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.
Perry is just a slow-talking Texas man. I have family that
come from where he did, and they spoke the same deliberate,
slow manner.
It doesn’t keep his ideas for putting Americans back to work any less palatable! For all that the mods left him out of the
dialog, his answers were the most common sense ones.
“Don’t much like the Romney-Cain mutual admiration society.”
“I’m glad I’m not the only one who saw that.”
No FRiend, there are others that see the TRUTH.
And some of us have been attacked over that TRUTH.
Cain = Romney = Obama
I'd pay to see that ...
Me too, in fact I'd give anything to see it live! . . plus I get to be one of the moderators. Hhrruumph!
50% of Americans are morons with the attention span of a Gnat. They will focus long enough to see one of next years Presidental debates. If Perry can’t hold his own in a debate,then he is history with these Dip$hits. Indications are that he is very weak in this area. “ <<<
Can’t argue with a word you said. Perry is great on the stump, but if debates are the only path to the nomination, he is not yet crossing the Tiber. I will try to give Rick October, where there are believe 5 debates scheduled! But this is turning fast by the powers that be toward Romney. As Perry fails, Romney will be get cash to overwhelm. Cain is begrudging taxation on Greta now, but his economic plan is a tax plan. Go figure. And now whining about “attacks” on his plan. But, he is fussing about Romney’s complicated plan vs. his simple plan, and Romney’s loop hole heavy version. Seems he may have figured out that he has been used as a foil against Perry, by his pal Romney for one debate too many.
Drey, why are you lying? She most cetainly did say she would...
“I think he is talking smack.”
And you’re objective too, right?
Yes, Perry did very well.
I think he is talking smack.
For the benefit of anyone reading this thread, what Cain really said was that adopting his tax plan would lead to 5% GDP growth
I don't think so. Perry was fine. All he has to do is make steady progress. He doesn't have to be a "superstar" at the debates. He has the resume.
Romney is not going to pull away. Christie is only big to the northeast Pubs. Romney can't get out of the 20% support level. If you look at him it's hard to believe he's honest.
Very well said! Thank you.
If you had to draw up a board of all the things that would need to happen for Sarah to waltz in and grab the conservative mantle, all has come to pass and then some. You couldn’t draw it up better.You've got a point there. But I don't think "something(one) kept her out".
I think she decided on her own.
“Drey, why are you lying?”
You’ve seen/heard Perry. Do you not realize how hard it is to shill for....THAT? If one has to lie about the leading conservative of our time, so be it if it helps his candidate.
Hey it could be worse, our frontrunners could be Dole or McCain. Or Jeb.
Even Mittens doesn’t come across as bad those guys.
I don’t think we are in that bad of shape - every candidate has a wart or two, but Obama has a million venereal warts (some of which were contracted from Larry Sinclair.)
We’ll be okay. The best person should emerge if the media will let us decide.
So you’re just gonna accept that??
And at least if they won’t hunt them down and deport (I agree, not feasible), they will make it uncomfortable for them to be here.....Perry rolls out the welcome wagon
Thanx, I had never heard of any famous financial/economy wonk from Cleveland, TX. Don't know why Cain confused Cleveland, Ohio, with Cleveland, TX, especially if this Lowrey Lowrie guy is his go to guy.
“It is painfully obvious now that she is after a position in a Romney administration and it is utterly sickening.”
I’m afraid you’re right. I’m ashamed to admit that just a few months back I was defending Michele here in FR from these charges. I’ve also thrown away a couple hundred dollars to her campaign (I do live in her district and have phone-banked for past Congressional campaigns, so I guess she’s kind of a “hometown favorite” to me). After Perry got into the race, my eyes have really been opened. I never imagined she would align herself with a slimeball like Romney, but after tonight’s debate, I don’t think anyone with any intellectual honesty can conclude otherwise.
I thought that was an odd mistake as well, unless he was thinking of something Perry had said and Texas was on his mind.
Perry did simply mediocre and got stung bad by Romney. Regardless of what the percentages are that statement by Romney is going to stick. Perry needed to excel to bring his numbers up and didn’t. He may have held his own but right now his own is down below 10%.
My assessment of the debate was that Newt was awesome as usual
Mitt looked methodic but unbalanced and a bit empty on his smooth ass rejoinders.
Perry got a bit of a break not being beaten on from all quarters. I thought he did fine but nothing really exceptional.
I think Herman is in for a world of hurt on his 999 plan.
Bachmann and Santorom successfully highlighted the flaws even if Bachmann used her whiney ass 666 line.
My opinion? Perry is still standing.
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