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The Spectacle Blog
Here are my final thoughts on tonight’s GOP Debate in Mesa, Arizona which aired on CNN and was moderated by John King.
Newt Gingrich - Now that Newt has again receded in the polls and he is not expected to win the nomination, he seemed relaxed and gave a good performance. When King asked a question about birth control, Newt drew applause when he said he had wished the mainstream media had asked a single question of President Obama about his support of infanticide.
Given Santorum’s bad night (more on that in a moment), this could help Newt especially on Super Tuesday. On the other hand, twice Newt has risen to the top of the polls and has been unable to withstand Romney’s scrutiny. Are Republican voters prepared to give Newt a third look?
Mitt Romney - Mitt did what he needed to do tonight. He gave a good argument concerning the auto bailout, spoke eloquently about the threat from Iran and, above all else, raised doubts about Rick Santorum.
But Romney shouldn’t smile too much. He still hasn’t closed the deal and Republican voters can very easily find a reason not to vote for him. When King asked all the candidates what the greatest misconception about them was, Romney didn’t answer the question and when King pointed this out, Romney told him he would answer his questions how he wanted. Now Romney has done this before. But this time he did it in such a curt way that the debate audience loudly jeered him. Despite the doubts he’s raised about Santorum, Republican voters still haven’t embraced him.
Rick Santorum - It was his worst debate and it couldn’t have happened at the worst possible time. I’m not sure who was handling his debate preparation but he should fire whoever came up with the idea that he should remind people he voted for No Child Left Behind not once but twice. It’s one thing to admit making a mistake but to explain your votes by saying “politics is a team sport” makes you look like the ultimate Washington insider.
Romney landed his first punch when he said Santorum wasn’t a fiscal conservative and kept landing on Santorum’s jaw especially when he got around to Arlen Specter. It’s not that Santorum didn’t try to fight back. But instead of crisp counterpunches he was reduced to longwinded lunges that didn’t land. It might be enough to cost him Michigan next Tuesday. That is unless Romney says he doesn’t care about the poor.
Ron Paul - When Santorum said politics was a team sport, Paul had a good counter when he argued that public office should be about oath rather than to party.
Paul may think he can be elected President but as long as he maintains his Tehran Ron posture he won’t win. Whatever reservations the American public might have about going to war with Iran, the American public will not back someone who is an apologist for the Iranian regime. But at this point for the Paul campaign it’s about accumulating delegates and influencing the Republican platform rather than actually winning.
There may or may not be another a GOP debate. But if there is it will take place on March 19th in Portland, Oregon and will air on PBS.
View all comments (21) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/02/22/cnn-arizona-gop-debate-post-mo
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Barbara Bridwell| 2.22.12 @ 11:00PM
After reading this I felt like I needed to bath after your slobbering false rendition of Mittens. There was nothing eloquent about anything this man tried to say. He worked hard to copy Newt Gingrich and sounded like a cluster.
Aaron Goldstein| 2.22.12 @ 11:09PM
Usually I am criticized for being too critical of Romney. You should read some of my recent articles about Mitt.
Drek| 2.22.12 @ 11:51PM
There were many things that Romney said that I agreed with.
But that's often the case.
I just hate that I can't place any confidence in what he says, because his record dictates a wariness about him.
Vern Crisler | 2.23.12 @ 1:22AM
I think Newt's Florida debates were out of character. He was probably being told he needed to look "presidential" and not respond angrily. So he allowed Romney to walk all over him, plus Romney outspent him by umpteen to one.
It was a bad night for Romney in any case because he reminded everyone just how uninteresting he is. His one interesting answer on Iran reinforced proved the rule.
Santorum didn't do badly; he just didn't do great. Who knows what that will do for his poll numbers.
Bill| 2.22.12 @ 11:07PM
Santorum's problems:
voted for
1. Planned Parenthood
2. Medicare Part D
3. NCLB
voted against
1. Right-to-Work law
smell something? "Keystone RINO"
Josh | 2.22.12 @ 11:19PM
I believe that most of the questions asked throughout this and previously aired debates do very little to provide the American Public with a clear perspective on how each candidate plans to restore the fundamental integrity (which includes education, infrastructure and private wealth) that America has enjoyed in past times. To further my opinion; I believe that instead of providing us with the opinions from a slew of "political analyst," that a reporter could of asked the audience in attendance tonight who they support and who they believed to have won the debate, this 5 min feature could have also included a spiffy graphic with a simple two column tally, from that point, I am perfectly capable of "analyzing" the debate further if needed. Good Night and Good Luck...
Mike from Wall Street| 2.23.12 @ 1:27PM
Vert true..all foam no beer!
Mimi| 2.22.12 @ 11:27PM
Tonight it looked like a Newt/Perry ...or Newt/Santorum ticket. He came off as the New,Strong leader of the free world and a return to the America the world knows best. Nobody rose to that level....NOBODY! I don't think we should count him out yet!
In particular when discussing foriegn policy his warning to this country about the danger we face from Iran was profound! I saww great moral strength and clarity...was the LEADER!
All of them were excellent overall...and the GOP should be proud...so much combined knowledge and polish they have all greatly improved...GOOD DEBATE !
Bob Grant| 2.22.12 @ 11:30PM
Aaron,
Newt said it well when he stated that with the exception of Saint Ronnie the three other candidates have cast many votes over the years they would have liked back, but our country faces new challenges and candidates deserve a chance to change as well.
Even Reagan acted un-Reaganlike at times.
All we can do at this point is gauge their tendencies.
Drek| 2.22.12 @ 11:55PM
Reagan passed a law in California that allowed for abortion.
Yup.
There's NO WAY a governor would get away with today and ever hope to gain the GOP nomination.
We should be insistent on a conservative candidate, but we should never insist on a level of perfection that can never be achieved.
But there are reasons that few have emerged from the Senate or the House to gain The White House. Too many votes, too many opportunities to take positional votes suggestive of conclusions that aren't the case.
RJ| 2.23.12 @ 12:11AM
So true - Reagan always had his true believers, but based on his record as governor, I wasn't expecting what he turned out to be as President. I appreciate him more and more over the years. Bob Grant's reference to Newt's comment is also on the mark. I think the last 10 years have made many of us much more cautious about government activities and accordingly, more demanding that our candidates not stray from the course of limited government.
Vern Crisler | 2.23.12 @ 1:24AM
It was a moderate abortion bill: life of the mother, rape, incest, that sort of thing. The one problem with it was the mental health of the mother exception. Reagan did not anticipate how that would be used as a loophole by evil people to murder thousands of children.
Drek| 2.22.12 @ 11:44PM
I expect Gingrich to get more than an uptick in polling.
I think Santorum hurt himself badly, BADLY tonight.
Nothing we've seen over the last seven years leads us to believe that Romney is any more acceptable to the base now then when began his Grail quest.
Which means Gingrich is likely to get a third look.
Paul's numbers don't really increase. Romney's numbers have something of a ceiling. So if Santorum loses numbers, there's only one guy left for those people to flow towards.
Santorum far too often wandered in his answers tonight, let himself get deeply immersed in the details of Senate parliamentary procedure, {as if voters really give a damn about that}, and really let his exasperation show.
He'd have done better letting real anger show then by trying to stifle that let exasperation seep out instead.
Dorothy K Carter| 2.23.12 @ 12:28AM
So called conservative pundits have not embraced Romney why not because conservative think tank Heritage designed Romneycare? http://www.heritage.org/events.....are+Reform So if Santorum was pro-choice prior to running for Congress does that make him a moderate? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....f=politics Look I'm retired Wall St and understand the global economy and the bad situation that the next POTUS will have to deal with. We must stop sending legislators to the oval office. They make group decisions with 99 other senators or 435 other congressmen. They gain power from spending folks they created the mess why do you want to send them back to fix it? IF you were to ask the legislators what a CDS was or about global economy, markets and currencies etc they are clueless. Romney is the next Reagan! He will go to DC with a machete and make all of the so called conservative Anyone But Romney pundits in look like fools!
Dorothy K Carter| 2.23.12 @ 12:55AM
Romney is picking up popularity by the voters just not the pundits who will have egg on their face http://www.latimes.com/news/po.....6566.story
WTF| 2.23.12 @ 2:16AM
Romney interrupted Santorum, is a lying hypocrite that is not conservative in any way, supporting big bailouts and Romneycare, it's absurd to say Santorum was bad tonight. He was actually alright considering the massive incoming fire he took from all directions.
W| 2.23.12 @ 7:44AM
One of the principal reasons Santorum lost by 18 points in 2006 to Bob Casey was the unpopularity of the Iraq war which highlighted Santorum's support of Bush. Santorum was loyal to Bush in voting for the Bush program including supporting Specter over Toomey at Bush's request.
Santorum, as Republican whip, supported the Bush program. While loyalty is generally admirable it is not helpful in politics. Santorum defended the Bush policies in Iraq, and last night he looked very uncomfortable explaining his support of Bush's expansion of the Dept of Education through the No Child Left Behind. I am surprised that McCain Finegold has not been an issue.
This is the problem with senators running for president. They have a track record because there are so many votes in the Senate, and every vote seems to be for a law to expand government. This is not a problem for Dem voters since they love government but it is a problem for Rep voters.
Bush was a big government "compassionate conservatie" that expanded the Dept of Education, increased the deficit by 4 Trillion, did not veto anything, signed McCain Finegold that he knew was unconstitutional and expanded the power of the government in regulating elections, and got involved in nation building in Iraq. Bush should have left Iraq after the capture of Saddam since the reason for the war was that Saddam might use the weapons of mass destruction. Since we did not find any such weapons and Saddam was removed that accomplished our mission.
There was no national interest to get involved in a civil war between the Sunnis and Shites who have been killing each other for 1300 years.
Santorum is a principled and loyal man who stuck with Bush in 2006 and is now being attacked as a big government spender because of the earmarks and spending of Bush.
Marlowe| 2.23.12 @ 8:48AM
Once again Newt sang the song of America while the rest of them spouted consultant approved talking points.
Nock| 2.23.12 @ 11:04AM
TAS NeoCon Bloggers: Lord, Hillyer, Kaminsky, McCain, Goldstein, Tabin.
TAS PaleoCon Bloggers: Antle, R. Smith.
How about some balance?
John_Pitralon| 2.23.12 @ 11:45AM
Ron Paul would be great president, but he blatantly underestimated Al-Quaeda in North Carolina. This is very important issue, therefore Ron Paul is UNELECTABLE.
Charlotte NC man Samir Khan running new al-Qaeda online magazine, Inspire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI6FHVSoXI4
John_Pitralon| 2.23.12 @ 11:47AM
Ehud Barak, interviewed on BBC an hour after 9/11 attacks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAueLjdKh1s
Topsy Turvy World - The Away Team
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJE179u6klc