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The Spectacle Blog
Here are my final thoughts on tonight’s Florida GOP Debate in Jacksonville which aired on CNN.
Ron Paul - He had his moments during the debate especially when Wolf Blitzer asked him about his medical records. Paul handled that question with good humor and aplomb.
Unfortunately, Paul continues to display his shortcomings on foreign policy. It’s well and good to say he would talk to Raul Castro and listen to what he had to say. But I suspect if he were to take the time to talk to Cuba’s Ladies in White and other dissidents, they would tell him he couldn’t and shouldn’t accept what Castro said at face value. Like President Obama, Paul thinks America is a big bully that imposes it will while the Castros of the world have pure intentions and are simply misunderstood. Paul should thank his lucky stars he didn’t get in on the Palestinian question from the audience because he would have made a fool of himself as he always does when this question comes up. Anyone who suggests that Israel created Hamas or tells Iranian state TV that Gaza is a concentration camp is in Noam Chomsky territory.
With that said, it is interesting to see both Romney and Gingrich take an increasingly friendly posture towards Paul during the debate. Rick Santorum was the only candidate who directly criticized Paul in this debate. Of course, this might very well be a product of the two frontrunners needing the support of Paul’s people going into the Convention. Would Santorum take a similar posture if he were in a stronger standing in the polls? It’s quite possible.
Mitt Romney - He came off as dodgy when asked about an ad which asserted that Newt Gingrich called Spanish “a language of the ghetto” said, “I doubt that’s one of mine.” When Wolf Blitzer revealed that he had, in fact, approved the message all he could say do was claim that he was unfamiliar with the ad’s content and that he doesn’t see all of his ads.
What a cop out! Either Romney approves the message or he doesn’t. Isn’t he the least bit curious about the ads being put out under his name. It’s one thing not to take responsibility for Super PACs who act on your behalf but to be blithely unaware of what goes on in your own campaign under your nose tells me that the lights are on but no one is home. Nor did he inspire confidence when he said he put his investments were in a blind trust and not responsible for them.
I’m not saying he didn’t land some blows on Newt over Fannie & Freddie but he overstepped when it came to questioning his Reagan bonafides. When a candidate has the endorsement of Michael Reagan and a statement from Nancy Reagan that “Ronnie passed the torch to Newt”, it’s not a smart line of attack for a candidate to pursue especially if he wasn’t supportive of Reagan in the first place. He didn’t help himself tonight.
Newt Gingrich - He took some punches from Romney over Freddie & Fannie although he got back at Romney over his Reagan credentials. As with Romney, their fight didn’t help him. It’s also worth noting that Wolf Blitzer stood his ground when he tried to chide him over the question concerning Romney’s tax return.
When Mitt made a point of accusing Newt of pandering to people in the states he visited, he countered that it’s useful for a President to know the issues that affect the states. Even Romney had to nod his in approval.
Newt had a few applause lines but it’s possible he peaked in South Carolina a week ago.
Rick Santorum - He scored points when he played the voice of reason between Newt and Mitt as well as with his answer about faith, lambasted the Obama Administration’s policy in Latin America and was also effective against Romney over Romneycare. But has Santorum packed it in in Florida? If he has, his good performance tonight might be all for naught.
Well, there won’t be another debate for almost four weeks. The next debate is scheduled to take place on February 22nd in Mesa, Arizona and will air on CNN. Arizona will hold its primary on February 28th.
View all comments (39) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/26/cnn-florida-gop-debate-post-mo
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Mike 3/505| 1.26.12 @ 11:28PM
I'm a Newt fan, but I think romney beat him on points tonight. Newt never got or arranged to have the highly coveted "Newt Moment." Your point regarding Blitzer was spot on, yet incomplete. Blitzer pushed back, but ultimately, Romney won that exchange. My SWAG, is Romney won all the Newt-Mitt exchanges 3-2 each time.
Clint| 1.27.12 @ 6:40AM
" The New Hampshire Gazette
The Chickenhawk Hall Of Shame.
name:
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich
rank:
Chickenhawk First Class with Distinguished Fleeing Cross
date-of-birth:
June 17, 1943
home state:
Georgia
missed opportunity:
Vietnam War
preferred activity:
Attending grad school
occupation:
Congressman
A virtuoso in the art of hypocrisy, the former Speaker of the House now claims the Vietnam War was a splendid idea, but at the time he opposed going himself. Newtie also speaks highly of morality, but as a serial adulterer he doesn't want to get too close."
Gingrich, "I Lead From My Mouth".
Hobbes| 1.27.12 @ 10:00AM
Paul thinks "the Castros of the world have pure intentions and are simply misunderstood." Where do you get this stuff? In your fevered-Paul hating mind? It's a goddamn lie. Jesus. Quite putting your goddamn lies in Ron Paul's mouth, you liar.
KennesawJack| 1.26.12 @ 11:43PM
I've been a Newt fan since the beginning but I think Santorum did very well in this debate. For the first time, I thought Newt looked a little nonplussed at times. Still think Newt can win it all if he gets the nomination. I suspect, based on overall peformance in the last two debates, Romney will win Florida, Santorum will rise a bit (at Newt's expense) and Paul will finish a distant fourth.
Esoteric| 1.27.12 @ 12:09AM
I dunno, Aaron...you'd have to be pretty deep into the tank for Newt (and so opposed to Romney that you're not capable of objective analysis) not to concede that Romney doused Newt with gasoline and set him on fire in this debate. It wasn't just that Newt was weak...it's that Romney was shockingly (and I do mean shockingly) strong and aggressive.
As a conservative I tend to agree with the assessment that Santorum arguably won on 'points,' but he's still something of a sideshow. The real story was Mitt vs. Newt, and for the first time tonight I genuinely thought that Mitt was a smarter, better, more credible fighter than Newt was. I have no idea how it happened, or what drugs Romney took (actually I'm pretty sure he didn't take any, not even coffee...Mormon, natch), but he came out ready to rumble.
Bob K.| 1.27.12 @ 12:15AM
No more debates for 4 weeks! Wonderful! Now we can look forward to constant political ads from the candidates with the big bucks!
Money talks, debaters walk! So long Santorum!
beebop2| 1.27.12 @ 5:53AM
Perhaps it will allow them sometime to catch up with how determined 0bama is to make America "built to BE last," and how successfully he is accomplishing his task. Six coal fired electric plants closed yesterday -- four of them in Ohio. With no where else to pick up the slack, I guess the millionaires and billionaires who rely on the utility grid can just make their own arrangements? Anyone think that John Kasich is being punished .... that 0bama is someone who likes to get even and punish those who oppose him or his buddies in the union? Nah ... what was I thinking ....
Nancy in NC| 1.27.12 @ 9:42AM
And those closing coal plants won't make the news.
Sometimes I think we could make more progress if we attempted to destroy the media, and the sorry ass job they do of actually reporting the news, rather than being Obama's water boy. It's become almost a full time job for me to find out what is actually going on in this country, forget the rest of the world.
bluecollarbytes| 1.27.12 @ 12:16AM
Gingrich continues to use a form of class envy against Romney. It doesn't look good for Newt.
123| 1.27.12 @ 12:19AM
I think your wrong about Paul's foreign policy position. Yes, he would talk to Castro, but that doesn't mean he endorses his actions. Opening up trade and talks would undermine Castro grip on power quicker than any sanctions, how have they worked out for the last 40 years anyway??? Castro family still in power. Time to take a different approach and open your mind. When goods and services cross borders between two countries so do free ideas, and weapons and soldiers then usually don't. Look at what has been acheived in peace and trade with Vietnam. We went to war for the fear of the spread of communism. Never won the war, many died, and now we trade with them and our Nike sneakers are made there...go figure. Open your minds people. Ron Paul 2012.
Naql| 1.27.12 @ 2:52AM
Exactly. Cuba's isolation, in spite of being this close to the US, is why the Castro regime has persisted this long. I'm afraid that's a bit subtle for the faction that only has the war hammer in its toolbox.
Hobbes| 1.27.12 @ 9:57AM
Paul's shortcomings on foreign policy???? Yeah, the last three president's foreign policy have been sooooo wonderfully effective. Maybe we try something new for once. Taking care of America first.
somnolence| 1.27.12 @ 12:21AM
Romney won the exchange with Santorum on healthcare and told Rick that he would school Barry Sotero about the difference in what he instituted and what the SCOTUS will strike down in June. All Newt did was wince when Rick reminded Newt that Gingrich paraded around FOR nationalized health care for 20 years. Gingrich blinked tonight and Mitt showed with preparation he is capable of beating anyone on the planet in a debate.
William R| 1.27.12 @ 12:23AM
Goldstein we've had trade and travel restrictions on Cuba for 50 years and the Castro brothers are still in power. Methinks it's time to try another way. Lets start trading with Cuba.
"The one thing Cuba cannot resist is capitalist intervention…"-----William F Buckley.
You're a liberal Goldstein when it comes to foreign policy.
Clint| 1.27.12 @ 6:47AM
Apparently, The Israel Firster Smear Bund Ass Clowns Never Read George Washington's Farewell Address, Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, The Old Right And Get Back To Us.
" George Will, "Today, we have a very different kind of foreign policy. It’s called Wilsonian. And the premise of the Bush Doctrine is that America must spread democracy, because our national security depends upon it. And America can spread democracy. It knows how. It can engage in national building. This is conservative or not?"
William F. Buckley, " It’s not at all conservative. It’s anything but conservative. It’s not conservative at all, inasmuch as conservatism doesn’t invite unnecessary challenges. It insists on coming to terms with the world as it is …”
The Three Chickenhawk Candidates Wouldn't Know Real Conservative Foreign Policy If It Bit Em In The Nuggets , If They Had Em And Weren't Just Chickenhawk Coat Holder Rough Puffs.
Marco2| 1.27.12 @ 12:34AM
A strange debate analysis, indeed. Poor Professor Newton's little rocketship won't defy the laws of gravity after all, it appears, and I was so looking forward to his career as King of the Moon (safely ensconced 240,000 miles away from here). And Lil' Ricky hasn't a snowball's chance of winning anything anywhere. It's Romney, boys and girls, and it's time to get with the program.
mintydent| 1.27.12 @ 1:21AM
If it's time to 'get with the program', I'm changing the channel.
Our debt is out of control and needs to be brought under control. Ron Paul is the only one that has promised to cut a trillion dollars from our deficit. The media is ignoring him for a reason. Stop being sheep people and wake up!
spike59| 1.27.12 @ 6:35AM
the reason Dr Loonypants is 'being ignored' is because he is a whackadoodle
Dan Abrams | 1.27.12 @ 2:09AM
Aaron — What is wrong with Romney having money in a blind trust? Romney credibly explained that he uses a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest. If he selected individual stocks on his own those predisposed to criticize him would blame him for every misstep of any company for which he had an investment.
jstwndring| 1.27.12 @ 2:37AM
There is nothing wrong with a blind trust. The problem with Romney is a pattern of denying responsibility for many of his actions. Sound like anyone else we know? Barry, perhaps? Democrats in general? If it walks, talks and generally looks like one, it probably is one.
Are we seriously considering a Republican who actually signed socialized medicine into law in his own state?
Am I actually gonna vote this November?
It's looking less and less likely.
John_Pitralon| 1.27.12 @ 2:41AM
America, FUCK YOU if you don't vote Ron Paul. I swear to God you would be a nation of failures if you failed this man.
2 wars based on a LIE! Get a life.
AE911Truth Experts Speak Out: Full Length Documentary ...
(40 U.S.'s architects and engineers demanding true investigation of 9/11 attacks)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW6mJOqRDI4
spike59| 1.27.12 @ 6:34AM
RON PAUL WILL NEVER EVER EVER BE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. EVER.
sorry to intrude with reality, but it HAD to be said...now, put down the Cheetos, take off the tinfoil hat, and get out of Mommy's basement
John_Pitralon| 1.27.12 @ 8:41AM
EPIC FAIL.
http://www.ae911truth.org
chuck| 1.27.12 @ 7:24AM
Thank you John, you are a shining example of what is wrong with the Paul campaign: his supporters, Jack, Clint, and now you, with your brilliant, articulate defense of his positions.
Keep it up, you are doing us all a favor.
John_Pitralon| 1.27.12 @ 8:44AM
another EPIC FAIL.
http://www.patriotsquestion911.com
spike59| 1.27.12 @ 6:32AM
the prospect of leaving our national security in the hands of DrRonPaul is only slightly less frightening than the prospect of leaving Roman Polanski in charge of a girls' school
Clint| 1.27.12 @ 6:36AM
You Wouldn't Know Real Conservtism If It Jumped Up And Bit Ya RINO-CINO Mittens' Kitten.
Read George Washington's Farewell Address, Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, The Old Right And Get Back To Us.
" George Will, "Today, we have a very different kind of foreign policy. It’s called Wilsonian. And the premise of the Bush Doctrine is that America must spread democracy, because our national security depends upon it. And America can spread democracy. It knows how. It can engage in national building. This is conservative or not?"
William F. Buckley, " It’s not at all conservative. It’s anything but conservative. It’s not conservative at all, inasmuch as conservatism doesn’t invite unnecessary challenges. It insists on coming to terms with the world as it is …”
The Tea Party Rebellion Steps On The RINO-CINO Flunkie Stooges.
martin j smith| 1.27.12 @ 7:22AM
These "debates" which are not debates should not and in my mind will not by themselves judge a candidates ability to beat Obama--and actually that for me is the most important factor at this time. Its the stump speeches which will include attacks on Obama that matter more.
Mitt and Newt cancel each other out. But, you match up just about any two politicians and that would be true of them as well. Santorum I could certainly support but does he have the money ? Yes folks it is about MONEY. I think the main thing about Obama that for will make a difference is we will elect a President who does not hate America. Look Newt,Mitt Santorum might not give a crap about me or you and our lives but at the very minimu the animus about this country that Obama has will be greatly diminished. That is what we will get. Oh yeah and that is why Ron Paul will never be elected. He too hates America--got that Clint ?
Nancy in NC| 1.27.12 @ 9:51AM
You have about as much chance changing Clint and Jack as Newt has of being in that moon colony.
We have a "Clint" in our local tea party. He's just as obnoxious and thick skulled, and just as bad as the worst Obama Zombie.
While I agree with Paul on much of his domestic policy, his foreign policy is naive at best. There is always evil in the world, and it's in our best interest to keep a careful eye on it. Unfortunately, there's plenty of evil in this country, and most of it is located in D.C. At this point, it seems we're doing a sorry job of eliminating much of it.
John_Pitralon| 1.27.12 @ 10:06AM
Do you mean Brainwashington, D.C.?
That's the hole inside the Pentagon, that chickenhawks have made, not a jihadist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3RaJHltYUY
John_Pitralon| 1.27.12 @ 1:11PM
And yet another "jihadist" from North Carolina ...
Charlotte NC man Samir Khan running new al-Qaeda online magazine, Inspire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI6FHVSoXI4
Casey Abell| 1.27.12 @ 10:15AM
Aaron is just Romney-phobic. Anybody who thinks that Mitt didn't win huge last night is in mega-denial...like Goldstein.
Intrade now has Romney up to a 91% fave in FL. Mitt started the debate at 75%. Intrade knows who won, even if Goldstein is too locked into Mitt-hate to admit it.
JmsA| 1.27.12 @ 11:42AM
What I always find so interesting is why everyone always refers to the failure of U.S. policy towards Cuba, but never about the failure of Castro's hyperoppressive tyranny. The communist leadership in Cuba refers to the U.S. embargo as a blockade. There is no blockade of Cuba. Ron Paul claims trading with tyrants undermines them. Did trading undermine Hitler? How about Stalin? Eastern European Communism did not collapse because of trade with the west. It collapsed because of a centralized, inefficient economy, and the devastation it caused to those so afflicted. Has that happened in China? Not, it hasn't. It is still a repressive communist dictatorship, yet we trade with them, or I should say they trade with us. Cuba has traded, as long as its credit has held up, with everyone and anyone, including the U.S. for the last 50+ years. They're indebted to everyone. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the island every year, yet freedom for regular Cubans has not improved one iota. The Cuban "ecomony" is controlled by the military and security apparatus. That will not change, no matter what. Cuba has state-sponsored child prostitution. Cuba is an isolated island prison, and Castro's own plantation, populated by 11 million slaves. The only thing that will be accomplished by increased U.S. trade with Cuba, is the funding of it by the U.S. taxpayers, and the indefinite survival of the tyranny or dictatorship, take your pick. Communist Cuba has spread socialism across the Central and South America, and those folks have and are now streaming across our southern border unabated, as are terrorists being traided in Cuba. Cuba was kicked out of the OAS, yet some here in the U.S., including the Obama administration wished to have them reinstated, as they also tried to have a wannabe tyrant in the Chavez mold installed in Honduras. I know quite a few here believe the cold war is over, but it isn't as far as Castro, his brother Raul, and the rest of the dinasour communist elites in the island are concerned.
Want to trade with Cuba? Well, in Cuba only Castro and his immediate accolytes have money. A regular salary in Cuba is $20 a month. A doctor makes $150-$200 a month, if he/she is very lucky. The prisons are teeming with political prisoners. Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism. Castro and the Cuban communists are the most implacable enemies of the U.S. and its people. If the so called embargo had failed, they would not be clamoring to lift it. For those who ask, why haven't the Cubans risen in revolt and overthrown Castro, the answer is simple: They did, in 1961 during the Bay of Pigs, and thereafter in the central highlands of El Escambray, where less than 5, 000 thousands peasants and others with rusty shotguns, fought and died for nearly six years until overwhelmed by the vast might of a modern, Soviet trained, equipped and lead Cuban army. Cuba has the largest standing army in Latin America. The only ones with guns are the communists. Tourists, springbreakers, etc., will only serve to fatten the coffers of the dictatorship, and make it possible for Castro to pay his henchmen suppress the people. When I lived there, the embargo was hardly mentioned because the U.S.S.R. was subsidising the Cuban "economy." After the Soviets' collapse, and hardship increased, that's when complaints of the "bloqueo" became vogue. Ron Paul doesn't have a whisper of a chance of winning Florida or the nomination for that matter without the conservative Cuban-American vote, and don't fool yourselves, those folks don't want what's left of the embargo lifted, for had they wished it to go away, it would have been long gone. Vote for Paul. I could care less.
Ron Paul cites history in framing his opinions about Cuba, yet although he entered the military in 1962, the year of the Missile Crisis, he fails to acknowledge what the crazy socialist monster, Castro, was fixing to do, as they say: blow up as much as the U.S. Yet, he wishes to talk to unrepentant, murdering tyrants. This guys is cookie, if not altogether delusional. As I previously posited, he's the second coming of appeaser Neville Chamberlain, but even Chamberlain recognized tyrannical evil after Hitler's adnexation of Chechoslovakia. Castro has been imprisoning and murdering Cubans, and others for more than 50 years, still Paul believes he could reason with communists.
I don't have a crystal ball, but I am certain of this: Paul will not win Florida's primary, and all he will accomplish is to make trouble, and help reelect the One, like once before another fringe, third party Texan did some twenty years ago. There must be something in the water down there.
JmsA| 1.27.12 @ 11:48AM
Sorry, misspelled czechoslovakia, and meant to write: ...blow up as much of the U.S. as he could.
I'll take Mitt, Newt, or Santorum over the cookie old guy and Obama anyday. Paul would be the perfect candidate were the U.S. the only country on the planet, but unfortunately that's not the case. And no, I don't want the U.S. to invade Cuba. We've lost enough good, brave Americans in stupid foreign adventures. The Cubans will fix Cuba, as long as the communists are not helped economically.
John_Pitralon| 1.27.12 @ 1:26PM
Stupid adventure?
Your country is running a war based on a fraud of the century, milion deaths, and you call it "stupid adventure" ...
Take care.
In Their Own Words: 9/11 widows tell you how evil the U.S. Gov is - Whitehouse Phone#202-456-1414
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lClvA-6lYSw
Bulbul| 1.27.12 @ 1:49PM
Gingrich is in decline, and his campaign is falling apart.
Romney was desperate but it worked, except he was rattled by Santorums's attack on him over Romneycare.
Santorum had a "fabulous" night.
Ron Paul is fading away, losing IA, NH, SC.
Dan Phillips| 1.27.12 @ 6:21PM
"Paul thinks America is a big bully that imposes its will while the Castros of the world have pure intentions and are simply misunderstood."
Part of the problem with interventionists is that they are so locked into their interventionist mindset and non-interventionism is so foreign to them that they can't think like a non-interventionists even if they try and hence mischaracterize what non-interventionists really believe. (This is being charitable that the mischaracterizations are not deliberate.)
Non-interventionism has nothing to do with the intentions of Castro, "pure" or otherwise. I suspect Paul thinks Castro's and other's intentions are rational and self-interested instead of cartoon character like evil as the all is either black or white dichotomous thinking Jacobin interventionists see the world. But the point is that unless Castro is poised to invade South Beach or bomb Key West then we ought to be trading with him rather than embargoing him. I don't know about you Aaron, but I would sure like to not have to go to Mexico to get Cuban cigars.
Interventionists see neutrality as approval. If it was any other subject anyone who has advance to the formal operations stage of cognitive development would see this as the logical flaw that it is.
Clint| 1.27.12 @ 7:58PM
Test