I watched the debate, but didn't have a working Internet
connection yesterday, so I'm just catching up now. To start, let me
just say that given that this debate took place on a Sunday morning
in August, only the biggest political junkies were watching, so
it's especially unlikely that it will mean much. Furthermore, there
weren't any truly memorable moments (i.e. Rudy vs. Ron Paul in the
second debate). With that said, here are some of my thoughts.
Rudy Giuliani gave another strong performance. He was able to
bat away the social issues question early, and offer strong answers
on national security and economic issues. He did a great job of
challenging the premise of the questions, attacking Democrats
whenever he got the chance, offering a unique perspective on
policy, and displaying quick wit. He also effectively weaved in his
practical experiences as mayor of New York to demonstrate points --
raising more revenue through lower taxes, managing the city's
extensive bridge system, and treating security as a necessary
precursor for citizens in a free society to be able to exercise
their freedoms. Giuliani's positions on some issues no doubt still
make him unacceptable to a certain number of voters, but right now
he is running in a way that gives him the best chance to win.
Mitt Romney may be getting kudos for his canned line about
Barack Obama going from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove, but in my
view his answers on abortion were an utter embarrassment, and
justify a separate
post.
During the height of the John McCain doom and gloom, I predicted
he would survive because the defeat of the immigration bill meant
that the dominant issue would shift from immigration to Iraq, on
which he is in agreement with conservatives. This debate
performance largely confirmed that view. His answers on national
security were all strong, and with the exception of the Cheney
question, I think conservatives would find little to disagree with
him on during this debate. I still don't think he has a realistic
chance of becoming the party's nominee, but he's not going anywhere
anytime soon.
Of the other candidates, the only one I felt stood out was
Duncan Hunter. In his retort to Ron Paul on Iraq, and in his answer
on Pakistan, he displayed a command of many specific foreign policy
details while other candidates opted to paint with broad
strokes.
topics:
Taxes, Foreign Policy, John McCain, Barack Obama, Abortion, Iraq, Pakistan, Immigration
