When did Marshall Applewhite announce for the Republican nomination? I liked what he had to say.
Posted on 05/04/2007 9:01:44 AM PDT by presidio9
Despite the 100 laptops urgently typing away here in the press room, it’s hard to say much really happened tonight at the first Republican presidential primary debate.
The early campaign's Big Three — McCain, Romney and Rudy — all performed well and avoided any deadly mistakes.
None of the dark horse candidates broke through, although several performed credibly and probably increased interest in their campaigns.
Each of the Big Three had their strong moments.
John McCain made the biggest strategic move of the night, reaching back out to the center with a blunt appraisal of the Bush administration’s many mistakes in the Iraq war and expressing strong support for stem cell research.
While these issues are not GOP primary orthodoxy, McCain is never going to be the perfect Republican base candidate. By reaching back to his reformist, centrist roots, a feisty McCain clearly is making a move to reconnect with independent voters.
I think this is a shrewd move, because the authentic McCain is the most impressive McCain to voters, even conservative primary voters.
After a troubling several weeks, McCain is showing his campaign can adjust and improve.
Rudy Giuliani integrated his record of New York City successes into current national problems. But his performance was not as strong as his polling position.
Mitt Romney was smooth and probably won some new admirers for his presidential style.
That said, each had a stumble or two.
McCain had a Yosemite Sam moment early in the debate as he vowed to deposit Osama bin Laden into the gates of hell.
Rudy got tied up in the sharp end of abortion politics with a cloudy answer about his position on Roe v. Wade. He’ll need to get a lot crisper to survive the campaign.
Mitt Romney fumbled a bit on a very predictable question about his evolution on the abortion issue, essentially repeating his answer twice in an awkward loop.
Among the other candidates, Sam Brownback had a particularly strong night. He talked with passion and elegance about the social issues that are the backbone of his candidacy.
Surprisingly, Congressman Tom Tancredo didn’t hammer the powerful immigration issue.
The bottom line: 90 minutes, 10 candidates, no knockouts, no big changes.
Odd...he doesn’t mention the absolutely STUPID questions they were asked and how that relates to current national issues.
Probably because they got the questions from Katie Couric.
How pathetic. He still thinks he can elevate his fading candidacy by poking a stick in the eye of his base.
The bottom line: 90 minutes, 10 candidates, no debate, no answers, no dignity, no shame.
This is why Fred Thompson is wise like a fox and not entering the race too soon.
That was the best thing he said all night “We will have revenge on him, and we will chase him to the gates of Hell” I actually started clapping.
The media likes the big three: Giulinai and McCain will be easily destroyed, and Romney is an unelectable Mormon.
The media is full of optimism.
Rudy, however, showed that his comment last month about a strict constructionist being able to uphold Roe as precedent was not a slip of the tongue, but a held belief on his part.
And the abortion anaconda continues to coil tighter around Rudy's campaign.
Impressive? Umm... OK. Only if you count severe loathing in the "impressed" column.
I don't know anyone who thinks highly of McCain and isn't either A) a Liberal, B) a Journalist, or C) Both.
Yes, too many really stupid questions.
If there is a exact word for word transcript I think you’ll find that Rooty flat out lied about supporting Gov fundinding of abortion. Even Matthews caught it and ask him again.
Then he tried to spin it like he does gun control saying he only supports it for NYC.
>Yes, too many really stupid questions.<
Planted in Politico - I knew Matthews would use them out of all the really good questions submitted. Matthews also slid over the dark horses in favor of the “top 3” - none of whom I would vote at this point.
When did Marshall Applewhite announce for the Republican nomination? I liked what he had to say.
Today’s CHANGED nomination probabilities, per Intrade contracts:
Rudy Giuliani 29.9% (-2.1%)
F Thompson 16.3% (+1.2%)
Mitt Romney 17.5% (+2.2%)
Ron Paul 0.4% (+0.2%)
I would like Brownback to ratchet it up a notch. Every now and then he seems to display real ability and solid thinking.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=5562636
MR. MATTHEWS: Let me get back to Governor -- Mayor Giuliani because I want to give you a chance on this. You became very well known for standing up against the use of public funds for what many people considered indecent exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum and places like that.
Why do you support the use of public funds for abortion?
MR. GIULIANI: I don't. I support the Hyde amendment. I hate abortion. I wish people didn't have abortions.
MR. MATTHEWS: So you're not for funding at all?
MR. GIULIANI: I believe that the Hyde amendment should remain the law. States should make their decision. Some states decide to do it, most states decide not to do it. And I think that's the appropriate way to have this decided.
MR. MATTHEWS: Should New York -- when you were mayor of New York, should they have been paying for -- the state should have been paying for --
MR. GIULIANI: That's a decision New York made a long time ago, and New York --
MR. MATTHEWS: And where were you on that?
MR. GIULIANI: I supported it in New York. But I think in other places, people can come to a different decision.
MR. MATTHEWS: Thank you.
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