I'm beginning to really have a case of debate fatigue - and there is another one Thursday prior to the Saturday SC primary.
5 candidates remain with the departure of Jon Huntsman. Rick Perry is on electoral life support - and the polls for him are dreadful at this point.
Vodkapundit is drunk-blogging the debate....
Ace of Spades will also live-blog the debate...
I'm going to follow both and perhaps periodically update this post during the debate. After the debate, I'll provide a summary / analysis...
A couple of last thoughts prior to the debate....
Rick Santorum has a new hard hitting advert that basically says Romney = Obama....
and Kamikaze Newt says that a vote for Santorum is a vote for Romney.....
OK - quick thoughts on the debate....
Ron Paul - D - Paul was, once again, the cranky crazy uncle in the debate and earned a number of shots from the other GOP candidates regarding his policies. Fringe at best, the Bircher's I'm sure just loved his performance.
Rick Santorum - B - Rick sounded a lot like a bureaucrat on many of his answers. He came out strong to challenge Romney, but really didn't do as well as he needed in that exchange. He also seemed far too whiny in many of his answers.
Newt Gingrich - A- - Newt has some very strong moments - smacking down Juan Williams, and earning a standing ovation. At times, he was an A+ - doing all the things he did to become the frontrunner going into Iowa - but then he also went into the petulent Newt mode when he whinged about Romney's SuperPac while admitting that he gave (technically illegally) his SuperPac instructions. They cost him. Until Newt returns to the approach pre-Iowa and stays there - he will struggle. He also needs to realize that his record is not that different than Romney's. Better to focus on how to defeat Obama. Otherwise, I think most voters see him as damaged goods (self-damaged) who can debate well - but isn't a leader or one who can implement.
Mitt Romney - A- - Mitt was a target right out of the blocks. He answered most the questions very well - although there were also times he was being obviously evasive in his answers while trying to slip the punches against him. It was interesting to see him attack McCain-Feingold given the McCain endorsement - and a good decision to do so. Overall, strong and Presidential in his approach - he didn't hurt himself at all.
Rick Perry - A- - This was, in my opinion, Perry's best debate. If he had performed like this in the first 3 or 4 debates - he would be neck and neck with Romney as a frontrunner. But, he dug himself a very deep hole. He should get a big boost from this - he's a far stronger candidate in my mind than Santorum - but I don't think it will happen on Saturday. I hope he stays in beyond SC - but unless he really surges immediately, he's out before Florida.
Moderation - less structured than most - I thought that Juan Williams was pathetic in his questioning in particular his efforts to play / use the race card. There are better from the WSJ as well who could have moderated the debate - and the idea of gotcha questions needs to end. The focus should be on the real issues as seen by the American people - economy, jobs, national debt, and national security. The social issues are pretty distant in importance this season. Overall - solid B.
I wonder if FNC will replace Juan Williams with Alan Colmes in the next debate they moderate.
Overall - I think that Perry / Romney were in a photo finish for the race, Gingrich came in third - but only a length or two behind the front runners.
The real effect is that Romney remains in the lead, Perry should gain - but probably will not....Gingrich will get a few points from Santorum...and Santorum will be fighting Paul for third on Saturday...but falling short.
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