Drunkblogging Tonight’s GOP Presidential Debate
5:49PM I remember George Stephanopoulos as the guy who was just too young to be working for the President. After almost twenty years, he’s increased both in stature and in how much he looks like a Muppet.
5:50PM Good news: Fox News is hosting along with YouTube, so we’ll get questions from people just like you and me, only on really interesting medications.
Bad news: The pre-show is O’Reilly.
5:52PM The pre-spin is: Bachmann will tear into Perry, Huntsman will tear into Romney.
It’s like midget wrestling vs. the WWE.
5:54PM Tonight’s drunkblogging beverage: Cheap whiskey.
How cheap? Don’t ask. But there are a lot of debates this season, and sacrifices must be made.
PS I need an expense account. Hint, hint.
5:55PM Watching the ads: From a bridge to nowhere to a bridge to Canada… but I repeat myself.
5:57PM The reason I don’t watch O’Reilly is, he makes me want to give up my libertarian principle that the government should never tax the bejeebus out of anyone.
6:00PM Let’s get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble.
6:01PM Rick Perry waves like the Queen. So does Romney. So did Ron Paul… Bachmann…
6:01PM Santorum waves his hand like my five year old waves a tennis racket, only bigger.
6:02PM Ladies, take note of that previous post.
6:02PM Color codes map pins! I really am excited. Don’t judge. me.
6:03PM Audio sync! Audio sync!
I shouldn’t poke fun. You shoulda seen the early days of PJTV.
6:04PM Jobs question to Perry. Answer: Good governance. Plus a stumble early on. But that could be a sign of heavy prepping — which he really needed. Stay tuned.
6:05PM To Perry: Where’s your jobs plan. Answer: Look at Texas! We’ll be hearing lots… actually, we’ve heard lots of that. We’ll hear lots more. But he really is stumbling. Doubt he’s nervous. I’m thinking over-prepped.
6:06PM To Romney: Get specific.
Answer: I want to answer the other question. Also, Obama sucks.
6:06PM Romney gets five points for first slam on Obama. Who gets the five point Reagan reference.
6:07PM Romney has a 59-point plan.
I need a drink.
6:08PM Romney: I want everyone in America to be rich enough to afford my stylist.
6:09PM To Bachmann: How much of each dollar should you keep?
Answer: I have no idea. My TV software is colorshifting like mad, and it’s making my eyes swim. Hang on…
6:10PM YouTube Question to Santorum: How bright should I shine my lights directly into the camera?
6:11PM Santorum shifted the union question to the *public* union question. That’s smart, especially for a guy from a manufacturing state like PA. And if he’s lucky, his campaign might last as long as the PA primary.
6:11PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
6:13PM I don’t know how Huntsman does it, but every time I wear a tie that color, small aircraft land on my driveway.
6:14PM There’s a pool going at work, if this will be Huntsman’s last big debate. I’ve got the under at $5. Any takers?
6:15PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal.
6:15PM To Cain: Won’t three Nines become Three 27s or something?
6:15PM Cain: I would like to answer another question, which I’ll do now.
6:16PM What’s the over/under for Cain? I think he’ll last longer than Huntsman, if only because he’s *much* better TV.
6:17PM Romney: I will help the middle class, with my plan that has even more nines than Herman Cain’s. Seven nines!
6:17PM YouTube Question to Paul: How will you restore the 10th Amendment?
6:18PM Ron Paul: Would veto every single bill that violate the 10th Amendment. That was his whole answer! Also, he’s gonna need a bigger pen.
6:19PM If Paul were to be elected President, I would hope for two things:
1. He rethink his foreign policy.
2. He get a suit that fits.
6:20PM Gary Johnson: Will veto any unbalanced budget. And I have a bigger veto pen than Ron Paul. It’s the Ron Jeremy of veto pens.
6:20PM I heart Johnson for getting in the Fair Tax plug.
6:21PM Immigration is coming up after the break, or as most of the candidates call it: Perry-bashing time.
6:25PM After the Fox/YouTube debate, I eagerly await the MSNBC/MySpace debate.
6:26PM Not one Reagan reference before the first break. I’m out a sawbuck.
6:26PM Question to Perry: You’re nuts on Social Security, right?
6:27PM Perry just went for blood on Romney.
But I’m not sure he’s drawing any blood here. It’s a long answer on a tough topic — and I can’t make much sense out of it.
6:28PM Romney: That’s not what you said in your book, Gov. Perry.
Perry’s eyebrows are moving across his forehead like over-caffeinated spider monkeys.
6:28PM Romney just won Florida.
6:29PM Perry: So, how ’bout that RomneyCare, eh? Oh, and your book sucks, too.
6:30PM Romney: My book beats your book. My book had an index, and blurbs from smart people. Or something.
6:30PM War of the Books. I never saw that one coming.
6:31PM To Romney: How much does Obama suck? Is he a socialist?
Romney: Just call him “former President.”
He’ll settle on “social democrat.”
And that’s pretty much right on target.
6:31PM Romney: I only spent four years as governor — I didn’t inhale.
Um… how many years would you have served if you hadn’t lost all those elections?
6:32PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal.
6:32PM Huntsman gets the five points for the first Reagan reference. Also, he has an even more specific proposal.
6:33PM YouTube Question to Cain: Which one department would you eliminate?
6:35PM Cain: Would eliminate EPA and “start all over.” “It’s gone wild.” “Gone too far.” “Eliminate… and start rebuilding a responsible EPA.”
Also, I have like four more nines for Social Security, or however they say it in Chile.
6:35PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
6:37PM YouTube Question to everyone: How would you get DC out of classrooms?
6:38PM Johnson: I’ll just up and abolish the Department of Education, sometime after 4:20.
6:38PM Santorum: Remember me?
6:39PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
6:40PM Paul: What Johnson said, only crankier and an octave higher.
6:41PM Perry: I like what the other guys said, but Mitt Romney doesn’t.
6:41PM Romney: “Nice try.” “Get the federal government out of education.” Plus: I like great teachers!
Bold stand, but it might be a winner.
6:42PM Romney: I don’t even know what Perry said about me.
That might be the line with the most sting of the whole night.
6:43PM Bachmann: “Local control with parents.” Also: I have insane numbers of babies.
(I respect her for that, but enough of the plugs, please.)
6:43PM Cain: “Cut all the strings.” All nine strings?
6:44PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal, and also I have even more natural children than Bachmann. Now, back to my even more specific proposal.
6:45PM Question to Bachmann: Do you hate immigrants as much as the rest of the GOP?
I think that was the question.
6:46PM Bachmann: I’d build a super-tall fence and man it with T-800s.
6:46PM Another immigration question to Newt, on getting businesses to help enforce.
6:47PM Via E-Verify, I mean.
6:47PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
6:49PM Mitt: Perry loves illegals. I don’t, but not in a racist way.
6:51PM Note to Chris Wallace: You need a clock on your questions.
6:52PM Perry: I’ve spent more time on border security than anyone on this stage.
Given the constituency though, people will want to know how well he’s spent that time, not how much time he’s spent.
6:52PM Perry got booed. Wasn’t expecting that.
6:53PM Santorum was just given a chance to go head-to-head against the frontrunner. And I still can’t bring myself to really listen to what he’s saying.
6:54PM Perry: “You put the boots on the ground.” Not a fence, boots and UAVs.
6:55PM Question to Paul: Do you know a lot of Americans who want to flee Americans?
6:56PM Paul: This is all leading up to the Fed and evil computers, I know it.
6:56PM Score! He mentioned the evil computers. Nothing on the Fed yet though.
6:58PM After the break: Foreign policy, social issues and health care.
It had better be a long break.
7:02PM That was not a long enough break.
7:02PM Word clouds on TV is like printing the lyrics right on the CD.
7:03PM To Romney: How would you protect Israel?
7:03PM Romney: No “space” between us and Israel.
I swear, he’s locked up Florida tonight.
7:04PM To Cain: How would you respond to unilateral Palestinian statehood?
7:05PM Cain: I was in Israel last month. Peace through strength. How do you say Nine in Hebrew?
7:06PM To Perry: 3AM phone call that the Taliban has Pakistan’s nukes.
7:07PM Perry: I would make friends in the region.
OK, he’s showing off some chops here, naming names and weapons systems — but this is not a coherent answer. When I said maybe he’d over-prepped? He’s over-prepped.
7:07PM Just going to put my bias on my sleeve here: I don’t care what Rick Santorum says. And neither do enough people to give him any excuse to be on this stage tonight.
7:08PM Perry gets thirds after Bachmann and Perry, and he hasn’t done a thing here to steal a vote even from Bachmann, much less Perry.
7:09PM YouTube question to Newt: Will you cut foreign aid?
7:10PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
7:11PM To Johnson: What would you do about Cuba? (REALLY???)
7:11PM Johnson: Would reduce military spending by 43%.
Well, he just captured the GOP’s Kucinich Caucus.
7:12PM Bachmann: Any flights I’d order to Cuba would involve B-52s.
7:12PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal.
7:14PM Santorum: I’d nuke the crap out of crap.
Or something like that. Honestly, I have him tuned out like the Peanuts teacher.
7:14PM Social issues! I need a drink.
7:15PM To Bachmann: Is there a separation between church and state?
7:15PM Bachmann: No official state church, just like Jefferson wanted.
7:17PM YouTube Question to Santorum from a gay soldier in Afghanistan: Would you bring back DADT?
That question was booed by a small number of people in the audience, each of whom I would despise if I could bring myself to care about them that much.
7:17PM Santorum: Would bring back DADT.
7:18PM To Paul: How can you accept a rape exception to abortion?
7:19PM Paul: With the day after pill, you can’t even be sure she was really pregnant!
His answer is more heartfelt, and more consistent, than I just painted it.
7:20PM To Perry: You’re really just Bush III, aren’t you — except the two of you hate each other?
7:20PM Perry: I like Bush, but I don’t like him, like him.
7:21PM To Cain: You survived a lot of cancer that ObamaCare would have left you for dead.
And there’s big applause, even from the other candidates.
7:22PM Cain: I had really expensive cancer, and the IPAB would have nixed it.
It’s a great story, but he’s not telling in it a way that really connects it to ObamaCare.
7:23PM YouTube Question to Huntsman: I have a condition that ObamaCare covers for like totally free, so why do you want me to die?
7:24PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal.
7:26PM To Bachmann: Your batstuff crazy about vaccines, huh?
7:26PM Bachmann: Yes, I am batstuff crazy about HPV vaccines.
7:28PM Perry: “I got lobbied on this issue” of the HOV vaccine. That’s a straddle worthy of Romney.
“I will always err on the side of life.” THAT should have been his lede, not the first quote.
7:29PM To Perry: You hate sick, poor people, don’t you?
7:30PM Perry: “There’s a menu of options.”
Plus, a hint: Don’t quote Johnson if you want to win the general election. It breaks my heart to say that, but it’s true.
7:30PM To Romney: RomneyCare sucks, huh?
7:31PM Romney: The system hasn’t changed for people who aren’t breaking my law. “It’s different from ObamaCare.”
7:32PM Perry followup: “I don’t think Americans know sometimes which Mitt Romney they’re dealing with.”
SOLID opener. But he’s stumbling on the specifics.
Something I’ve noticed about Perry, he fades in the last 30 minutes of the debate.
7:33PM Romney: “I haven’t spent my life in politics.”
Not for lack of trying.
Also: I’m the king of Social Security!
Seriously, he pwns Florida.
7:33PM After the break: Jobs.
7:37PM I need more ice.
7:38PM Brett Baier: The jobless are going to riot because we’ve lost our mojo. “How are you going to turn this country around?”
7:38PM It’s to all the candidates.
7:38PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal.
7:39PM Cain: It starts with growth. Nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine.
7:40PM Bachmann: “It’s time to reach for the brass ring of liberty.” Also, ObamaCare kills jobs.
7:40PM Romney: There are families sitting in places with gadget and forms with tough times and patriotism and anthems because we know how to lead with hope and strength.
7:41PM Perry: We’ve got jobs in Texas.
7:42PM Paul: Government destroys jobs, and the Fed and the Gold standard and bubbles and 20 years and
7:42PM Oops. I’m drunk.
7:42PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
7:43PM Santorum: Please, if you love this country, pretend you can hear me now.
7:44PM Johnson: My neighbor’s dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this administration.
I bow to the master.
7:45PM Johnson: FAIR TAX!
I have a total man-crush right now. A wig-wearing man-crush.
7:46PM This is it…
7:47PM YouTube Question: Pick a runningmate from this stage.
7:47PM Johnson: Ron Paul.
Duh.
7:47PM That YT question is to all candidates, BTW.
7:48PM Santorum: I’d hitch my sinking boat to Newt’s sinking boat.
7:48PM Newt: I have a very specific proposal.
7:49PM Paul: I don’t love Johnson the way he loves me. NTTAWWT.
7:49PM Perry: I’d make a Frankenstein creature out of Newt and Herman.
Also: Ew.
7:49PM Perry: I’d make a Frankenstein creature out of Newt and Herman.
Also: Ew.
7:50PM Romney: Ew to Perry’s answer.
Also: Punt.
7:51PM Bachmann: We don’t have to settle.
Or: IDLYITW
7:52PM Cain: “I’ll play the game.”
I’d take Romney for 3 Nines, or Newt if he doesn’t. But I love you all! Goodnight, Florida!
7:52PM Huntsman: I have an even more specific proposal.
7:53PM I will loathe Huntsman forever for dissing on Fred Effing Thompson.
7:54PM OK, I gotta write a wrap. Given the dearth of goodness, you won’t have to wait more than a minute.
7:55PM This makes me sad — nearly maudlin, given how much I’ve had to drink — but I can sum up tonight in three short sentences.
In the war of ideas, it was all Newt Gingrich, Gary Johnson, Herman Cain and Ron Paul. In the battle of personalities, it was Mitt versus Rick.
The news networks will remember the battle, not the war.
7:56PM And that’s all I have to say about that.
I’ll see you right here the next time one of the networks get these candidates together for another one of these “debates.” If my calendar is right, that will be mercilessly soon.
I’m logging in with a fruit cocktail-peaches, pears, pineapples, grapes, and cherries. But at least I’m into the spirit of the thing, if not the actual “drunk” aspect. Might wish I was, further into the proceedings. =0[.]o=
Ross Perot on that “giant sucking sound” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q67ucqAkiuE
Wish I could watch, tonight. Prior engagement. Guess I will have to come back later and read the drunkblog. Knock’em dead, Steve.
Just back from two days in C Spgs working on the 7th floor of the Phoenix Tower, czech
Cheap bourbon added to bourbon n branch, czech
Consumed on BnB early as a sort of pump primer, czech
bring it
For cheap bourbon, not much beats Mattingly & Moores. Kinda the Suave $5/gallon shampoo of cheap bourbons, but hey, after the first bourbon n branch, yer taste buds won’t care.
Audience cheers as the candidates are introduced are uniformly enthusiastic. What gives with that? =0[.]o=
Stephen , I’ve been over the Ambassador Bridge, it does need replacing. It’s owned by a private company, trying to defend its position. It’s a fair debate, but the ad is scare mongering.
I do not want a President who has a jobs plan. I want a President who is going to get government out of the way of job creators.
“I do not want a President who has a jobs plan. I want a President who is going to get government out of the way of job creators.”
Therein lies the problem. The average progressive would never concede that government is “in the way” in the first place. The idea that anyone would want government out of the way simply never occurs. They don’t even know what that means.
Okay, Brandy needs to a) shave, and b) lose the stupid hat. That wasn’t Brandy? Oops, my bad.
These debates would be so much better if the candidates had to pound back a shot of cheap whisky every time they got a question.
What do I do to follow the drunken feed? Do I have to keep hitting Refresh? Or should it update automatically??
Good question. I dunno.
Refresh. Use right mouse button to reload, if you get that option. =^[.]^=
Or hit F5 to refresh.
Drunkblogging tip: Scroll up and down from blog updates to comments and back with your dominant hand. Drink and hit/click refresh with your non-dominant hand.
I’ve tested this method, and it works.
I have my right hand on the mouse for all operations: Thumb on the trackball, index finger on the scroll button (available to left-click at need), and middle finger on the right mouse button. That way, I have my left hand free for a beverage. =^[.]^=
I shall try that, but I’ve got a bit of rhythm going: hit refresh, scroll-n-sip, hit refresh, scroll-n-sip, hit refresh.
What the heck IS a “Libertarian Republican”? Is that like, running as a GOP candidate, ’cause you can’t gain traction any other way? =^[.]^=
Yes, that is exactly what it is. However, I am down with that. It pulls the Republican Party to the Right, and limits 3rd-Party Libertarian challenges. Paul would siphon off many votes if he ran as a Libertarian. Instead, we make common cause against the Left.
It creates another benefit. It gets Conservatives to move towards Libertarianism a bit, and it gets Libertarians to move towards Conservatism a bit. Like our dear VodkaPundit. Perhaps we will find a happy balance, and thus entrench these views a bit in the Republican Party, thus salvaging the Party, rather than starting a new one.
Just curious, Marc: What do you think the odds are Ron Paul will run as a third party candidate in the general election, this time? =’[.]‘=
God forfend! He about demolished the Libertarian Party the last time. Maybe he should run as Hamas and destroy *them*?
None. No chance. Last election he was asked that, and he said he would not… and he didn’t. For all his faults, he is as good as his word. This is why I want the Libertarians to have a voice in the Republican Party. They can have some effect, and they do not run 3rd Party.
this whole “everyman” and his question gimmick is getting old
just ask the damn questions (everyone knows which ones to ask– you dont need to refer to 1000 fox news polls) and get on with it; if anything they need a real time indicator for the nation’s interest in persons like johnson so when their meter hits zero he has to leave the stage- forever-
way too many candidates in 20 second intervals- think i’m going to watch seinfeld
ROMNEY, calling someone else on a flip-flop!??!
When asked why he would be a better representative of a “Libertarian Republican” than Ron Paul, Gary Johnson should have said, “Because I’m not an anti-semitic old nutjob, for starters.”
+1
Thread winner.
I should have submitted a question, but it never would have made it to air: “Gov. Romneycare, who are you pretending your last name only has two syllables?”
Romney: “I may have edited that line outta the paperback edition, but I encourage the country to buy my book.” =^[.]^=
There are times to stay the course, there are times to punt based on new circumstances, new information. I don’t have a problem with changing course if it’s an honest response to changing circumstance. A rational person doesn’t hang on to Stalingrad at the cost of Sixth Army.
Herman, Herman, Herman, the EPA is not a Department and I know you know that. I agree they need to be kicked to the curb, but my first pick would be the Carter administration kissback to the teacher’s unions, the Dept of Ed.
Johnson needs a better rug, or just go with bald.
That’s his real hair. If he had a rug he’d look like Perry or Romney.
Sorry, Bruce. That is not his real hair, unless it was all cut off and glued back together and taped onto his head. Neither Romney nor Perry has prosthetic locks. I am a bald guy, and have an eye for these things. I considered some carpets, but they always looks too phony. Exception: Sean Connery in his early James Bond days
He must wear his rug when he swims, then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNecEtzV5sI
You must be a full-headed guy who has never stopped to watch the hair replacement ads on TV. One of the big selling points is, “You can swim in it.”
Rug or hair replacement? Make up your mind!
Wow, Bruce, you are paying attention after all. It is a rug, as opposed to hair replacement (a la Sinatra and others). Tonight you can see the clear line where the bottom of the rug transitions into his own hair above the ears. One thing about it: it speaks of frugality, which isn’t a bad trait ion a President, LOL.
So he wears a rug when he competes in triathlons, swims, climbs Mt. Everest, etc.? Please, you’re just digging your hole deeper.
What hole, Bruce? It’s obvious. Hey, look, read Steve’s last drunk blog entry, about his man crush, “wig-wearing man crush.” If you think what Johnson has on his head is hair naturally growing, then so be it.
Help me Vodka Pundit! I bought my wife a HP TouchPad so she could keep up with blogs like yours (especially Drunk Blogging) but i just looked over at her and she’s playing Angry Birds! Not only that, she’s not even drinking. (that’s really weird for her too BTW) What should I do?
Angry Birds rocks.
Where have you gone, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party turns its lonely eyes to you …
These guys suck. I mean, except for Herman, but he can’t seem to break 5%. Is it just me or is Romney John-McCain Part II? Where does he actually stand? And Perry, he’s too out-of-nowhere. Who is he? I live in MInnesota, not Texas. I have no idea who this guy is.
I want Palin. I know her. I understand her. She has been thoroughly vetted/smeared/SNLed. She’s clean. She is exactly who she purports to be. She’s honest. She does not dither. She does not flip flop. She was the best governor Alaska had for decades. It’s a no brainer. All of these other guys are snoozers. Palin has fire. She has drawing power like NOBODY on this debate stage tonight.
Okay, I;ll shut up now. I need another shot of Old Crow.
I would note that Bud Anderson’s (Yeager’s wingman) P-51 Mustang was named ‘Old Crow’ in honor of the booze. Just sayin…
Really? That’s cool. Cadillac of the Skies, man. It really is good bourbon.
Unfortunately, since I’m a cheap sob, I’m a Mattingly & Moores guy. Tried OC once, gave me headaches. I can imbibe prodigiously of M&M and be coherent the next day.
You, sir, are my hero. Cheers!
I love Sarah, too, but I’ve decided I don’t want her to run. America wouldn’t want to see her go through that accelerated presidential aging process (at least I wouldn’t). Too gorgeous to watch her lose it.
I hear ya. She’s almost as pretty as MY wife. But, dammit, we need some honesty in this country. I do not know of one single politician out there whose word I would trust more than Palin’s. She is the anti-Obama.
It’s not just you.
I reposted your comment #23 at Conservatives4Palin an hour ago and it has accumulated 13 “likes” so far.
Johnson’s rug looks like it was purchased at a yard sale…at Jim Trafficant’s house.
Perry just got booed on immigration. Ouch! =>[.]<=
Unfortunately, he thoroughly deserves it. The Tea Party folks (which is the only bloc that matters this time around), will never fully embrace this guy. He’s acceptable, I guess. But this is the best chance we (conservatives) have had since Reagan to get what (whom) we want. And we have to choose between RomneyCare and InStateTuitionForLawBreakers? I mean, seriously? This is our choice according to The Polls??? This can’t be happening again. We are a nation of 350 million souls and this is the best that conservatives can do? Two guys with questionable right-wing bona fides? I can’t take this crap.
Megaditto’s. Our choices are Dubya on steroids and Obama lite on meth?
We are so screwed.
Just curious, Doc: Barring Gov. Palin entering the race, whom among the current candidates do you most favor (not considering realistic chances to win the primary)? =^[.]^=
Honestly? Michele Bachmann. But she lacks Palin’s magnetism. Palin has the Reagan Shine (if you will). She is the Maggie Thatcher of our time. Bachmann has also been needlessly burdening herself with goofy statements. Take the whole Gardasil thing. What the hell is Gardasil and WHAT the Hell does it have to do with the Black Hole our nation is currently sliding into? … So I’ve cooled considerably on Bachmann of late. So, the declared candidate after her would be Cain or Santorum. But neither of those guys has the drawing power of Palin. Can you picture the Drive-By media trailing around after Rick S., following his every statement, hungering for the tiniest glimpse of a f***-up? Naw. The Left despises Palin because she is real; she is WYSIWYG; she communicates easily, effortlessly, with average Americans; she has a natural, killer sense of humor; she’s physically attractive; she has no pretensions. They’re scared sh**less of her. THEREFORE, let us stick her right in there face. Let us tell the MSM to go to hell, and put up somebody that we admire, trust, and just plain enjoy. Sarah rocks. I would LOVE to see her in the Oval Office, scaring the crap out of the GOP Establishment, the Socialist Opposition, and all of our Puddin’ Cup “allies” overseas.
Your reply deserves a response.
Yeah, I like Cain (who seems to be learning as he goes), and Santorum seems to have more positives than negatives. I liked Perry, generally, but he did a poor job deflecting some of the valid questions for which he ought to have been better prepared. I’d really hate to see Romney in the WH, except that he’d be preferable to the current occupant; his polish is what gave him the edge in this debate, but polish ain’t policy.
As for Gov. Palin, I agree. My only concern is that the media has managed to very effectively taint her in the eyes of the public. It’s hard to imagine anyone losing to Obama, but I fear the resulting unconscious negative impressions might actually have an impact on voter turnout, should she win nomination. Or not. I dunno. these are uncharted waters.
I do think Gov. Palin could still enter the race and shake things up, and perhaps that would be a good thing, no matter what the outcome. =^[.]^=
I think I’m beginning to perceive a strategy. Palin is waiting for everyone else to implode before she steps in and cleans up. If she had gotten in at the height of Perrymania, it would have looked like a declaration of war. That awful McGinniss book was DOA. She’s like Moses: the obstacles are rolling out of her path, she’ll stride to victory and DESTROY Obama in November 2012, assuming Operation Fast and Furious hasn’t destroyed him.
And now, Raycheetah, I’d like to respond to your response. Rather an interesting juxtaposition of your post and mine, which were roughly simultaneous. I was just saying Joe McGinniss’s book was DOA and you were saying the media have destroyed Palin. Maybe it’s time to scrutinize that notion.
I will refresh my old fashion…Great job Stephen!
finished with Angry Birds for the night. Maybe Whit brings it back. 1920′s radio we worse and it got Mqussolini in power.
Que?
I have Hell March from Red Alert on loop on winamp and enjoying several different cans of Arizona teas. This is gonna be amusing.
What is this, halftime? It seems that Mr. Bad State Experiment with healthcare is neck & neck with Mr. Bad State Experiment with illegal immigration.
Followed by the twin Mssrs. Erudite Answers On Point (Gingrich & Cain) with OneTrueConservative sprinting to catch up.
Time for the next single malt.
Perry is very weak on immigration and his views deserve to be booed. The efficacy of fencing the entire border is a reasonable debate but he needs to make his case as to why not rather just than instead of. I don’t want to hear about how heartless it is not subsidise illegal aliens, I don’t care about how heartless we may have to be to solve this problem.
Perry gets thirds after Bachmann and Perry
Guess the alcohol is kicking in.
Heh. Yep.
Yep.
I’m sorry, but I must have missed any questions about Israel directed towards Rachman Paul.
Or perhaps …
Santorum speaks. I hear: Blah, blah, blah, Ginger. Blah, blah, blah.
i get it! The Far Side rules.
Santorum was a great guy in the House and Senate, and his views are very close to my own, and he’s got a great track record on the issues. I would have no reservations about voting for him, except for his one tragic flaw: he doesn’t have the pizzazz to get elected President.
You’re right, man. I agree. I share most of Santorum’s views. I care about: 1) reducing (actually, halving, to begin with) the federal bureaucracy; 2) cutting spending; 3) cutting (growth-killing) taxes; 4) securing the border with Mexico (is that too PC scary?); 5) confronting radical (neck-chopping) Islam in terms they readily understand (you kill one of us, we kill a few thousand of you); 6) recognizing our second existential enemy after Jihadi Islam: (Still) Red China; and, well, that’ll do it for now.
But Santorum will NEVER gain traction in this election. I know it. You know it. And Rick should stop wasting his time.
Who do we have that conservatives get exited about? … Tell me true. (And, no, it is not Newt Gingrich — God bless him.)
I’m from PA. I won’t forget Santorum backing Snarlin’ Arlen Specter.
Michelle Bachmann is superb on parents’ rights when it comes to vaccines.
Perry is a whore on that subject.
Also, when will someone ask Perry about his Islam Aga Khan connections?
What are those, Steve?
Wow, I could do a better job than Perry is doing, right now! =@[.]@=
No offense, RayCheetah, but…uh oh.
And hey, Dr. Frank @ 29 – Tet is Hebrew for nine.
Oops. Dr. Frank @ 39. Need I add: drunkblogging!
Don’t want to be pedantic here but while tet (ט) is the ninth letter of the alphabet, tisha (תשעה) means nine and it starts with letter tav (ת).
Gingrich is the smartest person on the stage and maybe the whole room, but he doesn’t have a shot – very strange – and yes, I’m drunk.
I’m hoping Steve is kidding about Romney owning Florida. No way. Florida Republicans are not Northeast Republicans. They see the lack of any core beliefs, and it matters to them.
Perry led in Florida going into the debate and will lead coming out. I think Green was referring to Romney’s pandering.
“How do you say Nine in Hebrew?”
Let it go, Stephen.
Johnson gets the line of the night.
I’m sure that the campaign managers would scream ‘Death To The Infidels!” at the concept but each of the candidates has good ideas and crap that I absolutely disagree with, so how about someone stating that I will give first refusal to various cabinet positions to the folk on the stage with me tonite?
Because if we don’t give Barack the boot, the rest of this is moot.
I’m ringin’ up Johnson after two strikes: bad rug and the Ron Paul veep pick (only kidding about the first one, it’s not that important, just ugly). Paul is a clown, and a dangerous one. If other candidates can be asked tailor-made probing questions, why can’t Rahman Paul be challenged on his antisemitism?
Ron Paul can’t be VP we need him as fed chairman.
LOL, good one.
Thanks. I’m only half joking. In IMO we need Dept heads who are at minimum deeply suspicious of if not openly hostile to the purpose and the means to those purposes of all fed Depts. etc.
I was thinking more along the lines of U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, or maybe Mozambique.
Who would win if the vote was held in Arcata? Dallas? Cheyenne? Knoxville?
I like the Newt/Cain combo…
Was it just me or did Perry and Romney look like two Ken dolls getting ready to rumble?
they look like the stepford husbands
There IS a void;)
Perry does the smirk! George Bush used to do the smirk! I hate the smirk and these are the only two Texans I have ever seen who do the smirk. And, lest you worry about it right here, I have known a lot of Texans.
Michele Bachmann has umpteen kids and somehow that qualifies her as an expert on education. Oh, okay.
Gary Johnson has neighbors with crappy, if you will, dogs, which means I have more in common with him than any of the other candidates. I have empathy and I just want to vote for this guy, but Colorado’s primary might even be after the convention and I fear I won’t get the chance.
Herman Cain is better at pizzas than government, but at least he can admit that.
Mitt even has a sucky Ivy League name but I read his book about the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and he does know how to play these political games. He can win, but I think we have better if we can help them win.
Ron Paul is just too damned old to be President, although he did appear to be in better shape than Perry after two hours.
Santorum is just one of those guys you just want to smack, just to see his “I’m angry” face.
Newt is just too damned old to be President, although he did appear to be in better shape than Perry after two hours.
Huntsman is like the robot that has an answer for everything, but understands only the key words. He nearly slipped and said he worked for Boobily as an ambassador. He wins the “Most Like Boobily” award, I’m sure.
When Rick Perry talks about “having a heart”, he’s speaking to the independent voters who will pretty much decide the outcome of the general election. Perry knows conservatives are so desperate to rid themselves of Obama that they’d vote for the yappy little poodle down the block or that passing pigeon that just dumped a load on the car hood. Conservative voters will hold their noses and vote for Perry, no matter what problems crop up with crony capitalism or semi-compulsory vaccinations of schoolchildren.
It is my considered opinion that Rick Perry has the best chance of winning the general election. He has an undeniable spark and the canniness to not step too deep into the doo-doo. I plan to hold my nose and vote for the Republican ticket again. Almost anyone would be better than that Marxist piece of bullcrap currently squatting in the White House with his phony birth certificate and his smirking superiority.
Amen, although Perry would have one of the most unholy alliances pushing him over the finish line-think of the Bush 2004 map with 10 more EVs to his side. I also would think a Mormon Blue Flu Part Deux would nullify the swing Mexicans out west, so even that strategy is iffy. Romney has the potential to split the Obama 2008 states east of I-65 and end the election before midnight. And Ruck Fubio! We need John Bolton or Mitch Daniels as VP.
You hope that Ron Paul would rethink his foreign policy. A question, sir: can we afford to spend a trillion dollars a year, much of it borrowed, on military operations and foreign aid? The stated goal of these operations is to stop terrorists, and the plan to stop terrorists is to topple and thwart evil governments. I fear this is perilously close to setting ourselves a goal of peace on earth through military force, something we couldn’t accomplish with 100 trillion dollars a year, let alone one.
I don’t agree with Paul on Iran, but I think his larger point is important: war is just as much responsible for driving us bankrupt as domestic spending. When will the war end? What’s our endgame? When will we be able to bring military spending down below, say, ten times more than all the other nations in the world combined? The Republican base has to come to terms with the cost of their desired foreign policy. What we’re doing now is just as crazy as the Democrats demanding the government make free heath care and college and jobs and lollipops for all. Neither party’s demands make any fiscal sense.
I ask this because I get the feeling that Paul could actually win the nomination if not for his foreign policy. To those voters for whom Paul’s foreign policy is a deal-breaker (which seems to include our estimable host here): what’s your plan for eventually bringing military spending within our means?
Fox and Pew and You
An old friend who perceives himself a quasi-liberal since he and his family members have been labor unionists for generations once said to me, “Well, you get all your news from Fox News.” He had previously blamed Republicans for the election of Barack Hussein Obama because the GOP nominated lame John McCain.
That old union friend was wrong on the first count but probably right on the second.
The only rational explanation for Obama’s election in 2008 is no viable competition but when I do watch television news I split my time pretty equally with the left wing networks and Fox. Like they say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, an aphorism which could be extended to the much less catchy but equivalently-insightful, Watch the truth compliments of your friends and keep your eye on the prevaricators.
As reported by the Fox News Channel in article titled, “Pew: Fox News Channel America’s No. 1 Source for TV News,” a survey conducted in July by the highly-reputable Pew Research Center revealed that 19% of respondents indicated they learned what’s going on in the nation and the world from the FNC. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=5541.)