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.
Glad to see that others are seeing that Newt is the smartest of them all. Now if we can get passed his personal mistakes hopefully he will start to grow on people. We have had three years to sort out the right person to guide us out of the mess we now find ourselves but have failed again. Wake up people, the hour is late and we need to save our country. Right now there is only one person in this bunch smart enough to lead us through and that would be Newt. Problem is tomorrow he might slip and fall on his bottom lip.
Milt doesn’t COME ACROSS as bad as the others, but he is worse. Plus, he’s a fraud. Bon
Right. and probably less than 1% want a 9-9-9 plan. I want a flat tax or possibly a sales tax but not both. It's going nowhere and Cain is stuck on stupid with this plan.
The debates are scripted...
The reporters and the media are trying to pick our candidates...
The whole thing is a farce.
=8-(
Everyone seems to thing everything is great with these debates and candidates - I think 100% percent the opposite. If this charade keeps up - we will lose.
...moreso - Bill Clinton has been in the news the past few weeks...something up. Couldn’t help but wonder if he’ll has the balls to actually try to toss his hat in at the last minute. It’s a scary proposition...
=8-(
Till I stopped watching, it seemed that his answer to every question was 999.
Me no like.
NST bad JuJu.
Seriously I think it will drive the market underground.
Really? Tell me one thing I have lied about.
I viewed only a small part of the debate. Newt was very impressive. Above all, I don't want Mitt to get the nomination. I will NEVER cast a vote for Mitt. I am leaning towards Cain, but if he falters I may reconsider Newt. I want someone to take it to the Mitt the Socialist-Statist-Pig, then after that, the Marxist Pig.
I never thought I would reconsider Newt (the couch thing bugs me still) but I will, if needed.
Our Republic will NOT survive Mitt because he will NOT roll back government one bit. Mitt would reform Obamacare, not repeal it.
Mitt would be a placeholder until the next Marxist is elected to finish us off.
I will vote for the eventual nominee. So will 90+ percent of Free Republic. No matter what they say now, You have been here long enough to know that is exactly what will happen.
As I said before... THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH!
ho-ly crap
I hadn’t seen that one before.
Yeah. Let’s put this guy up against Obama... we’ll get another four years of zero for sure.
Perry on abstinence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngiJhmoFKkw
Cain = Romney = Obama
I know, but in the end I'm convinced Perry will be the nominee. He did well tonight and that's what was needed.
true that!
true that!
Seriously? Palin said it would be impossible to deport all the illegals. I’m sorry if the truth hurts you. Further, there is not a candidate in the race that says they are going to deport nonviolent illegals. Not one.
You are EXACTLY right!
I like your top 3 but no sale on Ron Paul. Under no circumstances would I ever support a candidate devoid of common sense and rational thought. He is looney.
My birth father is a native Texan who lives in San Antonio. Before cell phones, when we paid good money for long distance phone calls, I used to want to tell him “can ya talk faster!”
Please, let’s not get into pettiness about our candidates, whether we support them or not. One is going to be our nominee, and let’s work to see that s/he’s not Romney and don’t stop praying either!
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