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.
Cain isn’t even allowed to respond to Bachmann’s 666 comment.
This debate is the worst format. The questions are good but only Romney gets to talk.
>Oh no, not the 666 crap. Oh Michelle.<
She sure wants to lose, doesn’t she?
THis debate is rigged to help Mitt
NEWT! SPEAK UP, THIS IS YOUR JOB! YOUR GOOD AT THIS!
We need idea guys/gals. I agree with no new taxes, but I’m not against redoing our tax code which could be called new taxes.
Yes, Newt is outstanding here.
Huntsman is a tool. Perry is asleep. Romney is a fraud. Cain and Gingrich steadily distance themselves from the rest. Bachmann is doing well tonight.
I like what Newt says but can we trust him? He has a checkered past and I’m not talking about his personal stuff.
Gingrich-Bachmann.
I’m locked in.
For now.
I’d like to see one of these candidates do that. This format is sad, too many candidates in front of a liberal firing squad.
I can't argue with that.
If they asked him what time it was, he’d babble on for 5 minutes.
What a d-bag.
I can’t believe how these moderators are interrupting the candidates as they are trying to answer the question. I’ve never seen that before.
Are the candidates debating the mods, or eachother?
LAWL!!! He is clueless on international trade and is probably funded by Chinese interests.
Newt needs to break through.... from what I am seeing... Newt is who we need in the White House.
GREAT answer by Perry. There’s some fire there.
Hey, someone wake up Rick Santorum!
Hank
Yep. She had a good answer up that crack.
That’s the risk of the 999 — the sales tax. But it’s a risk worth taking. It’s actually NOT easy to turn into a VAT. Why? No VAT tracking now exists, but sales tax tracking already in place at every point of sale. For state and local sales taxes.
The bugbear of all bugbears is the OTHER two taxes — the individual income tax and the corporate income tax. Let ALL recollect HOW those got started — as replacements for a NATIONAL SALES TAX. The tax on alcohol. To get Prohibition passed the temperance lobby had to propose an alternative stream of federal revenue to replace the excise tax (a sales tax) on alcohol.
Newt is RINO elite, playing hardball ... in the tank for Romney.
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