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.
This is the Lowrie Cain claims is his mental giant Econ advisor:
LinkedIn profile for Rich Lowrie, which lists him as managing director-investments at the Lowrie/Carney/String/Smith Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors in the Cleveland/Akron area and a member of the advisory board of the American Conservative Union.
Unless he’s move recently he lives in Cleveland OHIO.
I couldn’t believe that Cain was that stupid to say Greenspan...that was just ignorant of him. YUKO..
There’s going to be another repeat of this garbage next week, but I didn’t see much in this debate that will change the dynamics. I expect Mitt’s numbers to hold, Cain’s to go down slightly, Bachmann may bow out soon, and Perry’s to slightly increase. Newt still can’t win, but he sure can debate.
That question to Bachmann was weird.
I’m re-thinking the Newt. Even with his “baggage”
The so called Independents might reject the left’s attempt to smear Newt over past personal issues.
Especially since the current Prezbo admitted to doing coke, Not to mention he sought out radicals as his role models.
There’s going to be another repeat of this garbage next week, but I didn’t see much in this debate that will change the dynamics. I expect Mitt’s numbers to hold, Cain’s to go down slightly, Bachmann may bow out soon, and Perry’s to slightly increase. Newt still can’t win, but he sure can debate.
So what are we gonna do? Are we hangin’ or movin’? I like Newt’s chops and experience, and Rick is not able to sell his.
He's the GOP candidate that the media thinks is most like Obama - and they are right. So, they do more to help him than any of the other GOP candidates.
Bottom line though, Romney has the most money right now - and Perry isn't far behind. They are the front-runners, and the media will be biased toward the most liberal of the two.
Cain hasn't a prayer - he has almost no money by comparison.
Expect more of the same from media in the near term.
I think Cain hurt himself by doubling down on that street hype “Nan Nan Nan” crap
Your plan has serious flaws and you ducked them.
Great thinking... I was ecstatic about Perry before he entered, and now feel very similar to you. I experienced the fall of Perry and the rise of Cain, got aboard the Cain Train, and saw it fall tonight with monotonous repetition of a plan that will never come to fruition.
Frankly, I'd love to see Newt, and if the primaries were held tomorrow, I'd likely pull the trigger for him based on today's performance. But I'm not going to fight for any of the candidates as they stand now until I see more. I just know I'm going to fight against Romney.
But unlike some posters here, should he get the nomination, you bet your ass I'll be pulling the trigger for him come November. I'd do that for any of the candidates on stage today.
I think Cain hurt himself by doubling down on that street hype “Nan Nan Nan” crap
Your plan has serious flaws and you ducked them.
Don't we just wish...
Newt being interviewed by Greta now
I like, and still like Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich<<<
Oh, me too!!!
Nope, missed it but I caught the woman who said she was told to address her question to Romney.
Amen to that. Time for the Tea Party to make some noise in this election. Chris Cristie (sp?) has thrown a wrench into things.
And three Purple Hearts!
Newt’s knowledge is stunning. During the early questions, his habit of chiming in and cutting through the spin was flat-out awesome.
Santorum’s continued push for family values is music to my ears.
Perry didn’t impress me, but he didn’t disappoint me. I don’t think this was the sort of night he needed to make a comeback.
Romney tap-danced around the issues to such a degree that I wasn’t able to make heads or tails of half his answers. How can anyone take him seriously? If the field of candidates were smaller, I’d love to see Newt get time to dissect Romney piece by piece.
I was very disappointed with Cain. I didn’t know that he came out in favor of the bailout, and trying to weasel out of it by saying he just had a problem with the implementation was BS. Plus...Alan Greenspan?
Bachmann should just drop out. Her “666” jab at the 9-9-9 plan was uncalled for, and it’s only the latest in a series of petty attacks.
Huntsman...can anyone tell me why he’s still here?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.