A Debate So Bad, We Missed Stephanopoulos’ Contraception Questions
If you missed last night’s debate . . . congratulations. Whatever else you did, it was time well spent.
To say the righties I follow on Twitter were unimpressed with the questions, and generally bored as the debate droned on, is to say Rand Paul might have a beef with TSA right now.
Tina Korbe makes my job tougher: “GOOD NIGHT! That was so empty of content I don’t even want to read the recap tweets.”
David Limbaugh: “No one won the debate because there wasn’t a debate. To say someone did win is to accept the false premise that there was one.”
Ed Morrissey: “Romney won the debate by setting Gingrich back on his heels over Freddie Mac, but won’t hurt Newt much in polls.”
A lot of viewers were expecting Gladiator Newt to burst upon the stage, unsheath his sword, behead a moderator or two, hurl the decapitated anchor noggin into the audience and bellow, “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?” But this was a comparably subdued Newt.
Real Clear Politics’ Scott Conroy reminds us, “Newt forgot to do the thing where he pretends he’s really mad at the media but he’s actually really happy.”
James Taranto: “I like Mad Newt better. Hope the meds wear off before the next debate.”
Jim Antle: “A Gingrich debate performance without audience participation is like a mildly amusing sitcom without a laugh track.”
If Newt had a tough moment, insisting that his $300,000 worth of work for Freddie Mac wasn’t lobbying, even though his contract was with the organization’s chief lobbyist. (See more below.) But Romney’s lack of appeal to the party’s conservatives was laid bare when Williams asked, in effect, what he had done for the conservative movement. Romney mentioned raising his family, his work in the private sector, and his time as governor of Massachusetts.
“Romney’s got a great family, great business: neither did much for conservatism. That’s fine. But it’s true,” Jonah pointed out.
The Gingrich campaign sent out a blast e-mail titled “Mitt Romney’s Top Conservative Achievements.” The e-mail, of course, was blank.
From what I've learned, Romney took conservative positions as governor. It's just that he wasn't a Republican governor of a Republican state with a Republican legislature. Of course he has less accomplishments than Nikki Haley or Rick Perry. The Tea Party and GOP have done a good job of putting the brakes on Obama's agenda, so I don't think Romney should get knocked for being the governor of a liberal state. Even though he could have gained popularity by acquiescing, he held to largely conservative positions throughout his tenure there.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Williams asked, in effect, what he had done for the conservative movement"
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLeading up to the general election, which of the GOP 4 have the cajones to reference that question in a leadup to ask Obama what he's done for the progressive movement?
Ask it where he has nowhere to hide and it's over for Obama.