« So Much for Subtlety | Main | The End of the Huckabee Boomlet? »
December 12, 2007
Debate Thoughts
I didn't watch the GOP debate today, but I did listen to it. I agree with Dean Barnett - the big loser was Carolyn Washburn, the moderator. Her hectoring attitude, control issues and really stupid questions made this debate the worst of the primary season. Iowa was not well-served by her performance.
The winner? Overall, I would say Fred Thompson, because his performance has the potential to invigorate his campaign. His refusal to play the moderator's games was the highlight, but more impressive was his willingness to tell the truth about entitlement reform and the sad state of the budget.
A very close second? Mitt Romney. He was authoritative, knowledgeable and communicated extremely effectively. This debate gave him the opportunity to embrace his inner policy wonk and run with it, and it may have just given him a chance to challenge Mike Huckabee.
The loser, other than the moderator? Alan Keyes. I'm not sure why he was even allowed to participate, but he proved himself an utter jackass who had little respect for the other candidates on the stage. I don't normally use such language, but his rudeness was distracting and unnecessary. Basically, I lost what little respect I had for Keyes today. There's no excuse for how he acted today, and I hope this performance keeps him out of future debates. Why he was even in this one is a mystery.
As for Rudy Giuliani and John McCain? They barely showed up.
Posted by slublog at December 12, 2007 09:45 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.slublog.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3526
Comments
Now Romney can challenge Huckabee. Wake up, teh
Fred is already down his throat.
Posted by: cjn at December 14, 2007 01:47 AM