Watched the whole thing, and I think Bill Johnson did great. His intrinsic sincerity and passion for this country came through well as it always does.
Rand Paul was angry and arrogant and defensive right out of the gate and came across that way throughout most of the event.
Trey Grayson looked and acted like a candidate for state senate, not the US Senate. He thoroughly ticked off all his his talking points but was boring, boring, boring.
All the candidates had tables out front at this event, and sources on the ground tell me that while Bill Johnson’s table was mobbed afterwards with people wanting materials, Grayson’s and Paul’s tables were pretty much ignored.
In the end, of course, all that is going to matter is what Kentuckians think - not what Rand Paul’s national Ron Paul network thinks, not what Trey Grayson’s GOP establishment supporters think, and certainly not what I think.
God Bless Kentucky. Finally, a little sanity.
Ditto. I agree with you that Rand Paul came across defensive from the get go and belligerent at times. Besides, we don't need another Paultard libertarian who will vote against everything, including the annual Defense Appropriations bill. Btw, I hope everyone noticed how Rand Paul shied away from direct comments on the Patriot Act, FISA and enhanced interrogations. Not to mention the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Paul's comments on Gitmo didn't remove any doubts concerning his flip-flopping on the issue in 2009.
I thought Johnson did a good job and Grayson was on message too. If this boils down to the charismatic cult of personality, sadly, Paul will win. Otherwise I think both Grayson and Johnson would get the job done for Kentucky.