Started to offer my opinion in the comments and it got too long. So here are mine:
-Newt: Still a treasure at these events. Hope he stays in the race a while just for that reason.
-Santorum: Must have referenced his '94 Senate race half a dozen times. Doesn't seem to recognize the futility of his campaign. Has some good thoughts, but he needs to quit.
-Ron Paul: Insane. Seriously.
-Perry: I don't think he did as poorly as some of the analysts are saying. He needs more polish and needs to provide more thoughtful answers to complex questions, but he was better than the last debate. He looks good--like watching John Wayne. I think he deserves credit for acknowledging the Gardasil issue was a mistake. He also deserves credit for standing by his Texas Dream Act, whether or not we agree with it. Crowd did NOT like his stance on it, but he was firm on his support. Gardasil, and the corollary issue of the campaign contribution related to it, is going to be a problem for him.
-Bachmann: Got some good shots in on Perry. Has gone too far in post-debate news segments, so wiped away any gain she made. Still hopeless. Needs a voice coach.
-Huntsman: Weird. Dumb Nirvana joke. Dumb comment to Perry calling him treasonous (and he's the reasonable guy on stage, right?) I don't get this guy at all. LOOOOOZZZZEEERR.
-Romney: Good, as always. Talks too fast, needs to slow down his answers.
-Cain: I love his voice. Needs to explain his 9/9/9 plan that he's constantly bringing up. He's easy to love-too bad he's going nowhere fast.
-Wolf Blitzer: Lame. 'How will you attract Latino voters?' Seriously, Wolf? I'm really disappointed that none of them, especially Newt, didn't offer up 'the same way I'd attract any voter, I'm not into the whole division thing Wolf.'
-The crowd. Awful. When a question surfaced 'should someone who refuses health insurance and gets sick just be left to die' people actually shouted 'yeah!'
Ron Paul, Santorum and Bachmann did a great job ganging up on Perry. Romney had to be loving it. What's remarkable to me is Romney was ahead for so long and no one touched him. Perry's been out in front for a few weeks and the knives are out already.
It's going to be a head/heart decision. If the GOP primary voters vote with their heart, Perry is going to win. If they vote with their head, Romney is the guy.
I hope they vote with their head.
Heart.
ReplyDeletePerry didn't admit that Gardasil was a mistake; he said that using an executive order instead of the legislature was a mistake. Santorum was right to point out that, whether it's the executive, the legislature, or, presumably, the judiciary, this kind of mandate is wrong. I like Santorum; he represents a genuine conservatism that even Perrycan't quite pull off 100% of the time, but that doesn't descend into fanaticism like Paul and even Bachmann do, sometimes. I won't vote for him, but I do hope he stays around at least until it's time to vote.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting take on Santorum. I think his conservatism on social issues is authentic, but I find his intolerance to be a huge turnoff.
ReplyDeleteBigFred, I had you pegged for a heart guy.