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As for the Rest of 'Em

By W. James Antle, III on 11.9.11 @ 10:56PM

Mitt Romney -- Didn't do anything to hurt himself, which is always his objective. But if he is the nominee, he won't be treated as gently on the individual mandate, TARP, the auto bailout, and flip-flops as he generally was (by everyone except for the moderators) tonight.

Herman Cain -- Turned the questions about the sexual harassment charges to his advantage, but was almost on-message to a fault. When people laugh at the mention of your tax plan, that's not a good sign. Affable and personable, but without much command of details beyond 999.

Newt Gingrich -- Strong performance, typically belligerent toward the moderators but mostly followed Reagan's 11th Commandment regarding his opponents. I am beginning to wonder if the Lincoln-Douglas debate this past weekend was designed to make a play for Cain supporters should the former Godfather's Pizza CEO implode. Expect Gingrich's rise to continue.

Ron Paul -- Best debate performance so far. In command of economic facts, no foreign policy questions to annoy the audience. Excellent answer on student loans. Frequently talks too fast and resorts to Austrian inside baseball, however.

Rick Santorum -- Not as good as usual. His claiming credit for all sorts of things while senator seemed pedantic and his complaints about time pathetic. Didn't get to play ideological enforcer in this format.

Michele Bachmann -- Her tax everybody message is fool's gold for Republicans. Tax the poor was a Rush Limbaugh quip circa The Way Things Ought to Be, not a conservative fiscal policy.

Jon Huntsman -- Smart but basically irrelevant.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention Cain's "Princess Nancy" remark, which was ill advised given his recent troubles but probably won't move his numbers among Republican voters.

View all comments (14) | Leave a comment

Clint| 11.9.11 @ 11:24PM

Dr.Ron Paul understands Austrian School Economics & how it trumps Obama's Failed Keynesian Economics.Dr.Paul,being both a doctor & a congressman knows the inside baseball of Medical Care & how Free Market Solutions will trump ObamaCare.

The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here.

Clint| 11.9.11 @ 11:26PM

"In May, when Gingrich sharply criticized Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan, FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey reminded National Review that Gingrich had been a serial offender:

Citing Gingrich’s support of Dede Scozzafava in the 2009 congressional election in New York’s 23rd district, his backing of Medicare Part D and TARP, and his commercial with Nancy Pelosi about climate change, Armey observes that “Newt entered the race with serious ground to make up with these 2 million Tea Party activists.”…

Brendan Steinhauser, director of Federal and State Campaigns for FreedomWorks, reports that the Tea Partiers he’s talked to are “irate” at Gingrich… “I never met a single Tea Party activist that supported Newt Gingrich for president,” he adds."

Jack in Wi| 11.10.11 @ 1:17AM

Newt is intelligent as all get out. The trouble is his huge baggage. Today we lear about his 300,000 dollar deal with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. How many more sweetheart consulting deals did he do with the government while he was collecting his massive Federal peansion? Newt Gingrich is the original Washington insider, pretending he is Mr. Outsider.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.10.11 @ 7:26AM

That pretty well sums it up.

W| 11.10.11 @ 2:16PM

Last night Newt said he was paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac for "advice." The advice he gave was they should not lend money to persons who could not afford to pay the monthly mortgage payment. But if they did lend the money to people who could not pay the mortgage then there would be a problem, and things would blow up.

My father gave me the same advice when I told him I wanted to buy a car, and my choices were a Lamborghini, Corvette, or a used Plymouth Duster.
He did not use big words like Newt such as "fundamentally" or "absolutely" or "incredibly" or any other big words ending in "ly." But then I did not have to pay $300,000 for that advice.

Perry cannot put three sentences together and Newt cannot answer anything in fewer than three paragraphs, but I feel more confortable with Perry than Newt, although I will vote for anyone but Obama.

martin j smith| 11.10.11 @ 7:52AM

Of the persons you mention I would say Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich would be my preferred two options.

Ron Paul can go to Hollywood as far as I am concerned I would never-ever ever ever ever vote for that guy he is Obama over 2.
He is an American Last and a hater of American just like Obama so who needs him when we have the real deal right now.

So far, Bachman seems to have little energy and same for Santorum Its still early and they have time but time is not forever.

One reson why I like Cain well actually maybe more is this: He is articulate,likeable and most important so far the most under fire and best at being under fire. Lets see if Romney or Paul were given fire-so to speak. Lets see how well they do. But Cain is superior sop far.

As Huntsoman--who is he ?

Bumr50| 11.10.11 @ 7:53AM

a) Tea Partiers don't like Ron Paul.

b)Cain's Princess Nancy remark was spot-on. He's not going to change based on something he didn't do, and he's not afraid to say what's on his mind.

While 9-9-9 needs tweaking, it's basic premises actually do work if you know anything about economics. Whether or not you like a fair tax is another story, but major changes need to be made to ensure that we reestablish manufacturing in this country, and it takes steps in the direction for that to be feasible.

The changes that MUST be made to keep us from collapse will not be popular.

Mike Rogers| 11.10.11 @ 8:24AM

That's pretty close. Nobody's going to accuse him of harassing Nancy, and precious/princess describes her to a T.
The only thing against 9/9/9 is the way he harped on it - easy enough to lead with something descriptive, and imply 9/9/9, instead of leading with it every time.
The reason we need Cain is that he's the great communicator of this race, and the reason we need Gingrich is because he's the best thinker in the race, and refuses to turn on his own side (Cain doesn't either). That is why you are most likely looking at a ticket.

Marco| 11.10.11 @ 5:58PM

Yeah, a ticket to deserved electoral oblivion. Big mouth Fanny Newt on all sides of every issue, and Fanny-pincher Herman one note, who probably can't find Canada on a map, that's the pair. There's enough baggage between these two to fill a freight train.

Dai Alanye| 11.10.11 @ 12:15PM

It was a mistake for Cain to call the former Speaker "Princess Nancy." Her correct title is now "Dowager-Empress Nancy." No-one as dictatorial as she should ever be referred to as a measly princess.

tonypal| 11.10.11 @ 2:25PM

I hope Clint doesn't know where you live. After he reads point a in your post, you might have a problem. At the very least, he will surely seek to revoke your Tea Party membership card.

JimH| 11.10.11 @ 8:29AM

Autrian inside baseball? Von Mises to Hayak to Sowell; Nice triple play.

Mike 3/505| 11.10.11 @ 8:52AM

"When people laugh at the mention of your tax plan, that's not a good sign."

Not necessarily true. Everyonenknows 9-9-9 now. Many may not agree, but it is bold. Folksmaremlooking for someone who has solutions. Also, focusing on fundamentals....lower taxes, less regulation etc os the way to fix the economy...basic blocking and tackling.

Regards,

Mike

geore achille| 11.11.11 @ 2:02PM

please tell newt he can make it happen,IF he would not preach like hes' talking to students and dumb bells. t6he last time he was in power he let his mouth overload his--- we need him to get with romney, a great ticket that can win