A Disgusted Review of the NBC GOP Debate

It was a debate for the ages - or at least that's how long it seemed to last. An audience drugged with Thorazine and NyQuil combined with a Floridacentric thrust and inane questions led to two painfully long hours. I cannot say with certainty that those in attendance were opening their veins in the lobby as they brutally bashed their own heads with mallets to escape the pervasive boredom, but it is almost an inescapable image in which I found refuge while suffering through NBC's vacuous version of a political debate.

NBC tugged Fidel Castro into the GOP debate
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I "do" politics like some other junkies do heroin and even I had reached my limit well within the first hour as I began to wonder if I would OD on the ceaseless droning of Brian Williams's voice. The drip, drip, drip of uninspired syllables forming uninspired questions began to feel like undergoing Chinese Water Torture on amphetamines. My skin was beginning to crawl as I was rescued by the first commercial break.


Attention, you addlepated, lizard-hearted, makers of television: The all-sizzle and no-steak formula may work for advertising but it does not work for theater or for informing the populace of anything greater than 30-seconds from Vince the Pitchman on why the world will collapse if we don't all own a Shticky within a fortnight - or maybe it's 3 Shtickies, who the Hell knows. At least Vince knows his audience and has some passion for his product, two things clearly absent from last night's floor show.

The CNN GOP Rhubarb

Newt Gingrich started off with a bang and ended on an even, but less-than-exciting note. Rick Santorum did well during the debate, and probably won the debate on points, but is proving irritating and tiresome. Mitt Romney, for the second consecutive debate, looked unsure of himself at times but escaped the debate relatively unscathed. Ron Paul got lots of rest and would have been ignored more often by CNN if he had not been persistent and if the Paulistas in the audience had not been so vocal.

Former Pennsylvania Senatoe Rick Santorum
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CNN managed to both host and lose the debates; a feat of marvel and amazement. CNN moderator John King, proving he deserves that bed allotted him at "the home," began by picking a fight with Newt Gingrich. You can imagine how that went. King was outgunned intellectually and emotionally before Gingrich rolled him into a little ball and dropped him, smoldering, into an ash can.

King insisted on bringing up Gingrich's ex-wife Marianne's statements about their divorce. Marianne Gingrich has long flirted with the idea of "ruining" Gingrich's political career "with one interview". With, not just South Carolina but, the entire GOP nomination at stake she decided to strike. Angry much, Marianne?

Gingrich Clearly Wins South Carolina Debate

Newt Gingrich clearly dominated the South Carolina GOP debate last night. He received two standing ovations and his statements were often followed by loud, lengthy applause. The former US House Speaker needed to do well after he allowed the negative ads run against him in Iowa to affect him and his campaign, and he did so.

Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich
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Gingrich won the debate by dealing in specifics. Other candidates, President Barack Obama comes to mind, do better when they are allowed to make broad, gilded generalities that have less substance than a cotton candy hologram. Gingrich revels in applying the lessons of the past to the present and it's one of the reasons most people believe that Gingrich would destroy the sitting President in a debate.

Gingrich started slowly, having an uneasy time defending his attacks on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's stint at Bain Capital. He muddled through eventually, though.

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum cleaned Romney's clock in an exchange about the attack ads run by the superPAC that supports Romney. Santorum forced Romney to admit that his state of Massachusetts had a more liberal law than the one Santorum voted for and that the representation in the ads did not fairly depict Santorum's position. Santorum failed; however, to look at Romney and add the killer line that I expected: "In fact, Governor Romney, the position your superPAC accuses me of having is identical to the one you tolerated as Massachusetts Governor, isn't it?"

Why Rick Perry Won and Michele Bachmann Lost the Iowa Debate

 - Review of the Fox News Sioux City GOP Debate - 

I watched most of last night's Fox News Sioux City GOP debates twice. Once to analyze the statements and positions and the second time to observe the ebb and flow of the debate itself. In the beginning it was a relative picnic, but it became the knife fight I had predicted as the debate progressed. Unfortunately for Michele Bachmann, she got careless with her blade and a lot of the blood on the floor was her own - or it will be in tomorrow's news cycle, anyway. Bachmann's analysis is the longest by far, so if you make it through there, you're home free.

Prior Fox News Debate
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My take on the debates by candidate:

Michele Bachmann: Minnesota Congressman Bachmann made three key strategic errors last night. First, her credibility is not an established fact and attacking more than one candidate last night stretched it beyond the breaking point. Bachmann weighed in on both Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, but her biggest error was different; one that could have easily been avoided.

People without heavyweight credentials of their own cannot challenge Newt Gingrich's conservative credentials, which is why Mitt Romney surrogates such as Bill Bennett and George F. Will do so but Romney seldom does personally. Bachmann is a conservative, but compared to Gingrich her political resume is both thin and short.

Iowa Debate Poll and Old Poll Results

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New Poll: Who won the Sioux City Iowa debate?

Michele Bachmann
Newt Gingrich
Jon Huntsman
Ron Paul
Rick Perry
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum

Please vote in the poll which is in the right column near the top of the page. You may vote once, and in this poll you may vote for only one answer. The poll will close at Midnight, the morning of December the 22nd.

Old Poll Results:Why is President Obama blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline?

 69.8% - He fears angering the left-leaning Green movement.
 25.5% - He is using it as political leverage.
   7.5% - He hates Canadians.
 33.0%  - He wants no new oil-related jobs.
 16.0% - Someone in Texas might benefit.
   5.7% - He is confusing oil pipelines with surfing pipelines.


Please note that this is not a scientific poll and is used for entertainment and to generate discussion. Poll results will add up to more than 100% because each voter was allowed to choose multiple answers in this particular poll.


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Sioux City Me, Sioux City You Blues

 - Preview of the Fox News Sioux City GOP Debate - 

I'll be blogging tonight's Fox News GOP debate; watching for political blood and gore. Sioux City, Iowa, is hosting the event which will likely need ring girls, a referee, a ring and a house doctor. I will be surprised if it does not get ugly. I've made a few notes on what I will be watching for during the debate and thought I would share them with you.

After the debate, I'll open up the online poll on who you believe won the debate with civil comments welcome. Then, I'll add my after-debate opinions to the mix.

Things to watch:

Historic downtown Sioux City, Iowa
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Michele Bachmann: Bachmann is one of two candidates who must do well here to be taken seriously for the remainder of the campaign. Her campaign has trumpeted her Iowa ties and organization too loudly and too broadly for her to fail and mount a comeback later. Whether she realizes it or not, this is make or break for her. She does not have to win, but anything less than third in the Iowa caucuses is a major problem and less than fourth is a death knell for her campaign. She is likely to be very aggressive and should self-monitor to ensure she does not sound shrill.

Herman Cain: Most regular debate watchers may be surprised at how much they miss Cain's presence.

Newt Gingrich: As the current poll leader, Newt will again be the focal point of his fellow candidates. Look to see if he handles attacks with calm, rational ripostes or if he looks mean. The manner, rather than the substance of his remarks will be more important. Look for attacks on Gingrich's past moves to the left. Critics want you to see them as revelatory; Newt wants you to see them as anomalies. If he is smart, Gingrich will point out how he differs from President Obama rather than his fellow Republicans.

Pawlenty Shaken When Iowans Not Stirred

Forgive the 007 reference contained in the headline; former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will never be James Bond. If Pawlenty had been cast in one of the movies about Ian Fleming's superstar spy, it would not be in the leading role, though he might have been listed in the credits as "accountant's less interesting friend in a crowd scene".

Pawlenty was always in a mob, never able to emerge from the throng of politicians littering the Iowa landscape the past few months. Political strategists can give you many interesting theories on why this 

Image via Wikipedia

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty

happened, but it wasn't complicated. Pawlenty never seized anyone's interest and remained a somewhat unknown, somewhat distrusted, outsider in his own party.

Just as Mitt Romney's Massachusetts governorship raises concerns for conservatives, so too does Pawlenty's two terms as the Minnesota chief executive. When Republicans think of Minnesota politics they think of Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale and Al Franken. The blue state is not a likely origin for a GOP Presidential nominee and if a Republican is elected by that group then he is suspect. It's little wonder Pawlenty is an early casualty in this contest.

Pawlenty was outlasted by both Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. If you could pick both McCotter and Johnson out of a police line-up then you're likely a political insider. Yet, as of 11 PM on August 14th, they remain and Pawlenty, with much more national television exposure, has exited the political stage.

Why Herman Cain Won and Rick Santorum Lost the GOP Debate

The South Carolina Republican presidential debate was held last night and featured five GOP candidates that Democrat pollster and Fox News analyst Doug Schoen described as “the B team”. Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum showed up and delivered an energetic, friendly debate that generated some noteworthy video clips and sound bites.

“Winning” the debate is an obvious goal, but candidates had more important things they needed to achieve. Both Herman Cain and Gary Johnson needed to increase their name recognition and prove they could stand on the stage with the competition. Though Johnson is a former New Mexico governor, he is unknown to a vast majority of people and in the South is probably less known than TEA Party icon/businessman/radio talk-show host Cain.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is well-liked in the media. He’s well-spoken and his positions are mainstream. Unfortunately for him, some are not mainstream for Republicans. Pawlenty needed to convince voters that he’s not simply a more articulate, wrinkle-free version of John McCain.

Texas Congressman and libertarian darling Ron Paul had a difficult task. During this campaign, he has to convince a lot of people that what they “know” about him isn’t accurate. Paul has been painted as a “loony” and “dangerous” by political opponents, even though he holds a medical degree from Duke University and was first elected to the US House in 1976. In addition, the Congressman can come across as professorial when discussing economics and his foreign policy is not supported by most mainstream Republicans.

Finally, there is former US Senator Rick Santorum. I was surprised when Chris Stirewalt’s analysis on the Fox News website offered up Rick Santorum as the winner. I didn’t see him as the winner and after further reflection, I still do not see it. With his experience and relatively high profile, Santorum needed to show he was the class of the debate and consequently, was the only one who actually needed to win.

Pennsylvania’s Santorum has a well-earned reputation as a conservative. He is openly patriotic and has shown he will go to the mat for conservative causes. He would like to be the heir to Ronald Reagan, but his visible lack of comfort and  joy prevents him from being the next incarnation of Reagan’s “Happy Warrior”.

Santorum, presented as a checklist of positions and as a squeaky-clean public servant should chart high with conservatives. Santorum’s personal presentation though was stiffer than a plank and his expression was wooden, as well. The Rick Santorum who was first elected to the US House of Representatives at the age of 32 was joyful, passionate, and witty. Speaking during “Special Orders” in the US House, he demonstrated his thoughtful support for the conservative cause with a real smile on his face. If that Rick Santorum does not reappear, along with his missing smile, then this Rick Santorum should simply go home because voters will not support a man this difficult to like.

Gary Johnson came across as a smart man with a sense of humor, but his attempts at using cost-benefit analysis as a platform did not score with the audience. Tim Pawlenty got points for his kind treatment of absent colleagues, but was entangled in his former position on Cap and Trade legislation. Neither completed the needed tasks.

Ron Paul held his own and his supporters were enthusiastic. He got some significant applause lines and laugh lines, but his task is a long-term one. He has to convince voters that his ideas aren’t crazy just because they are different. He certainly lost no votes because he stayed on message and his candor may have brought some new listeners, but he did not dominate the debate. The unanswerable questions at this time are, “Was it enough?” and “Will his message begin to resonate with a broader audience?”

The big winner was Herman Cain. Cain clearly won the debate on two levels: his performance and his accomplishment of what he needed as a candidate. Last night Herman Cain proved he belongs on the big stage and that his message has an audience. Pundits may dismiss Cain and we must remember it is a long campaign, but anyone who thinks Herman Cain won’t be around is going to be proven wrong.