Tonight's Debate

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Newt is getting set up bigtime by the moderators. What idiot allowed Stephanopoulos and Diane Sawyer to run the show? Biden would be less biased.

[Boomhauer]

Since I'm not watching the debate...how are they treating Romney?

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Romney's getting treated fairly well. A few digs at his healthcare issues. Bachmann's hit him a few times.

The moderators are out for Newt's scalp. Or his toupee, dunno which he's got. 

[Boomhauer]

Romney's getting treated fairly well

Not surprising. The Dems want to run against Romney. The RINOs want Romney as their candidate. Way I see it, that's the way it is going to go down (and has long been decided as such).

They are neutralizing the preferable candidates, one by one...

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

LOL. When asked to mention someone on stage that they admire, Perry and Romney mentioned Ron Paul.

[TommyGunn]

   I am so happy I missed this dog & pony show.


And after saying that, I wish to apologize to all dogs & ponies for this most vulgar of comparisons ......

[AZRedhawk44]

I notice that Bachmann is attempting to carry Cain's torch (and voters).  I wish she'd drop out.  Same with Santorum.

Seems Sawyer had it out for Bachmann... she'd cut her off at the end of a statement and start a new question without allowing applause, but would allow applause for the other candidates.

Paul got some roars of approval out of the audience.  Romney even mentioned the dedication of the Paul supporters in comparison to other campaigns.

Romney's gonna get kicked in the *expletive deleted*ss over that $10k bet attempt.  Libs don't like that.  Farmers don't like that.  That's flaunting wealth.  Rich guys do that kind of stuff on the 13th hole at a golf course.


The stage was finally set appropriately to candidate popularity.  Most popular in the center, least popular on the wings.

Santorum / Perry / Romney / Gingrich / Paul / Bachmann



I'm waiting for Iowans to speak up and say "Mitt Gingrich supports nationalized health care, and we don't like that" so that we can move on to Perry and Paul.

[De Selby]

I think the Dems would much prefer to run against Newt - he is a career lobbyist and congressman who nearly faced criminal charges for playing fast and loose with money.  He's spent so much time in Washington  that his scandal register is going to fill up within 6 months of the lead up to election time. 

[seeker_two]

Agreed....Newt and Ricky have way too much political baggage that the Dems will use to knock them out of the primaries.....and Mitt is the kind of Republican that the Dems can work with in a Bob-Dole-kind-of-way.....

Unless Cain decides to make a comeback soon, this primary will be worthless.....

[Boomhauer]

I think the Dems would much prefer to run against Newt - he is a career lobbyist and congressman who nearly faced criminal charges for playing fast and loose with money.  He's spent so much time in Washington  that his scandal register is going to fill up within 6 months of the lead up to election time. 

Romney is the candidate that Obama stands a good chance of beating and even if Obama loses, the Dems have somebody that will bend over backwards for them but they can condemn and blame for everything, setting the stage for a Dem comeback in 2016 (cue the posts about how we probably won't make it that long as a unified nation)

[longeyes]

A Romney Presidency would be as an able caretaker for liberal Republicanism.  And we know where that leads us.

Newt, warts galore, at least has the ability to lay out a position for a future resistance, and he is capable of inflecting hurt on Obama.  I'm not sure Newt's baggage will matter by the time of the election; the American public is becoming desensitized.

Why the Republicans are still allowing their enemies in the media to run the debates rather than stage their own is anyone's guess. 

[MicroBalrog]

Newt, warts galore, at least has the ability to lay out a position for a future resistance, and he is capable of inflecting hurt on Obama.  I'm not sure Newt's baggage will matter by the time of the election; the American public is becoming desensitized.

Newt is just simply not the conservative he's made out to be. You kiss this prince, he's going to morph right back into a frog.

[wmenorr67]

Why the Republicans are still allowing their enemies in the media to run the debates rather than stage their own is anyone's guess. 

Because in the long run they are no different than the other side.

[makattak]

Newt is just simply not the conservative he's made out to be. You kiss this prince, he's going to morph right back into a frog.

I don't think anyone is under any illusions that Newt is some conservative superstar.

I have hopes that his visions of Reagan force him to the right and actual reform. Hope is not a plan, though. I expect he'll be a good deal better than George H. W. Bush and slightly better than George W. Bush.

I at least expect that he wouldn't fall for the "compassionate conservative" crap again, like I would expect Perry to (or completely ditch the "conservative" portion of "compassionate conservative like I would expect Romney to.)

[AZRedhawk44]

Because in the long run they are no different than the other side.

This.  Plus eleventy.

[bedlamite]

This.  Plus eleventy bazillion.

FTFY.

[longeyes]

Newt is just simply not the conservative he's made out to be. You kiss this prince, he's going to morph right back into a frog.

I agree Newt isn't the second coming of the Conservative Messiah.  All of these candidates need to be watched for philosophical delinquency.

The problem is the people I prefer aren't running.

***

It's not only this Election that is going to be a turning point, it's the American political process itself.  I think many of us believe the whole thing's become a charade.  There is no salvation inside the System.

[MicroBalrog]

I agree Newt isn't the second coming of the Conservative Messiah.

It's not that he's imperfect. Imperfect is a word for people who don't quite measure up. Newt is completely different from a conservative.

[longeyes]

Would a REAL conservative even be running for the highest office in this age and nation? 

[MicroBalrog]

Would a REAL conservative even be running for the highest office in this age and nation? 

Well yes, and plenty are.

[seeker_two]

Well yes, and plenty are.

Other than Dr. Paul, who do you recommend?....

[MicroBalrog]

Other than Dr. Paul, who do you recommend?....

My worldview is well known to you. And while of course I am a non-citizen and my opinion is of little value, isn't Bachmann also seen as a conservative by most observers?

[seeker_two]

My worldview is well known to you. And while of course I am a non-citizen and my opinion is of little value, isn't Bachmann also seen as a conservative by most observers?

First: Your opinion is of great value to me. My "why didn't you vote for him" jibes are meant in jest. Sorry that I have offended you. Please accept my apology.

Second: I like Bachmann, and I'll probably vote for her if Cain and Paul aren't options. She's had some questionable postions....and I'm not sure how she stands on RKBA....but she seems better than Mitt Gingrich in most respects....

Third: Any others I should look at?

[MicroBalrog]

First: Your opinion is of great value to me. My "why didn't you vote for him" jibes are meant in jest. Sorry that I have offended you. Please accept my apology.

I am not offended. I'm just stating the simple facts.

Second: I like Bachmann, and I'll probably vote for her if Cain and Paul aren't options. She's had some questionable postions....and I'm not sure how she stands on RKBA....but she seems better than Mitt Gingrich in most respects....

Third: Any others I should look at?

The point I strive to make is that there are still some conservative candidates that are flawed (like Bachmann), in fact no such thing as a flawless candidate has ever existed. But flawed is not the same as someone who believe in entirely different things.

Romney and Newt are not flawed conservatives in the same way I am not a flawed heart surgeon. I'm simply not a heart surgeon at all.

[roo_ster]

Romney and Newt are not flawed conservatives in the same way I am not a flawed heart surgeon. I'm simply not a heart surgeon at all.

RFT.

Mitt has never actually DONE anything conservative while in gov't, he just TALKS conservative, nowadays.  Newt is so enamored by futurists and his big gov't schemes, you never know if he is going to do the political equivalents of killing liberty in its sleep or rubbing soup into his hair.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/285577/gingrich-pyscho-historian-mark-krikorian