Posted on 10/11/2011 3:18:34 PM PDT by Kaslin
Greetings from the picturesque campus of the Ivy League's Dartmouth College, the site of tonight's Republican presidential tilt. The Tipsheet will have live coverage of the event, which kicks off at 8:00 pm ET and airs on Bloomberg television (time to break out the TV guide, I suspect). Before you read my take on what to watch for tonight, check out the latest poll from Gallup, which puts the three top-tier candidates within five points of eachother.
Storylines
(1) Iran: Although the debate is supposed to focus almost exclusively on economic issues, today's breaking news bombshell that the Iranian government has been caught financing and coordinating terrorist attacks against targets inside the United States should absolutely be addressed. The candidate with the most granular understanding of the issues at play on this subject is Rick Santorum. I'm eager to hear what he, and all of his rivals, have to say. (Except for Ron Paul, who doesn't think Iranian nuclear aggression is a biggie, and who will find some way to blame us for Iran's poisonous treachery). Another wrinkle: Could Eric Holder's involvement in this story provide an opening for someone to finally raise Solyndra and/or Fast & Furious in one of these debates?
(2) Chris Christie's endorsement of Mitt Romney will likely get some play. Will Rick Perry -- or someone else -- pull the Northeastern RINO card? A Perry spokesman has already come pretty close.
(3) Mormonism: Rick Perry was recently introduced at an event by a pastor who has called Mormonism a "cult." Today, Mitt Romney demanded that Perry repudiate this view, arguing that the Consitution forbids a religious test for the presidency, and that anti-Mormon bigotry is ugly and has no place in American politics. A Perry spokesman has already declined to acede Romney's request, calling the issue a "distraction." I'll be stunned if this kerfuffle doesn't spill over into the debate, and Rick Perry had better be prepared with a damn good answer.
(4) Occupy Wall Street questions are almost inevitable. The base cannot stand the mob of hippies, communists, anti-capitalists, and sundry lefty hangers-on who comprise the bulk of the "movement." Organized labor and the Democrat Party establishment are getting on board, too. He (or she) with the best Occupy Wall Street-related zinger might win one of the biggest headlines tomorrow.
Candidates
Mitt Romney - The former Massachusetts Governor is in his own backyard, leading in the polls, and feeiling buoyed by the Christie "get." Deep down, he knows that Rush is right: Absent a tactonic shift in the race, Mitt will be the Republican nominee. His goal is to keep things moving on the current trajectory. It will be interesting to see if anyone besides Rick Perry will try to jolt Romney out of cruise control.
Herman Cain - With first-tier status comes first-tier scrutiny (and first-tier stage positioning). Expect more exploration of Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan, which I called for in an earlier post. It's been fascinating to watch the Romney-Cain partnership develop over the last few debates. Neither one has anything bad to say about the other, with Rick Perry hardest hit. At some point, if Cain is going to win this thing, he's going to have to attack his ally. Will that first salvo come tonight?
Rick Perry - The guy is still raking in major bucks and has never lost a campaign in his life. Reports of Perry's demise are -- for now -- premature, but the comeback train has to leave the station soon. Perry's campaign unleashed a brutal attack ad against Romneycare this week. Almost on cue (arguably, directly on cue), the White House has leaked the story that several top Romney healthcare advisors were actively involved in crafting Obamacare. If ever there were a time to really tee off on the frontrunner, tonight would be the night. Perry's probably got the most to gain, and he seems to enjoy mixing it up, so he'll likely lead the charge. But will be be able to pull it off succinctly and convincingly, unlike his slow-motion trainwreck in Orlando? The good news: Perry's son says his dad will be "well-rested" this time.
Newt Gingrich - I briefly heard Newt compare Occupy Wall Street to the Tea Party movement on a local radio show this morning. I wonder what he means by that, and whether he's read Ann Coulter's column on the subject.
Rick Santorum - The former Senator's expertise and greatest appeal to primary voters lie in the realms of foreign affairs and social issues. Does this mean he'll he flounder in an economic debate? Not at all, but he may feel less relevant.
Jon Huntsman - He needs a strong showing in New Hampshire to justify the continuation of his campaign, so Romney's the guy to beat. But some anti-Mormon rhetoric has seeped into this race over the last few days, and Huntsman might join forces with Romney to beat it back.
Michele Bachmann - One of her previous high water marks came here in the Granite State, when she made a stellar debate debut in June. She'll try to recapture the magic tonight.
Ron Paul - The retiring Texas Representative says many of his "extreme" views of three years ago have been vindicated by intervening events, and have now gained broader credibility and acceptance. He'll have another chance to explain why tonight.
Tonight's debate is being co-sponsored by Bloomberg, the Washington Post, and a local television station. Between Romneycare, Mormonism, and the "Occupy" mob, there could be major fireworks on tap. Tune in, and follow our live chat here at Townhall.
AMEN to that!!!
SLOW is smooth and smooth is fast......
Forgive my mistype earlier
DOL
Cain being interviewed now, including 999.
Sorry, I disagree.
I will not vote for Romney.
A whole generation is already caught in the trap. We, as a nation, are already set up top take a huge hit — possibly bloody chaos — unless we start forcefully treating that social sickness whose nexus of cause-effects are single-motherhood causing dependence on Daddy-government, rotating boyfriends of single moms causing psychological detachment and backwardness in children, no Dads to charge discipline and maleness in children, sense of duty and personal responsibility replaced with careless entitlement and reckless victimhood.
Too bad Perry didn’t get a chance to rebut Romney on the Obamacare question.
Everytime Huntsman speaks, I expect him to come out of the closet.LOL!
A week or so ago a FReeper suggested we do this nomination by elimination.
I vote to eliminate Huntsman.
It would be the end of the US - end of story.
A third party or sitting at home is going to guarantee an Obama victory.
My list is simpler:
Would vote for Cain.
Might vote for Santorum.
Thanks for the new tagline!
You betcha!
Cain is yapping about buying used goods under his 999 plan.
Are we to drive the market underground?
All are still in. And I think more will come in. The future is a knuckleballer.
“Ron Paul probably wasn’t too far off when he said the Fed is the recession causer and depression causer. It was the main cause of the Great Depression and probably several recessions by either restricting the money supply too much, or expanding it too much and causing inflation.”
The problem I have with Greenspan is the opposite of Paul’s reason. Greenspan allowed a DEflation towards the end of the 90’s and that’s what led to the crash. Deflation is even worse than inflation.
Who is Cain working for??? He keeps saying we hmmmmm!
Are you saying I said what you are saying.
NO, I didn’t say anything you just said. I was questioning it and apparently many people are doing the same. As Cain says it, it sounds okay, but will it stay that way?
I was questioning if the 9% federal sales tax would stay at 9%.
Cain couldn’t say it would, well it would as long as he is the boss, but what happens if democrats get in charge and raise it 10%
Exactly! He had THE opportunity to filet Milt and he didn’t.
At least Rick didn’t poop himself, that’s true.
But did he answer in Austrian? :)
I Agree. Newt is brilliant, there are many clips of him schooling the media as they should be.... and always with a twinkle in his eye. BRILLIANT. The number of books he reads and has written, he is a scholar and it shows day in and day out.
But CAIN.... Cain is All American and has INTEGRITY written all over his face. He’s sharp as a tack and worthy of the position of the President of the United States. Cain, would not call Israel and put his feet up on his desk in the oval office. The Lib’s can’t touch Cain’s Integrity and Intelligence and they are NERVOUS.
NEWT for VP.... CAIN for the WIN !!!
Wrong.
Those corrupt politicians in Washington created the Freddie/Fannie mess and they continue to slide on their corrupt activity. Greenspan wasn’t corrupt. Congress created the mess and Greenspan (while he is a mess of a person) kept our nation on track.... EVEN DURING 911.
The corrupt Democratic Senators (Dodd, et al) are responsible for the mess. Not Greenspan. He maneuvered our economy after 911. No small feet. And Cain is correct in acknowledging him as a better person than the current loser in the same position.
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