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.
I wish Bachmann had gone after Romney from the start. She didn’t. I t might be a Romney/Bachmann team. Don’t get why she isn’t going to challenge him.
Not just well, but very well!
Sort of like a Grandmother's assessment of kindergartner's T-ball performance.
I thought Ricky did very well.
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.
And that is the man the Perrysites get so lathered up about.
Thankfully, their numbers grow fewer by the day.
I thought Perry did OK too. The whole debate was such a set up, very disappointing - all questions to Romney and Cain.. they took up all the time, Perry was deliberately cut out of the debate.
Make no mistake the media and Obama want Romney because they know they can beat him-they are creating a fake contest between Cain and Romney, knowing Romney is the guy, and they want him. I’d have a very hard time voting for Romney, but they fear Perry and are neutralizing him.
I ran into all these Occupy Wall Street tools in NY today, they came up my way on their class warfare millionaire’s march - stage 1 of the Obama campaign and it will intensify - such an outrage, to stand in front of people’s homes- this is such an astro turf coordinated campaign— please folks they will have as easy time defeating Romney,... I sent $$$ to Perry tonight - he strikes me as a guy who means what he says, no fancy talk.
“Welcome wagon” lol. I’ll have to disagree with that opinion. I’m sure you’ve seen all the arguments about why you are mistaken, but you’ve rejected them. In-state tuition for illegals is pretty common in the United States, and is a decision best left to the states, especially if you are a 10th Amendment person.
All the candidates have have similar immigration policies: Enforce existing law: Border security:
Perry understands that the fence is a feel-good measure only, so he has proposed a multi-approach. He doesn’t belief in requiring E-verify, as he believes it is ineffective. E-verify sucks, btw, and is the precursor to a national ID card, which I oppose.
I never knew that I had a prejudice until I moved here.
I used to think that fellers that talked slow was stupit.
Well I found out that they are are like 4 steps ahead on most matters.
I don’t discount Perry.
Unfortunately I am where you are and I am not happy how this is going down. Cain and Perry split the vote and Romney gets in. Not good.
People won’t have to watch him in the debates. He’ll be starting ads pretty soon and that’s what they will see and remember.
Aha! I am so happy you are awake, and alert and smart to boot! Now here is the point, that 7.65%? If you are a good employee, and your employer is a smart businessman, he would be happy to give you that 7.65% raise, WHICH WILL NOT COST HIM 1 RED CENT. Now if you are a so-so worker, then it is hopeless for you anyways.
Nice to see you staying classy as usual in insulting fellow Freepers when you have nothing of substance to offer.
I’ll be the first to agree with you that the MSM is trying to pick the candidate. Look at the path that took us to McCain last round.
Yet, they do themselves a disservice by going beyond their loaded questions and ignoring of strong candidates to try to further build their case. They are transparently airing their bias (and also their stupidity).
CAIN / NEWT Cain edges Newt in the Integrity category. Newt is brilliant and would still vote for him. But Cain is authentic to the core and has Integrity that WILL NEVER BE COMPROMISED.
He is worthy as our next President. He will honor the office. Just like certain past Presidents, he would not allow such disgusting behavior that Loser has shown in the Oval Office. So many Presidents have respected the Office. Herman Cain will respect the office and with Newt as his wingman.... the sky is the limit. Newt is amazing.... and Cain .... it’s time to draw such a strong contrast between a Conservative person of Integrity with the Punk in the People’s House. Loser has no respect for this country. Contrast the Loser with Cain... CAIN wins which is why they the Libs are scared.
Ping!
Staying with Perry. His not being “slick” is one thing I like about him. Slick Willie, smooth talking Obama - sick of snake oil politicians.
Perry is conservative and is still standing after a media attack of the first water.
This was Perry’s best debate. He is who he is. A man of few words, who gets things done. RINO Romney is a blowhard BS artist who could talk your grandma out of her life savings in about 2 seconds. Anyone can see that this New England elitist is trying to buy himself the presidency. He’s not had a job in years. He reminds me alot of
Bill CLinton. Alot of smokes and mirrors and baffle them with BS. I didn’t figure Charlie Rose and his liberal friends would ask Romney anything tough and I was right. Each and every candidate should have been asked did they think Mormans are Christians. Everyone one of them would have taken a pass except the two Mormans on stage. The liberal media loves Romney and will say he was the winner, when I think he did worse of any of them. He’s just a blowhard of the first degree. I want to see that creepy Romney look uncomfortable and I want someone to knock that smirk off his face. Ron Paul was great as usual. Cain does not have much command of any subject and is 9 9 9 plan is just another tax increase. So don’t pay any attention to the liberal media that tells you who won the debate. Who would you rather have a beer with? Case closed. Perry did fine.
... and classy RitaOK’s twin chimes in. Not surprising.
Perry is your pal next door you want to have a beer with. He’s doing just fine. He’ll win SC and every Southern primary. Pay no attention to any crasy azz poll that says Cain or Romney are leading in SC or any other SOuthern state. Perry is the only Southern conservative Christian in the field and yes folks that means something in the South. You have to win the South to win the primary and Perry is the only one that can pull it off. He was also the head of US governors assoc for years and all the other governors know him and like him. All Southern governors will endorse him. He’s going to be the nominee and the next president of the US.
Still waiting for an answer as to the charge that I have lied. Perry supporters make that charge often but to date not one has put forth any evidence to support it.
Cain is LEADING in the polls, while Perry is 3rd or worse. If anyone’s carrying water for Slick Willard at this point it’s La Raza Rick.
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