Debates – Page 4

#rsrh Further GOP debates: keep, or lose?

Ed Morrissey notes this Byron York article about how Mitt Romney would probably like to stop the debates now, please. This is my thinking on this.

On the one hand, I agree with Ed: we’ve had a godawful amount of debates so far. They’re exhausting to cover; I can only imagine how grinding they are to the people actually doing them. From Mitt Romney’s point of view, a debate must be much like how Tom Wolfe portrayed physical examinations as being for fighter pilots. Which is to say, the best that Romney can hope for in a debate right now is to not have a campaign-ending disaster.
On the other hand, I also agree with Ed: we’re actually starting to see things that look like debates, instead of an extended poking of Republican candidates with sticks to see whether they’ll attack the bars. Also, as Byron noted, the debates are popular (the ABC News poll had 6.25 million viewers).
And on the gripping hand: well, this is probably not a good time for Mitt Romney to quit debates anyway. Yesterday was… not optimal: Romney got punched hard by Santorum, frankly evaded his way through the question of whether he’d release his income tax statements, and spent most of the debate agreeing with Rick Perry. I would seriously recommend that Romney quit the debate schedule when he’s in a slightly better pole position.

I think that this is a reasonably fair take on the subject.

#rsrh Let me tell you what the debate should be about tonight.

More accurately, let me let Clubber Lang tell you what the debate should be about tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIJJMa3y0ek&feature=related

Seriously, if there isn’t blood on the walls and at least one ear on the ground by the end of it then we all truly did waste the last six months of our lives. I want to see Darwinian, red-in-tooth-and-claw savagery in the debate tonight… and here’s something that Mitt Romney should consider: the only way that he lives through this is to be the most savage one of all. The days of ducking under the podium are over.

And, hell, if Romney starts channeling his inner Batman it’d actually be a bit reassuring at this point; so, no downside.

Moe Lane

#rsrh As always, those debates are draining to follow.

Short assessment: …screw it. Perry won tonight. Good answers, and Fox News absolutely GAVE him that one about Operation Fast & Furious. Ron Paul imploded in three minutes of psychedelic hysteria. Bachmann & Santorum will drop out after Iowa, and that’s a shame. Gingrich and Romney did well, but not well with Iowa voters. And Jon Huntsman will probably be the next Vice President of the United States.

That’s my first impression. I’m going to go have a little drink now.

#rsrh Just… one… more.

The last debate before the Iowa caucus is tonight. 9PM EST, hosted by Fox News. We just need to hold out for a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer, and it’ll be done until after the Iowa results.

Anyway: expect tonight to be as knockdown and drag-out a fight between Romney and Gingrich as either dares to do; Huntsman and Perry will try to keep themselves from immolating themselves on national TV; and the other three will be having some bittersweet moments of pre-nostalga. Yes, yes, I know that Ron Paul is currently polling well in Iowa; it’s not going to help. Sorry.

Still: almost there.

#rsrh Debate’s at 9 PM, and I have some advice…

Or, rather, Senator Blutarsky does:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepFO4psgKE

Vodkapundit has the right idea on this one. It’s not even that I don’t think that the debate won’t be interesting; it’s just… how many of these things have we had by now?

Anyway, it’ll be on ABC News.

#RSRH Courage!

There are only two more Republican debates before the Iowa caucus, and they’ll both be in Iowa. It’ll all be over soon.

No. NO! We WILL survive this! Never doubt that! And do you know why? Because we are so very pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die.

(pause)

OK. Bad precedent. But still.

Rick Perry’s post-Dartmouth Remarks, Part II.

And here’s part II: the Q&A from last night’s (10/11/2011) post-debate remarks by Texas Governor Rick Perry. Again, this was done by RedState’s Aaron Gardner, not myself. You can see the first part here.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Rick Perry’s post-Dartmouth remarks, Part I.

Our own Aaron Gardner was on hand to record the Governor’s remarks after the debate last night. I’ll be putting up the video in two parts: this part consists of the formal remarks that Governor Perry made, and the second will be from the question-and-answer period.

Not to be, ah, pawkish about this or anything: but as you can see, the difference between Perry’s performance at debates, and his ability to interact with a room, is palpable.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

#rsrh My quick post-debate assessment.

Cain: hurt by TARP. Will not breakout further. But will not slip, either.

Romney: hurt by TARP. Will be crowned winner of debate by the reporting class. Will not get a boost in popularity.

Perry: he did better in debate than a lot of people expected, and how a lot of people are reporting – or are going to report. But that’s because he has such a low bar for debate expectations at this point.

Gingrich: NOM NOM NOM MODERATOR LIVER (OK, so I reused that line).

Everybody else: Thanks for stopping by. Go home.

Pre-assessing tonight’s debate.

This is going to be more or less tossed-off, very subjective, and REFLECTIVE OF NOBODY’S OPINION EXCEPT MY OWN. That last bit? Kind of important: the next few months are going to be a time where people are going to be ascribing ulterior motives with what they used to call ‘gay abandon’ before the cultural referents shifted.

Anyhoo:

Continue reading Pre-assessing tonight’s debate.