Live Thread: South Carolina GOP Presidential Debate on CNN 8 P.M. EST

Thursday, January 19, 2011 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

And then there were three and a half minds left campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination: Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul.

Link to CNN livestream page.

Hosted by CNN's John King at the North Charleston Coliseum.

[af_vet_rr]

Sadly, Newts private life WILL be an issue in the General.

Liberals will HOWL HYPOCRITE!

I don't think liberals are going to be voting for the Republican nominee.

Newt's marital life is one of the things I have a problem with. But he's not Mitt Romney and he's not Barry Obama.

And while you know very well that I'm not a fan of Rick Perry, I think Rick Perry had it right when he endorsed Gingrich and spoke about how forgiveness and redemption are important to Christians.

I will never vote for Mitt Romney or Obama, but I could have voted for Perry, could have voted for Santorum and can vote for Newt. Watching the debate tonight, I pictured Obama in place of the other three candidates debating Santorum, and it didn't leave me with a good feeling. Whether we like it or not, these stupid debates and being able to clearly articulate your ideas and keeping the focus on Obama are important.

Santorum has good intentions, but he was either pissy that he didn't get Rick Perry's endorsement or that he wasn't getting the respect for Iowa that he thought he deserved, and he did his best to imitate Michelle Bachmann.

I cannot see the Rick Santorum that we all saw tonight doing well against Obama. I think he could probably beat Obama, but we'd be on pins and needles.

The fact that Santorum took his spat with Newt into the post-debate interviews reinforced that fact.

[mylife]

To anyone interested, I scored it:

Newt
Paul
Mitt
Santy

Now that’s hard to say because I think Paul is very dangerous, I also think Newt can be a loose cannon but he has a good target record.

Mitt and Santorum? I think they are the problem.

[carenot]

is that there is NO way that you will deport all of them en mass. Just not gonna happen, so then what????

One at a time.

[FreeReign]

Yes Newt created all those laws since laws begin in the House ! Keep your propaganda straight next time !

Wrong. Most of those laws were before and after Newt was Speaker.

Take your propaganda comment and sit on it.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Evening Ma'am

Sorry you aren't feeling well

Tonight was make or break for Santorum. He failed to rise to the occasion. In some respects he validated Newt's statement that Santorum is not up to the enormity of the job.

[onyx]

Palin story = FAIL, try SNL (Tina Fey)

[devolve]

.
.

- Yup - I know

- I never use wild accusations

- I use actual official records

- Rick Perry may have to shoot another coyote - when it turns on him -

.
.

[mylife]

I think Newt defended himself very well, and Perry’s praying on it did not hurt.

[skinkinthegrass]

Terrible debate overall, why were no foreign policy questions (Too Boring?) asked?
Way too much time was spent on Jerry Springer level crap.
!BINGO!....it's CNN version of Oprah Tonight!...
(tonight) for the most part ...real info, too much @ stake.
...lesser on personalities of the hosts.

[caww]

am typing with one hand, have new at drapped across my arm and stretched out over even my hand! She’s a big yellow tabby cat.

But wanted to say sorry your not felling well tonight....I just got over a bad bout of coughing for about three days..it get’s better but tends to linger.

Feel better (((Onyx)))

[exit82]

I think tomorrow will show the debate clips of Newt deftly handling the issue, and saying it was not true and that ABC did not take the witnesses he provided.

Tomoorow will also see Newt’s his adult daughters defending him against Wife #2. One would think their perspective would be heard, as they were presumably there. They are supposed to be on the Today Show as well as others.

This will only be news until Saturday night.

It will not be talked about past then.

ABC News did not have an internal ethical debate or “civil war” on whether to run the interview; the debate was only on when to run it. They knew the half life of the story was extremel;y short and ecided tonight was the best time to do the maximum damage to Newt.

What they did not count on was the extreme statesmanship and sacrifice of the patriotic Rick Perry, who single handed may have helped derail Mittwit’s coronation and then blunted the “bombshell” effect of the Ex-Shrew’s interview by bowing out and endorsing Newt today.

Perry not only did the right thing, the noble thing, and the best thing, what he did will not be forgotten by millions of voters who did not want to be saddled with the ex-Gov. of Mass. as their nominee.

[onyx]

Thanks very much, dear you,ConfidentConservative.
I’m here till Midnight hoping to read FReeper opinions of Marianne’s appearance on Nightline.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Rick Santorum’s record shows him to be a solid social conservative. It does not show him to be in favor of smaller government. He voted for more government and more regulation not less.

Get back to me with some facts that prove Rick Santorum voted for smaller government and less regulation. Otherwise, please spare all of us with that tired accusation of “ridiculous overblown talking points from the Paul bots.”

[potlatch]

[Rick Perry may have to shoot another coyote - when it turns on him -]

Lol, he would have run out of ammunition.....
Very slow for me getting around.

[Windflier]

Uh oh, Santorum's dad being Italian born won't sit well with the Birthers who attack Romney for his dad's Mexico birth!

No offense, but for someone who's been a member here for over a decade, you just displayed a stunning lack of knowledge of the requirements for NBC.

It doesn't matter where your parents were born, just as long as they were US citizens at the time of your birth on US soil.

[onyx]

Thanks very much, dear Raebie!!! I’m sitting here thinking about a shot of Tequila! LOL. I have hot tea! (No brandy).

[af_vet_rr]

I think Newt defended himself very well, and Perry’s praying on it did not hurt.

I think Perry made the comments he did about forgiveness and redemption specifically to address the old allegations that were dragged up again by ABC.

I don't like Perry, hope to see him replaced in 2014, but I respect the manner in which he conducted himself this morning.

[billys kid]

Did someone bust Santorums nose when he was a schoolboy?

Yes, it was me and I’m a girl. LOL!

[llandres]

“Mitten’s tax return response is unbelievably weak. He’s almost as scared to release his tax returns as Obama is to release his birth certificate.”

Could be because the word is out about his Cayman accounts. Just heard on BOR that of the 100+ Bain accounts, 12 are Mitt’s. And Laura Ingraham was on, arguing that “of course, he paid taxes on that money and there’s nothing illegal” (about his Cayman accounts). Give me a break.

Oh yeah, people don’t set up offshore accounts to dodge U.S. taxes, of course not. They just set them up for the hell of it.

Right.

[Anti-Hillary]

One at a time is fine, but that is not what most here want. They want them ALL out NOW. Never gonna happen