G.O.P. debate
(From NBC's Chuck Todd)
Did Rudy actually try and go to McCain's right on stem cells? Sure sounded that way to me.
(By MSNBC's Joe Scarborough)
Duncan Hunter believes in global warming and supports alternative energy sources. Wow. The Congressman's answer proves global warming is turning into a bi-partisan issue before our eyes.
(By MSNBC's Joe Scarborough)
Each presidential debate has its defining moments. So many Republicans are breaking through and speaking to their specific audiences. Tommy Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Jim Gilmore and Sam Brownback are having good moments. Mitt Romney looks like he owns the stage. But Rudy is having none of those breakthrough answers. Why? Who knows. But that leadership style we saw on the streets of New York after 9/11 is not translating on stage at the Reagan library.
(From NBC's Chuck Todd)
McCain looks to be the most prepared tonight... His answers are crisp and ready for air. It's the difference between doing this before and doing this for the first time. Ask Barack Obama, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton from last week. Obama wasn't ready for the format, Edwards and Clinton were.
(From NBC's Chuck Todd)
Rudy's sole goal tonight: prove electability. Analyze every answer he's given and it's all been framed thru the prism of "electability."
(By MSNBC's Joe Scarborough)
Gilmore is putting on a very strong performance.
Moving to the halfway point of this Republican debate, it looks like Mitt Romney is trying his best to pull down the mantle of Ronald Reagan. He is off to a very strong start. The man who is best alligned to do that--John McCain is simply stumbling too much to strike voters as Reaganesque. He is clearly uncomfortable. Perhaps tomorrow, we'll find out why.
Jim Gilmore and Mike Huckabee are off to strong starts as is Sam Brownback. Giuliani may have Reagan's leadership qualities but he seems to lack Reagan's optimism. But Mitt Romney has it in spades. He is clearly winning this debate.
(By MSNBC's Tucker Carlson)
Both Giuliani and McCain seem nervous. Rudy, who may be the most fluent, natural speaker running for president, stumbles over his words at least twice in his first answer. He speaks too fast, rushing to squeeze every imaginable talking point – 9-11, Reagan’s legacy, the rebirth of New York City – into a single paragraph, if not sentence. McCain follows his pace. He explodes out of the box like a sprinter, then trips almost immediately. Weirdly, it’s Romney who seems most relaxed. He may not know who he is, but he’s good on stage. Actually, maybe that’s why he’s good on stage.
"He is going to pay and he is going to die."
What a breakthrough moment for Mitt Romney, talking about Osama Bin Laden. John McCain followed by promising to follow Bin Laden to the gates of Hell.
Mitt Romney is doing very well, as is Giuliani. John McCain is off to an tentative, uneven start.
From my vantage point, I'm looking at the stage to my right and the candidates to my left, waiting behind the curtain. Mitt Romney is looking relaxed, chatting with other candidates. Brownback, Gilmore and Duncab Hunter are also smiling as if there political futures are NOT hanging in the balance.
They are.
