:43: McCain gave a decent answer on education.

2:43: Giuliani wants to empower parents on education. I love that. Higher education is best in the world because it’s based on choice. Really good answer for Rudy.

2:44: Duncan’s answer is a little too detailed. There are only so many wonderful teachers.

2:45: Mitt — the President was right to fight for No Child Left Behind. Our kids need to speak English. We give out degrees. Higher pay for good teachers. If he means merit pay, I am with him. We rocked in my state on education. Really good answer.

2:47: Huckabee has been really flat today — maybe because it’s so fast and the format is tough on him.

2:48: Ok, we really, really need art in schools. Ehr…OK.

2:48: I bet they’re wishing they didn’t invite Alan Keyes tonight after that dumb display. Ugh. What a clown.

2:50: The good news for Ron Paul tonight: he won’t be giving the worst performance for once.

2:51: Ok, tax credits for teachers, encourage private school, home schooling. Good answer on education.

2:51: Bam! Fred slaps the teacher’s union! Rock on! They bring in millions to fight choice. Inner city people need a chance to have choice. Let’s give choice to everyone. Another really good answer.

2:52: Tanc talks about cutting staff, which is good, and slaps Huckabee hard at the end. Pretty good.

2:54: The 2nd most important job of the President is to be the Communicator and Chief? Ehr…

2:55: Mitt is sounding great on education today. This is a good debate for him.

2:55: Rudy, major tax reduction, protect from terrorism, end illegal immigration, work towards energy independence. Off the charts on the Fred Luntz focus group data.

2:57: Duncan. Strengthen the border, build the military, bring back the industrial base of the US.

2:57: End the war, become diplomatically credible, no threatening people — everyone hates this answer, me included.

2:58: Tanc — free Ramos and compean. Illegal immigration. War against radical Islam. He will lead in that clash. Good answer for Tanc.

2:59: Judges can’t set our social policy. Not bad answer from Fred, but he didn’t do action items.

3:00: Mitt — strong answer.

3:01: The first priority of the next president, according to Huckabee, is to bring everyone together. I don’t know. We do need to cooperate more, but very so-so answer.

3:01: McCain — fix spending, fix borders, fix Medicare and Social Security. Restore confidence. So-so answer by McCain, too.

3:02: Alan Keyes, fair tax, abolish the income tax, national border guard. Weird speaking style. He’s such a waste of time.

3:04: Mitt didn’t do much with his time. Neither did Keyes for that matter, but that’s to be expected.

3:05: Rudy is for bold leadership. He’s optimistic. He was Mayor of New York. Ok, eh…So-So.

3:06: Video interviews? This is a little different.

3:07: Now, they’re going for the jugular. Rudy, I didn’t do anything wrong when we ferried my mistress around! They all knew I had a mistress! Ugh. It’s all old news (Sounds like the Clintons).

3:09: Alan Keyes is taking a shot at Romney & Giuliani? That’s too funny. Like if he can get them out of the way, the nomination is his for the taking.

3:10: Mitt, I am now pro-life! What about your immigration flip-flop, Mitt?

3:11: Rudy’s pro-abortion and it’s a position of conscience for him. Ugh!

3:12: Fred’s answer on the NIE is a little better than so-so.

3:12: Back to videos. I wonder if the candidates knew which ones would be used or if they just clipped something out of a long discussion.

3:13: Oh boy, now we’re getting Pastor Mike again and he didn’t really answer the question. He hasn’t completely crashed and burned, but he hasn’t done very well.

3:15: Mitt, we’ve got to pull together the whole coalition. Social, fiscal, and foreign policy. I want them all. Good answer.

3:16: Duncan — we’re got to be social conservatives and fiscal conservatives. The person they need to ask this to is Rudy Giuliani. Oh — and Mitt’s company is doing business with Saddam and the Taliban. Shot at Mitt. Sort of a surprise there.

3:19: 5 sentences on Iraq on Tanc’s website? Ouch! Iraq is a battle in the war on terrorism, but it’s a hell of an important battle.

3:19: Did someone use the words Ron Paul and political reality in the same sentence? Isn’t there a law against that or something? Awful answer from Paul.

3:20: Give us an example of when you compromised on your ideals! I’ve never done that. Piffle. Anyone in the Senate has done that. Lame question, by the way. John, you are soooooo principled — has that been problematic for you — basically.

3:22: A New Year’s Resolutions for your opponent. Good question, but no one is taking the bait — until Tanc. Who basically got cut off and lost his train of thought. They were smart not to get into a bash fest.

Summary: This was a very well run, very serious debate. CNN should ask these people how to run a debate.

Winner: Fred Thompson. Good substance, good personality, and his “I won’t raise my hand for an answer” question reminded me of Reagan saying, “I paid for this microphone.” Fred definitely won.

Top Tier Loser: Mike Huckabee. The fast format appeared to take him off of his game. He was very flat.

Rankings from bottom to top.

Alan Keyes: Came off as mildly nuts.
Ron Paul: Probably happy Keyes was there to make him look more reasonable.
Mike Huckabee: Very flat.
Duncan Hunter: He did Ok.
Tom Tancredo: He gets better every debate.
John McCain: Very average performance from a guy who usually does better.
Rudy Giuliani: Solid, but not spectacular.
Mitt Romney: He got back on his game without the frequent attacks.
Fred Thompson: His best performance yet.

Update #1:

Who do you think won the debate?
Alan Keyes
Duncan Hunter
Fred Thompson
John McCain
Mike Huckabee
Mitt Romney
Rudy Giuliani
Tom Tancredo
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Who lost the debate?
Alan Keyes
Duncan Hunter
Fred Thompson
John McCain
Mike Huckabee
Mitt Romney
Ron Paul
Rudy Giuliani
Tom Tancredo
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Update #2: My favorite moment of the entire debate.

Update #3: Whoops! The polls were accidentally deleted from the front page for a while there. Sorry ’bout that.

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/liveblogging-the-debate/


Liveblogging The Debate

by John Hawkins | June 5, 2007 2:30 pm

Tonight at 7PM EST, I will begin liveblogging the Republican debate. If you’re going to be watching the debate and online, make sure to tune in and refresh regularly to see new comments.

7:01: Here we go!

7:03: Funny –Tommy Thompson line about not being Fred Thompson — not that funny, but funny.

7:04: Huckabee got the best line off although Duncan did a good job of getting his big issues in.

7:07: Good answer from Rudy on Iraq and security.

7:08: How do you make a 3 state solution in Iraq when the Iraqis aren’t in a 3 neat block? It won’t work.

7:11: It is America’s war, not just Bush’s war. Also, it isn’t whether Petraeus says significant progress has happened, it’s whether he says that it can work. If he says there’s no hope, we should probably pull out. If he says that it will work, but hasn’t yet, we should stay in there until it does.

7:13: I like Thompson’s idea about having them vote on whether they want us to stay.

7:14: Ron Paul — Surrender! Surrender! Surrender!

7:16: I don’t agree with Tanc’s stance, but I at least respect the fact that he says he hopes it works. That’s more than the Democrats do.

7:18 I love Duncan’s answer on Iran. He would stop the Iranians from getting nukes, no matter what it takes, even if he had no other choice but to use tactical nukes.

7:20: I gotta give Rudy his due — he’s great when it comes to talking about the war on terror. I wish W. could talk about the war that way.

7:22: I love the fact that every guy they’ve asked has had the guts to say, “Yes, we’re not taking any options off the table, including tactical nukes, and we will stop Iran from getting nukes.”

7:23: Now it’s Tanc’s time to shine on illegal immigration. We are testing our ability to hang on to the English language. Heavy applause.

7:26: Rudy is so-so on this, probably because he’s a comprehensive immigration guy.

7:27: Every illegal alien, almost everyone, gets to stay here.” Right, it’s not fair. The Z visa stinks.” Applause.

7:28: McCain agreed with Gregg that Tanc is a know-nothing? Rude. Does anyone have a better idea — hands going up everywhere. Hahahaha! People applauded McCain for that crap? They must have some libs in there.

7:30: Mitt: Enforce the laws! Applause.

7:31: This is a disastrous bill. Where are our 854 miles of fence? They’ve done 11 miles. They have a case of the slows (He used that line last debate). Heavy applause. Good answer for Dunc.

7:33: No new paths to citizenship — but Brownback supports the bill? That doesn’t make any sense. Boooooooooooo!

7:34: If you subsidize illegal immigration, you get more of it. Wow, good answer from Ron Paul for once or…wait…a free market economy. Is he saying we should have open borders? What?

7:35: McCain opposes having English as a national language. Big surprise there — 2 million of 12 million have committed serious crimes? So, according to McCain, 1 in 6 illegals is a criminal and we’re going to give them Z visas?

7:39: Tommy Thompson says “Jump in, Fred, the water’s warm.” Better answer than Gilmore at least.

7:40: Now that was funny — and it got them off of the Pontius Pilot comparison, which, if you ask me, is pretty accurate.

7:42: Huckabee is giving a good answer on evolution. He did a magnificent job of spin on this issue by turning it around and talking about his faith.

7:48: It’s refreshing to hear these candidates talking about their faith so openly, honestly, and sincerely. The Democrats always sound so phony when they talk about these issues.

7:49: I thought there were some liberals that snuck in, but they’re obviously Ron Paul fans because they clap for everything he says, no matter how blase it is.

7:51: Romney is for energy independence. Reducing energy dependence is a good idea, but energy independence isn’t feasible with the technology we have or probably even with the technology that is around the corner.

7:54: Well, maybe not on the Ron Paul fans. They didn’t clap for that answer about the Middle-East.

7:55: Geeze — how many questions are they going to ask Paul? Wait, they applauded again. Yeah, they’re Paul fans….again, pretty blase answer and applause.

7:57: Rudy, I don’t think we should raise this issue. That’s sort of a dodge.

7:58: Boy, Mitt is even flip flopping on gays in the military.

8:00: All Republicans support don’t ask, don’t tell.

8:00: Tommy Thompson, no George Bush at the UN. Good answer. But, what would they use him for? Public service? How about he goes home and retires.

8:02: Great answer, Sam. One President at a time. Clinton should stay out of the limelight.

8:02: Tanc — I would have to tell George Bush, don’t darken the door of the White House again. Applause for that. Can’t disagree.

8:03: Huckabee: We deserved to get beat in 2006. Yes, we did.

8:04: Duncan Hunter. I would pardon Compean and Ramos. We gotta bring back Reagan Democrats to this party. Good trade bill. Build jobs. Good answer again.

8:06: It really is too early to ask whether Scooter should be pardoned. The appeal isn’t even done.

8:07: Tommy Thompson — great comparison between Bill Clinton and Scooter Libby.

8:12: Hopefully, the audience questions part of the debate will be better than the Democrat debate which became brutally dull once we got to this point.

8:15: This is a good question for Duncan because of his son Duncan D.’s service over there and, yes, it was worth it. What we need to do is stand up the Iraqi army. He hammers this point every chance he gets.

8:17: Brownback needs to realize that splitting Kurds, Shias, and Sunnis in Iraq would be like splitting California into 3 different states of conservatives, liberals, and moderates. They’re mixed in everywhere. You just can’t neatly partition them into 3 states.

8:19: Ron Paul on Iraq — run, run, run! Let the whole thing blow up! Not our problem. Typical big “L” Libertarian who only thinks in terms on theory and can’t cut it in the real world.

8:23: Rudy is just better than any of the other candidates when it comes to talking about war on terrorism issues and he proved it again on that issue.

8:26: I am a big fan of health savings accounts and Rudy is right about socialized medicine would ruin our health care.

8:28: Duncan wants to let people buy health insurance across state lines. I am a big fan of that, too.

8:29: Tommy Thompson: I get suspicious about people talking about “wellness” systems. It sounds good, but it never works. Thompson sounded forceful, but I am not sure I buy what he’s saying.

8:32: Mitt should kill this question. Anything the government takes over gets better, not worse. Mitt is all platitudes. He should get more in depth on what he actually did. He’s off his game in this debate.

8:33: I am not sold on Huckabee as a candidate, but he oozes charisma. Huckabee sounds like a good preacher when it comes to life, but I am not sure he really said anything of substance.

8:36: The most pressing moral issue to Ron Paul is pre-emptive war, which is unique. Really? He doesn’t know much about American history, does he?

8:37: Sam Brownback is strong on pro-life issues and I appreciate that — and he’s right that we are a party of principle. He hit Rudy hard there and I think he scored points.

8:39: Mitt flip flopping again. How can you believe someone who says English should be our national language when they’re putting lots of things out in Spanish? Answer — you can’t.

8:41: Tanc: No, I would not advertise in Spanish. The English language is the glue that holds us together. Bilingual countries don’t work. We shouldn’t be ashamed that English is our language. Applause.

8:42: Geeze, McCain is cranky and irritating. Oh, this is insulting. You bigots need to look at the Vietnam memorial to see the Hispanic names so you people will learn not to hate Hispanics. Ugh!

8:46: Brownback will end deaths by cancer in 10 years? Really? Seems kind of unlikely to me.

8:47: Great answer from Tommy Thompson on spending.

8:47: Tanc nailed it on Bush. He ran as a conservative and governed as a liberal.

8:48: Gilmore — we’re a party of principle and we’re not acting on it. Immigration and spending are killing us. Good answer.

8:48: Huckabee: “A tax system that literally steps on their heads.” Literally?

8:50: Tanc is right that we’re not assimilating people and he’s right that we shouldn’t have to press 1 for Spanish and 2 for English. That is a sign that people are not assimilating.

8:53: McCain — no barriers and fences? Yeah, believe that guy wants to stop illegal immigration.

8:55: Woah, Duncan is roughing up McCain, Romney, and Rudy. Great line about Ted Kennedy. That’s usually not his style, but it worked.

Summary: As per usual, I will not include Duncan Hunter in my analysis because I consult for him, beyond saying that I was very happy with his performance.

Winner: Rudy, because he’s just magnificent when it comes to the war on terror.

Loser: McCain, who came off as cranky, mean spirited, championed a wildly unpopular bill, and because he essentially accused everyone who opposed it of being a racist (Go look at the Vietnam Memorial and you’ll see the Hispanic names on there: Translation: You bigots need to learn that Hispanics are good people).

Other thoughts: Tanc was very passionate and did pretty well, but he stepped in it a bit on his big slow down of legal immigration. That’s a position that most Americans support, but most Republicans won’t cop to it and since we can’t even seem to slow illegal immigration, I can’t imagine how we could possibly slow legal immigration even if it is a good idea[1].

Huckabee and Brownback are competing for the same social conservative demographic, but Huckabee is so much more charismatic than Brownback, it’s not a fair fight. On the other hand, Huckabee really doesn’t have much to offer beyond charisma, but the likability factor is big.

Romney was really off his game tonight. Paul was sort of cranky and off kilter, as per usual. Thompson had a few flashes, but he just doesn’t have it.

Nobody else made much of an impression, positive or negative.

Endnotes:
  1. good idea: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/mt331/2007/06/on_legal_immigration.php

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/liveblogging-the-debate/


Liveblogging The Debate

by John Hawkins | September 30, 2004 9:11 pm

* So far Leher asks a question, Kerry ignores it and explains why Bush sucks or Bush ignores it and talks about his accomplishments. Blah!

* Did Bush just say ‘vociferously’ or ‘fociferously’?

* Ooh, Bush is playing dirty now in the Democrat’s eyes — he’s actually quoting Kerry when he was in one of his pro-war phrases =D

* The dog had to pee and when I came back, Bush was quoting the “wrong war, wrong time, wrong place” quote. I hope Bush keeps quoting Kerry’s flip-flops & record throughout the debate. I think that will be effective.

* Hmmm, Kerry doesn’t seem to be oompa loompa orange[1] right now. Is that the lights or did they take some of that tanning solution off of him?

* How is Kerry going to pay for all of this? Good reply from W. after Kerry reels off all these fantastic things he’s going to do.

* Christopher_Taylor says in the comments section,

“ALL DEBATES SUCK, why do people keep watching them then getting mad because they are boring and lame and the candidates didn’t answer the questions. For crying out loud, its like watching a cow and getting mad it eats grass and craps on the field, what did you THINK you were getting?”

Sounds about right to me.

* Ooh, Bush is stinging him again on the 87 billion dollars.

* Lol, now he’s talking about Vietnam and saying it was mistake to invade Iraq. Helllooooo Howard Dean…

* Why does Kerry keep blathering on about summits? Does anyone in the US care about that?

* Good point: Are allies going to come into Iraq at the behest of a President who thinks it’s the “wrong war, wrong place, wrong time”?

* In the comments section Schroman2002 says,

“Funny thing is that I’m monitoring RWN and a liberal blog as they both update live, and they both seem to think their respective candidate is willing. Truth is, we won’t know until the pundits get cranked up after it’s over. The pundits make the debate…”

Actually these debates are for the most part big muddles that usually turn on minor points like Gore sighing or Reagan saying “there you go again”. These aren’t really enlightening debates. If you’re in Bush’s position you just hope not to make a mistake.

Is Bush winning? I think so, but not by much and not by enough to swing any voters….yet. More importantly, since Kerry is losing, I don’t think he’s winning anyone over.

* Kerry forgot Poland? Doh! You’ll hear the talking heads hitting that point after the debates I suspect…

* Bush keeps going back and pounding Kerry with pro-war quotes and I think that’s going to take a toll on Iraq. Kerry can say he has one position, but Bush keeps quoting JFK saying that things that contradict what he’s saying today.

* “The only thing consistent about my opponents position is that he has been inconsistent”. Exactly.

* How many times how Bush gone over time? When does that ultra-loud buzzer ring?

* Like maybe they guarded the oil facilities because like duh, it’s the only significant revenue source in the entire nation.

* Almost one hour in and I don’t think anyone has scored any major points.

* Kerry keeps hitting this “North Korea got nuclear weapons” point. They were believed to have enough material for nuclear weapons even back in 1994, before they signed a deal with Clinton (which they broke). It’s entirely possible, although we don’t know for sure, that North Korea has had nukes for a decade…

* Heheh, the “moo-las” in Iran…

* I have to wonder if the average people, who aren’t really tuned into politics, have any idea of what’s going on. It’s…

Kerry: Let me tell you what’s wrong with Bush…
Bush: That’s not true, you actually said XYZ back then.

Meanwhile, I bet 80% of America has no idea Darfur is in Sudan…

* Theme for the debate…

George Bush: Kerry is sending mixed messages
John Kerry: Bush is wrong about everything

* Ha! I bet Barbara and Jenna rag on W. for saying he wants to put a leash on them =D

* Kerry has never wavered huh? His position has been consistent? What?

* Lehrer has done a decent job for a MSM guy. He has tried to trip Bush up a couple of times and I really think he has given Kerry pretty much a free pass. I don’t think he has given Kerry a tough question yet. Still, if it’s not like 75% tough questions Bush, all softballs to Kerry, that’s better than you can expect usually…

* I’m sure the pundits will be trying to spin this as a huge win for either side, but I can’t see that this is going to cause a significant move either way.

* Kerry is still hitting this “I can bring allies to our side”…Well, which allies? France, Germany, and Spain are openly saying they’re not helping. What can they do for us? How is he going to do it when he’s telling everyone invading Iraq was a mistake?

* Bush addressed the draft thing subtly with the “all volunteer army” quip in his closing.

Bottom Line: Neither candidate really said anything new to people who have been following the campaign closely, no one made any major mistakes, or scored any big points.

In effect, that means Kerry loses because he has to gain ground in these debates and Bush doesn’t.

***Update #1***: I think John Hood[2] makes a pretty good point here comparing Bush to Kerry overall on the war…

“Kerry’s problem is that his message is inherently complicated and would be difficult to communicate effectively for anyone. The war was a mistake, but I’ll fight to win it anyway, but it is a distraction, and I’ll send more equipment, but we’re spending too much on it, and I’ll inspire other countries to join us, but the countries who are there aren’t doing much worth commending, etc., etc.

Bush doggedly responds: you won’t win if you waver. We will prevail. I’m realistic — it’s a tough, hard slog. But I’m optimistic — we will win and freedom in the Middle East will be transformational. You don’t have to be a slick rhetorician to win this kind of exchange.

Remember, also, the repetition is a good thing, not a bad thing. Let’s face it: we are wonky weirdos. Most viewers probably came in and out of the room, they visited the little voters’ room, they went to make a sandwich. You have to talk to the whole audience, including those who missed your key point the first couple of times you made it.”

***Update #2***: Kathryn Lopez over at The Corner[3] has the Gallup polling numbers for the debate. They look about how you’d expect them to given how the debate played out…

“***Demonstrated he is tough enough for the job Bush 54/ Kerry 37
***Likable Bush 48/Kerry 41
***Believable Bush 48 / Kerry 45
***Agreed with you more on the issues you care about Bush 49/ Kerry 46
***Had a good understanding of the issues 41/41
***Expressed himself more clearly Bush 32/Kerry 60″

Endnotes:
  1. oompa loompa orange: http://www.cadethappy.com/2004/09/while-doing-my-nightly-blog-tour-i.html
  2. John Hood: http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/04_09_26_corner-archive.asp#041097
  3. The Corner: http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/04_09_26_corner-archive.asp#041163

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