Posted on 11/28/2007 3:59:54 PM PST by CounterCounterCulture
Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #10 – St. Petersburg, Florida 11/28/07 - Official Discussion Thread
CNN will hold this debate, hosted by Anderson Cooper, with submitted questions in video form via YouTube.
8pm ET/5pm PT
Hosted by Anderson Cooper
Candidates participating:
You are correct.
“I’m open to Romney, but the answer was different.”
Wrong, they both said the flag should not be displayed in public because of the connotation it has to a certain portion of our population, and that it divides rather than unites. You can choose to disagree with that, and in part, I do, however, that is what both of them said. Wait for the transcript to be posted and then go back and read their replies.
I agree, that was one of the best things I heard all night.
Bull! Even Bill Bennet thought Mitt shined. Suck it up baby!
You’re just hacked off because mitty bombed tonight, LOL.
Go ahead and try to weasel out of it.
I have work to do and can’t sit here all night dueling wits with the unarmed.
Who is selling crazy around here tonight?
making sure everyone see this!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1932056/posts
CNN Fails to Mention Retired Gay General’s Endorsement of Hillary (Author Hat-Tips FReepers)
NewsBusters.org ^ | 11/28/2007 | Matthew Balan
Posted on 11/28/2007 10:38:42 PM EST by Pyro7480
He’ll be the nominee. Then who’ll be “hacked”?
Fred Thompson - Fred Thompson did well tonight. He not only avoided mistakes but helped himself on most of the questions that he answered. He hurt himself by looking down at first, and I worried that we'd spend the whole debate looking at the top of his bald head, but he made good eye contact after that first answer or two. He showed a good grasp of the issues and a good personality. He didn't look old, frail, or out of place. If I were a Fred Thompson supporter, I'd be very happy right now.
Mitt Romney - Mitt Romney would have tied Fred Thompson for the top spot except for one question that I'll touch later. He stood his ground on every issue and at every point. He forced Rudy Giuliani to back down in their initial confrontations over sanctuary cites. He stood strong against Mike Huckabee on scholarships for illegal aliens. Even when he admitted that he was wrong about abortion in 1994, he came across as a strong, confident leader. He showed is usual good command of the issues and good ability to explain his positions.
Where Mitt Romney hurt himself was on the Confederate battle flag question. I'm sorry that many people see the Confederate battle flag as a sign of racism, but their wrong perceptions don't have to be treated as reality. Many people have said that "merit" is a racist code word. We don't have to tiptoe around their paranoia over merit, and we shouldn't have to tiptoe around the Confederate battle flag. For many of us, the Confederate battle flag represents the courage of young men who marched to war because their home was being invaded. To the extent that they even saw the big issues, they were marching to defend what they believed was a Constitutional right for a state to leave the Union. While the cause of keeping the country united and ending slavery was the just cause, fighting to defend one's home is also just. Those of us who descended from men who fought to defend their homes are proud of their courage and the valiant effort that they gave. Mr. Romney's answer to the question was more sanctimonious and critical than necessary. When he attacks the Confederate battle flag, he is seen as attacking men who were braver and stronger than he is, and he may lose votes in the South because of his answer. Those are votes that he didn't need to lose.
Rudy Giuliani - Rudy Giuliani still has a formidable lead in the national polls, and that lead can't be underestimated. While Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson made him look weak in the discussion of sanctuary cities, he comes into these debates without a huge need to expand his support. He wasn't hurt badly by anything, and every day that passes without him losing much support is a day that brings him closer to the White House.
Duncan Hunter - Duncan Hunter had a generally good debate, but a generally good debate isn't good enough. To use a boxing analogy, he's in the 11th or 12th round of a 15 round championship fight. His opponent isn't strong enough to knock him out, but he's lost too many rounds to win a decision. If he's going to win, he's going to have to land a knockout punch. Every day that passes without him landing that punch is a day that makes him much less likely to win any delegates, much less the nomination. Most of his answers were good. He knows the issues. He has the right positions. His answer on the homosexuals in the military question was weak, but he's clearly a great conservative. He's just not likely to win the nomination.
Mike Huckabee - Mike Huckabee hurt himself early and never fully recovered. A scholarship is a reward, and refusing to give a scholarship is not a punishment. When we refuse to give scholarships to children of illegal aliens, we are not punishing them for their parents' crimes. We are simply refusing to reward them for their parents' crimes. Mr. Huckabee's inability or refusal to see this truth will hurt his candidacy. Beyond that question, he did pretty well, but he's no longer a novelty. On certain questions, he'd slip into his "gentle wisdom" style of speaking, and we all recognize the act. I'm not saying that he's not sincere or that we don't enjoy hearing him speak. He's like Bob Hope singing "Thanks for the memories." We enjoy listening every time, but with the novelty wearing off, the act doesn't make us want to vote for him.
Tom Tancredo - Tom Tancredo is no longer a serious candidate. Duncan Hunter and others have diluted the impact of his immigration message. He doesn't have Duncan Hunter's military experience. I admire the man tremendously, but I see no chance of his campaign getting through January. He has nothing to lose, so he can't do too well or too poorly in the debate.
John McCain - John McCain looked ill tonight. He's a hero, and he's sometimes right on the issues. Other times, he's really wrong on the issues. By appearing old, sickly, and cranky, he lost a chance to sway undecided voters who are his slim hope.
Ron Paul - Ron Paul didn't do as badly tonight as he's done in the past. He's very wrong about a few issues and very right about most issues. Unfortunately, we can't afford to consider someone who is wrong about the issues where he's wrong.
Bill
He said rooty lost on guns abortion and immigration..
Jeff Toobin said anyone who wants to get rid of the IRS is crazy.
Huckabee has certainly connected well with the "holier than ya'll" bigots on the religious right.
The rest of us don't want a Southern Baptist preacher for president extorting taxes from us to pay for "what Jesus wants him to do."
If that’s what you heard, that’s what you heard. What I heard was Thompson acknowledge that the flag did have a purpose in certain situations like memorials, but that it needn’t be flaunted because it is offensive to some people. Romney just dissed it across the board.
I think the truth will be ‘outted’ by tomorrow, in the news. LOL
What or who is AQ?
I agree. Fred said essentially the same thing that Mitt said — it’s not appropriate for public display as it is divisive. The RDS doesn’t allow them to see it.
It's always "Republicans" or "undecideds" who happen to get into these focus groups or debates that are in fact Leftist activists and shills.
BTTT
Al Qaeda.
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