I watched the GOP presidential debate last night. It’s not really a “presidential” debate I guess, because Republican contenders are trying for the spot to RUN for president. Either way, I watched, and it was fun. I thought it was less brutal than the Democratic debates, but I have to admit I didn’t watch all of them cover to cover. Some thoughts
- The two guys on either end of the line up need to drop out. I’ll be honest, I had no idea who they were. For all I knew, they were picked last night from the crowd waiting to get in and told to answer questions. Duncan Hunter has kind of a cool name though, and appropriate since he seems to be a big hunter, starting at the age of 7 months. The other guy from Colorado, Tancredo, was useless and his answer to the Jesus question was really bizarre, although he did what any good politician will do, he responded to a question with what he wanted to say, not with an answer. For those who missed it, one question was if the candidates believed every word of the bible. Tancredo’s response was that he would look to Jesus for guidance. Or maybe it was the other Jesus question. It’s all kind of blurry right now.
- I think Mitt Romney took a lot of shots, but came out looking pretty good. While he looked like he waffles on issues (two issues he just came out and said he changed his mind through the years), he looks presidential, kept his composure, and was articulate with his answers. Unfortunately, I think people will vote for someone because of those qualities and less because of the substance of what he is saying. Overall, Mitt did well I think.
- McCain came out looking good as well. Did he go to Iraq over Thanksgiving? I’m not sure, he only said that on 90% of his answers. And was he in Vietnam? I’m not sure if that was brought up last night either. I like McCain, but he might have missed his chance at being el presidente the last go around, he’s kind of old.
- Ron Paul, poor Ron. I think this guy actually has some valid points of view, but he got hammered last night. Part of it was the idiots in the crowd booing every time he started speaking. Paul is more of a libertarian than a republican, and he didn’t come out of last night looking too good. McCain went at him like a pit bull for some reason. Ron was on the defensive too much with his military position (even though he was in the Air Force during the Vietnam war) and being on the ropes doesn’t look good for anyone.
- Fred Thompson is just an old, cantankerous, grumpy stiff. And I like it. His ad where he attacked Mitt and Giuliani was pretty brutal, but that’s what politics seems to have morphed in to. Thompson is too dour for most people and it showed last night.
- Anderson Cooper is good, and I like him. His mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. We never get to see the human side of news readers and more times than not they have a great personality. I heard a story about Brian Williams once that described him as having a great sense of humor, but you would never get that from watching him read the news on NBC. Same with Anderson Cooper, although his program on CNN allows for more leeway in making stuff up. But last night I think his character showed a little, especially with his “What’s up with that?” question to Thompson after the ad was shown.
- I didn’t like the YouTube format but I think it’s here to stay. Most of the questions were very targeted and specific, which was good. But those questions could have been asked by anyone, not some college kid with a PC camera sitting under a tree on the campus of Penn State. And some of the questions were a waist of time. And who exactly where the people in the audience. I saw some that I knew, like a reporter from the Chicago Times, but they were hooping, holloring and booing like they were at a WWE event.
- Huckabee looked good. He seems genuine, had a sense of humor, was direct on his responses, and gave the best answer to the bible question. I think he is going to become more of a contender, especially since he is fairly conservative and comes from a humble background. He connects with the everyday man. He could be trouble to Mitt and Rudy.
- Giuliani was the center of most of the attacks last night. But I still think he has the best chance because people like his position on crime and security, are fine that he is liberal on some social issues, and think he will be good from a fiscal stand. And what do you expect him to do after the Yanks are knocked out of the playoffs? Anyone who has followed the Yankees and/or lived in NY knows that Giuliani is the biggest Yankee fan in the city. He is a fixture at the games. Dumb question and was made even worse when Romney said the Sox waited 87 years for a World Series, when anyone who is breathing knows its 86 years. Mitt came across as a Pink Hat last night with the Red Sox.
So good debate last night, definitely more entertaining than watching Bones or the UFC reality show. I think they should get rid of those two guys fillers (where was Alan Keyes last night?) and let the big boys knock it around some more.
