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January 10, 2008
Debate Thoughts
I wasn't able to watch the entire debate, but from what I saw, here's what I thought:
Winners
Fred Thompson - He was authoritative, knowledgeable and funny, and I'm not just saying that because I got to participate in the conference call. He showed some fire tonight, and went after his most immediate rival, Mike Huckabee, with some passion and facts. Still, he really should have criticized McCain on immigration. His refusal to take that opportunity was a mistake.
Mitt Romney - His takedown of Ron Paul was fantastic. He may not be playing to win in SC (he's not running ads there), but this performance will help him. He seemed more unscripted tonight than usual.
Rudy Giuliani - He got some applause from a southern crowd, and didn't hurt himself on any particular answer. Plus, he was good on foreign policy and the war.
Didn't Hurt Himself
John McCain - His answers on immigration were unconvincing, but his command of foreign policy was impressive. Still, he didn't seem entirely comfortable.
Ouch
Mike Huckabee - Despite my disagreements with Huckabee's policies, I've always been impressed with his debate performances. The man is a fantastic communicator. Tonight, though, he was off his game. His line about "no bridges falling in Arkansas" was patently offensive (um...Mike? The GOP convention is in Minnesota), and his "I raised hope" line was ick-worthy. He spent some time whining about being asked questions of religion as well. A quick piece of advice for the Huckabee campaign - using your religion works both ways. If you use it as a selling point, people are going to ask you about it. Buck up and quit the martyr act.
Just...stop
Ron Paul - Shut up, Ron. You're an embarrassment.
Update - Yup. Huckabee's "bridges" line (subtext: I raised taxes and people didn't die) hasn't gone over well with some in the blogosphere. See-Dubya completes Huckabee's thoughts.
Posted by slublog at January 10, 2008 10:43 PM
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