CNN Republican You-Tube Debate -- Wednesday, November 28, 2007

[12th Doctor]

Wow, the Democratic one was only in September? It seems so long ago.


Predictions:

1) The moderators will try to create conflicts

2) Everyone will accuse each other of being soft on immigration

3) Huckabee will tell a somewhat humorous joke

4) Paul will piss everyone off

5) Giuliani and Romney will bicker

6) Everyone will ignore Fred and McCain

7) We'll be reminded that Hunter and Tancredo are in fact still running, only to forget five minutes after it ends

Likely YouTube questioners: Gays, someone on the border/a Minuteman, a pastor
 

Wow... 9-out-of-10 correct on the serious predictions.

Good job.

[12th Doctor]

This is an honest to God, serious question:

Can we trust that Romney still believes anything he said before two years ago.  Again, tonight, he demonstrated that he flipped on to different issues... he showed quite a bit of agility in side-stepping, but he did that none-the-less.

As for Huckabee... as they are saying on CNN, he hasn't addressed a serious question yet.  The front-runners are getting hammered while he just flies on by.  He looked good up there, but in a debate that was short on substance, he provided the least of all the people up there.

Ron Paul needs to stop acting like he escaped from a mental hospital.  If he calmed down and prevented his voice from going into the pre-puberty range it would be easier to take him serious.

All these candidates clearly know that Rudy is still the favorite, because they all got a dig in.  Is it just me, or did most of the questions Rudy got sucked?  I wish he would have gotten the Gay's in the Military question.

[12th Doctor]

One of the people in the focus group refered to "Giuliano".

Well, to be fair, alot of Republicans are used to these "ethnics" yet.

[12th Doctor]

I missed the debate because of work.  And even though the coffee shop I work at plays XM, they refused to turn off the Christmas music and put on CNN.  Would someone mind telling generally what happened in a paragraph or two, in the most unbiased way possible.

I can tell you all you need to know in one sentence:

Its on again at midnight.

[12th Doctor]

I saw the last hour plus the highlights:

1. Romney backtracked more than anything. I don't think I heard him answering a question without backtracking or changing his position. He really f'ed up a question about gays in the military.

Agreed.  That was probably the worst answer of the night.

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Pretty much.  Are we really to believe that they had no idea?  Joke.  Plus, it gave Hillary even more free press.

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Agreed.  The man simply displays no depth of understanding on any issue.

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Again, agreed.

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Paul is fun to point and laugh at... the others aren't.  He is a curiosity, and an interesting one, even though he has no chance.  Anyway, I really wish Hunter and Tancredo would drop out so that way the serious candidates would be able to answer more questions.

[12th Doctor]

1. Romney was awful.  He was snarky and condescending on immigration towards Giuliani, an issue Romney has no right to condescend on given that he supported the ridiculous amnesty plan.  He declared his opposition to gays in the military, then looked at Anderson Cooper the way a cow looks at an oncoming train when Cooper asked if he still looked forward to a day when gays could serve.  He refused to even answer a questiona bout waterboarding.  You jusat get the feeling the air is coming out of the balloon, don't you?  He looks scared and defensive at all times, and he has no rationale for his candidacy anymore.

2. Giuliani struggled with immigration, largely because he got rattled by the crowd.  Did CNN let Romney stack the audience?  It wouldn't be the first time Romney had stacked an audience and not the first time CNN had allowed it.

3. I remain unsure why Fred Thompson is here.

4. Maybe someday all those youngsters who back Ron Paul will grow up and realize that pacifism and the gold standard aren't very good ideas and they'll become actual conservatives.  Here's to hoping.

5. John McCain had the best night to me.  I know msot people were impressed with huckabee, but then again most people are easily impressed.

6. Speaking of Huckabee, we all realize the media keeps pushing this guy because they know he'd be a catastrophic general election candidate, right?  He has an exclusively fundamentalist religious education, he does not recognize evolution or the big bang, he has a tax plan that was designed by the Church of Scientology, he has said he thinks the purpose of gun rights is to make possible violent resistance to the Federal Government, he has no foreign policy expertise, he is economically illiterate, he can't raise money, and he believes Christianity should be the basis for public policy.  His simplistic one line answers to every question play well in cattle call debates, but in one on one engagements they are likely to look shallow and poorly thought out when compared to Hillary Clinton's detail heavy answers.  He is a joke and should be treated as one.

don't hold back out of politeness.  tell us how you really feel. 

One thing I have always liked about John is that his tact usually ranges between sharp sword and blunt instrument.  He always knows how to break something complex down to it simplest points without losing the complexity of a situation... and his observation is generally right on.