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.
Sounds fine with me. The experience and intelligence issues with Obama are a stark contrast and would be very apparent as the campaign progressed. Newt has been in Washington, what, 30+ years? Obama was an Illinois State senator (read how he got there sometime), anyway, he was an Illinois State Senator and then with absolutely no experience became President of the United States in just two short years.
People say Cain, Bachmann "aren't ready" for POTUS. "The Presidency is not an entry level job." . It was for Obama and how's that workin' out for ya' America?
Newt, Cain and Bachmann have miles of life and experience over Obama. . . and it shows. The biggest contrast is with Newt and I don't think the MSM can cover for Obama on this blatant dissimilarity. It will show. . . No doubt about it. .
Oh, and when the dems talk about Newt's personal life and his happy third marriage, just say, "Bill Clinton.". . and nothing else.
Would Obama drop out if Newt runs just to avoid the embarrassment?
The goal is to defeat Obama. Let's go for it! Think hard, sleep on it and focus - What combination gives us the best chance?
Nice to see you call this one out. Good catch.
Do you have a clue. I have a feeling your sensitivity is plunder of posters. Check my history with the class in this place against my support for Perry. Then you can dial me up about class. Have about had it with you and your cabal trolling for trouble.
This is the second debate he was not invited to.
Jack Kemp VP to Dole was like Palin VP to McCain. Should have been at the least, reversed.
Your tag line is a lie for one thing.
Cain is a Romney guy...big time. He is also over his head...GREENSPAN????? He only said that cuz he knew no one else. 999 plan another big joke...tax plan not a jobs plan. I think Perry did very well tonight...when he got questions...he had good solid answers...statesman...
It doesn't matter what 90+ percent of Free Republic decides. It has already been decided that if the nominee has been proscribed by FR, FR will go Third Party even even to the destruction of the GOP and Obama's winning a 2d term.
I guess he must be below 1%
He was pretty funny in the last debate, and he highlighted that Obama is unacceptable.
Agreed but I think there’s more to it. There are powerful forces who want to control our nominee. When Perry hit the immigration issue all I heard was he was done. Then the polls with him rock bottom. Granted he’s not the best in the debates but I truly think we’re being herded in one direction then the other
We’d better look carefully at our choices and pick the one we think best. Not let the damn media build up a candidate then help rip them to shreds. Personally, I’m sick of that crap.
Where can a re-air been seen online ???
Either they're not smart enough to get that or they're in denial. Must be hard to accept that their favorite pro-ILLEGAL alien candidate is bombing.
It is a fact...Romney has flat-lined and his campaign is going nowhere. Note this graph that shows Romney as being pretty much where he was 3-months ago. Of note also is the undeniable fact that while Perry has bombed Cain has been the beneficiary.
Quite telling.
Your comment is highly irrational.
Prayin’ for sure. Romney is a fish-oil salesman.
Perry...he’s trying to sell the real deal. His proposals on
drilling are just what the economy needs. We are drilling like
crazy here in Texas! He understands what this means to the work
situation AND the tax base situation. Believe it or not, all
those oil field workers buy stuff and pay a LOT of taxes!
My store can’t find enough people to work for us because everyone
can be paid better working in the oil fields. The whole country
needs a shot of some of that! :)
He attacked Romney’s tax plan, saying it’s just as full of loopholes as the current one is. But even if he didn’t...
Cain doesn’t need to attack Romney. Romney isn’t a threat. The voters know him, and they DON’T want him. They’ve just not settled on an alternative yet. Find me one poll where he’s cracked 25%. He couldn’t even beat Juan McInsane for pete’s sake. Attacking Romney would be about as productive as attacking Huntsman, the RINOs who support them aren’t gonna stop being Rockefeller repubs.
Totally different, Palin wasn’t running for president as MB is now if you remember. MB and Mitt were a team from the beginning.
First time I watched was tonight and only for a bit. I like Rick Santorum - but don’t know anything about him. For the time I watched, he seemed to be in control. First time I heard mitt speak tonight, also - he goes around the circle and says nothing! He has fraud written all over him!
RitaOK (any myself) have been attacked left and right (pun intended) and have handled ourselves quite well, in spite of the amount of manure that's been flung.
Find someone else to attack with bullsh*t accusations from trolls that don't know up from down.
>> Where can a re-air been seen online ???
Don’t know. I’m watching it on Bloomberg’s cable channel.
You may think Romney has no chance but that’s wishful thinking.
And, by the way, why did Cain announce he was going after Romney and then fail to do so.
Does he still eye a Romney veep spot?
Obama put a moratorium on gulf drilling and he is going after our coal mining.
Obama sucks and Perry with Greg Abbot are currently involved in telling them FU
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