The Right State

The Republican Debate in New Hampshire is finally over. I do have some overall impressions. First is how boring the debate was with almost no substance. The second is that there is a reason why the first tier candidates are where they are and why the second and third tier candidates are where they are. And third, why is Ron Paul even in this debate? His answers came across as both naive and overly simplistic. And fourth is what a great job Fox News did in conducting this debate.

The winner of the debate was obviously John McCain. He had the most to gain from a good showing and the most to lose with a poor one. Simply stated, McCain needed a win and got one.

The biggest loser was also obvious—Rudy Giuliani. Most of his answers were safe, but many times he did not answer the questions. Say guns, for instance. Rudy never answered the question of whether or not he was against guns, which in fact he is.

The biggest buffoon of the debate was clear cut—Ron Paul. He wants to get rid of the IRS, CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and ….. He wants to leave Iraq now…

The funniest laugh line of the debate occurred at the beginning at the expense of Fred Thompson when McCain said Thompson did not show up for the debate because it was ‘past his bedtime.’

The best question of the night was from Chris Wallace directed at Ron Paul. After a ‘leave Iraq now’ answer, Chris asked, “So we will be taking our marching orders from al Qaeda?” Ron Paul flubbed this question too.

The best exchange was between Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee over the question of honor. Paul wants to honor the troops by leaving now. Huckabee wants to honor the troops by winning.

On the question of illegal immigration, Mitt Romney, Tancredo and Duncan Hunter gave the better answers, followed by Giuliani, McCain, and Huckabee. Finish building the wall between Mexico and the United States was the overwhelmingly popular answer to the immigration question. Romney also wants to punish these ‘sanctuary’ cities who give illegal immigrants a reprieve from ICE and other law enforcement officers.

On the question of family values, Brownback, Hunter, Romney and Huckabee gave virtually identical answers. Brownback gets the nod for saying redefining marriage as a failed social experiment.

On national security, McCain and Hunter came out ahead with Romney, Huckabee and Brownback are next. Tancredo is next to last when he called for ‘disengagement.’ A distant last is Ron Paul. McCain gets the nod on this one for supporting the position of bringing the troops home with honor AFTER winning the war. And he says they are winning.

On the question of Presidential Power, only three candidates were given a chance to answer: Tancredo, McCain, and Romney. Tancredo gets the nod because of his pledge to do whatever it takes to protect the US whether it is water-boarding, wiretapping, or anything else.

On the question of taxes and spending, all the candidates did fairly well. All told how they were going to cut taxes or did cut taxes as a governor or mayor, but only John McCain said he voted against George Bush’s tax cuts because Congress raised spending levels way too much. Therefore McCain gets the nod on this one.

Finally all the candidates were given a hypothetical question on Iran. The country is killing US troops in Iraq and near to building a nuclear bomb. What do you do as President? Giuliani and Brownback answered the question fairly well, but John McCain knocked the question out of the ballpark. His answer is much like George Bush’s answer to Iraq: there are times when the US must act independently of the other nations and the UN to defend itself, use military and diplomatic force to stop Iran. Best answer of the day.

The overall impression is that McCain won, not by much, but he still won. He was followed by Romney, Brownback, Hunter, Tancredo, and Giuliani. And despite the polls, Ron Paul did not win, nor did he come to close to winning. I really think Democrats are calling in and voting for the wackiest of the bunch.

Tags: National Elections, Politics //