January 10, 2008
Thompson turns it up
I watched most of the debate tonight, and listened to a portion in the car.
Impressions?
In reverse order, this is how I think the candidates did.
Cuckoo for Coca Puffs: Ron Paul. From his ranting about Israel (those pesky Joooooos!), to his ranting about the Gulf of Tonkin and the peace-loving Iranians, to the other candidates laughing at him when Brit Hume asked, "What are you talking about?", the barking-at-the-moon Texas congressman was awful. This guy makes Dennis Kucinich sound normal.
ZZZZzzzzz: Mitt Romney. I don't get this guy; he's been the liberal GOP governor of an overwhelmingly liberal state, with no apparent deep-seated conservative beliefs that have played a role -- any role -- in his political life ... until he decided to run for the presidency. A transparent phony, without an authentic bone in his body. Apart from his vast fortune and good looks, I'm not sure why so many think he's the guy to take down McCain. A very ineffective performance tonight.
Birds of a Feather: Mike Huckabee and John McCain. I can't stand either of these guys, but they managed to have some good moments tonight, if you're inclined to back a liberal Democrat masquerading in GOP clothing. Huckabee had a nice response to a softball question on marriage and religion, and McCain kicked the bejabbers out of Romney on the economy. But the two RINOS were body-slammed on illegal immigration by Fred Thompson, and McCain even volunteered that he was on the Al Gore global warming bandwagon.
Ack.
Who put meth in his coffee?: Fred Thompson. Whoa. The charge has been that the former senator from Tennessee didn't have the fire in his belly, didn't want the job bad enough. Apparently he didn't get the word. Thompson was on fire tonight, savaging Huckabee for his positions, defining the Arkansan as a fine nominee.
For the Democrats.
Thompson had a number of good moments, including his take on illegal immigration: America should have a high fence and a wide gate, and we'll decide who gets to come in.
Boo-ya! In your face, Huckabee! And you too, McCain!
If I have a criticism of the Tennessean, it's that he didn't hammer McCain enough. McCain's campaign has been invigorated by his New Hampshire victory, and South Carolina is a conservative state, one not sympathetic to many of the Arizona senator's contrarian positions on amnesty, judicial appointments, free-speech restrictions (i.e., campaign finance reform, aka, McCain-Feingold), gun control or tax cuts.
As a conservative, the more you know about McCain, the less you can conceive of ever voting for him. That's some mighty fertile ground for Thompson -- if he decides to hoe that row.
Did I leave anyone out?
Oh, yeah, Rudy Giuliani.
Did you know he cleaned up New York City? And that he's proud of the fact that as mayor he turned it into an illegal alien sanctuary city? And that he believes that he's the best candidate to solve the problem of illegal immigration and secure our borders?
It is to laugh.
Giuliani phoned it in tonight. I think he's holding his mud for Florida, betting that he can recoup lost ground. I think it's a sucker bet; like Huckabee, Rudy's not a conservative, and the GOP base will soon figure that out.
I wonder if Thompson can keep those fires burning?
Waitress? A little more "special sugar" for his coffee, please.
Posted by Mike Lief at January 10, 2008 10:07 PM
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Comments
GO THOMPSON!! Out of all of the candidates, he's the only one that doesn't scare the crap out of me.
Posted by: April at January 11, 2008 06:44 AM
One cannot simultaneously attack vigorously in all directions.
Posted by: The Little Coach at January 11, 2008 07:44 AM
I got my first look at Ron Paul in the debate. Yes, he's a little crazed. However, I now see why he appeals to a segment of the Republican party that is ardently anti-neocon. Twenty years ago, you'd run into many more Republicans of the Pat Buchanan strain who believe that we have no business sticking our noses into other people's business, particularly with military force. I recall heated criticism of Bill Clinton by many Republicans when we bombed Serbian forces in the 90's. They saw no American national security interest in the matter and believed that it was an attempt by our leadership in the White House to act like the world's police officer.
Many of the Buchanan/ Ron Paul types have probably moved into the ranks of independent or libertarian voters.
As for Fred Thompson, he FINALLY showed that he's willing to get off of his Lazy-Boy and throw a few punches. Fred is my favorite. Unlike you Mike, I just don't think he has the fire that is required to stump and stump hard on the campaign trail.
Politics aside, Clinton and Obama are showing that pugnacious energy you need to bite and scratch your way to victory. Of the entire Republican and Democratic field, Obama is the best of the bunch by far in terms of his ability to deliver powerful prose, motivate and energize voters. (He just has no business being president)
Rudy, in my opinion, is the smartest and most capable of the Repubican candidates. He comes across as a pinhead, however, and doesn't have the great one-liner capability you see in Thompson and Huckabee. His "hold your fire until you see the whites of their eyes" strategy seems to be failing him.
Posted by: Bill H at January 11, 2008 07:48 AM
There was a debate?
I was too busy getting blasted with story after story about how Hillary has re-energized her campaign by crying, that I must have missed that there was any other news in the world (except Brittney Spears' mental breakdown). If I see one more "I love her because she has shown that she is human..." interview i am going to hurl.
I am sure that the terrorists who are planning to kill each and every one of us were amused to see that the person who is somehwat likley to be leading us in the future was seen on every news station crying about how hard it is to campaign and how her feelings are hurt when she hears that people don't like her. Even more amusing/exciting for those same terrorists must be the number of interviews that followed PRAISING her for doing so.
I don't care who is president-man, woman, black, white, purple...whoever it is should command respect and fear in our enemies. Americans don't understand...these people want to KILL US.
I am actually a little sickened with the line-up of characters that we have to choose from to lead us in the fight to protect ourselves and our interests.
Posted by: RW at January 11, 2008 11:40 AM