Newt had another “moment.” He’s setting a new standard for himself. If he doesn’t get a standing ovation at some point in the next debate, we’ll have to say he lost. But I disagree with my colleagues (but agree with Terry below) about Santorum: I thought he was excellent. His manner was calm and serious and he came in tonight with a clear strategy of differentiating himself from Romney and Gingrich and succeeded. On Monday, he seemed just to be flailing around; tonight everything had a point. He hit the bingo word on Gingrich: grandiosity. Gingrich parried pretty effectively, but Santorum’s basic critique is unanswerable because it’s true. Romney feel a little worn down to me, like he just trying to get by now. His answer on the tax returns was, again, lousy. He’s succeeded in convincing anyone paying attention that he must be hiding something, whether he is or not. At this point, you have to favor Gingrich to win South Carolina. Then, it’d be on to Florida, with Santorum, Romney, and Gingrich all having won once.
Well Rich has been so biased, he simply has blurred vision.
Did he really think Newt Gingrich wagging his finger like Bill Clinton and blaming the Media for his problems is a winner?
Remember when Rich thought Gingrich won that Debate in Iowa, when his Beltway Insider nature was truly exposed, with Ron Paul questioning his Fannie and Freddie graft? Mr. Lowry had it wrong, the following Monday Newt unravelled completely with an anti-Capitalist rant which sounded like Obama.
How did Newt do in the Iowa Primary? How did he do in NH?
Was his debate performance just off key?
The fashion is way overplaying all of the debate offerings, especially downplaying Mr. Romney's strength in the competition. It is obvious. Some opinion writers are looking as silly as when some said "big deal" about Romney's win in NH.
It is hard, having read, listened to, followed, so many of those selling their insight from the sidelines for so many years. They continue to sink in my opinion.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWith the splitting of delegates as opposed to winner-take-all, I don't know why they all would not stay in the race until Super Tuesday. Even Santorum as he still would have hope of being the non-Romney if Newt has a whole month to get in trouble with his mouth and also to see how much the adultery charges hurt longterm.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSome extra thoughts, for the fine Mr. Lowry.
Perhaps one of the best lines in the debate, (since many seem to rely on the zinger):
Romney said something like this,
"I don't recall thinking for a single day in the private sector,
'Oh thank heaven, Washington is there for me...'"
It was a very strong moment in which the supposed 'great debater' looked quite poor. Newt was selling himself overtly as Speaker, touting his efforts via Government. Romney reminded everyone of reality, of what the vast majority of Americans working in the Private Sector know to be true. This was very affective.
Romney also said, "Ours is the party of free enterprise", reminding the Beltway Insider named Newt, who was selling leftist populist 'looting' garbage in desperation for the past few weeks.
There are so many moments worthy noting.
Perhaps the declaration to not apologize for "success" is the most obvious sign of the vivid Conservatism - the strong advocation for American Exceptionalism, which Mr. Romney can provide quite well. The Private Sector success will be ideally suited to run against the Public Sector failure represented by Mr. Obama - far better than the Washington Politicians named Santorum and Gingrich.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOld Fan,
I saw it exactly as you did. Newt looked beaten in his angry rant on the moderator. it may have played in the hall but i seriously doubt that it will continue to play when people get home. The polls show that Newt is running way behind with women and last night's performance did nothing to improve it.
In addition to the lines you quote, romney had a few other great ones -- not goint to let newt's 4-yr as a speaker to take credit for his 25 years of success. and the fact that reagan's diaries mention newt only once and that to dismiss some not-so-good idea.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Newt is running way behind with women..."" Well, no kidding. I would bet though that Newt is "running way ahead" with men who have a vindictive ex-wife!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAs Jay said in his Impromptus "50% of marriages have ended in divorce. I imagine we all know people who have been through this trauma and at one time or another picked sides in which version of the split to agree with/support. I know I have told my wife on more than a couple of occasions that “if I had been married to that woman I’d have divorced her after a couple of hours of marriage”—and she has said the same about some of the men we’ve known who have gotten divorces. So it is the two sides to every story.
It WAS more than despicable for King to bring this up, particularly since CNN spent so much time defending Slick Willie over the years. As mentioned in an article I read this morning by Hurt in the Wash. Times—he asks a pertinent question—(paraphrasing here) why did the ex-wife wait 11 months, just before the SC Primary, to tell us Newt was/is a bum?
So Newt's the victim? Give me a break!
It not a vindicative ex-wife issue.
Newt left both wives at a time of sickness coupled with the cheating simply increased the YUCK factor for Newt.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm glad Rich is so titillated with the Adultery Candidate. However, I am a little puzzled how NRO proclaimed Newt unfit for the presidency a few weeks ago and now Rich, their ostensible editor, has done everything but propose marriage to the man. But I'm sure it will all make sense in the end.
Apparently, like the SC voters Rich find adultery committed by a Republican a plus, not a minus. I just have to keep reminding myself that GOP is the party of good morals.
Enjoy the standing ovations from a crowd of dimwits, kids. Newtie won't be getting them if he makes it to the general and has to face independent voters. I suppose it's not worth mentioning but the latest Ohio poll poll, for example showed him losing to Obama there by 14%. But what do we care when he's getting standing o's from highly partisan crowds for attacking the press for looking at his shameful personal behavior?
Sometimes voters of one party willfully decide to commit electoral suicide (Goldwater in 1964, McGovern in 1972). Maybe this is one of those years. Certainly I got the impression with the Tea Party voters that they really didn't care in the final analysis whether Christine O'Donnell won or not. The important thing was making some sort of (self-destructive) statement. The weird thing is they now have people like Rich Lowry signed on.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI haven't decided who I am backing yet, but paying attention to head to head polls against BHO at this point are somewhat irrelevant. They change. Candidate has not been chosen. no one has campaigned in Ohio yet. At one point Gingrich was destroying Romney in SC. Then it switched to Romney killing Gingrich. Now it is even. Wanting the best candidate to match up against Obama is fine, and Romney may be that, or Santorum. But you can't really know that based on some hypothetical candidate vs BHO.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLowry and Santorum...has anyone ever actually seen both of them in one place at the same time? Don't they both kinda have that altar boy thing going on, at a minimum.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLowry has never worn a sweater vest.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRick won? Maybe, but he shot himself full of holes in the process.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAbsolutely Rick Santorum is the most conservative. But just as Newt can't help being Newt. Santorum (who we think has good ideas and good instinct) can't help being smug and indignant. Even though he won/tied Iowa, he acts as if he's still struggling to be noticed. On a night when he had a huge opportunity to look presidential and really surge ahead, he just looked irritated....like he can't believe everyone doesn't see his glowing record of conservative perfection. It completely put-off my wife by the end of the night. If he's on a stage next to Obama and comes off that way, it won't matter that Obama is the worst president in history, they won't vote for Rick because they won't like him.
Gingrich's attacks on moderators may be satisfying, but are somewhat gratuitous and certainly serve as misdirections.
"To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary, a significant question in a presidential campaign, is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine."
Presumably, the former Speaker rates this debate question as more "despicable" than cheating on one's first two wives, something he more than imagined.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI had to unfollow Rich on twitter after last night. It was like he watching a different debate. Santorum is about as exciting as watch grass grow. It's also hilarious to watch Santorum beat up Romney for RomneyCare and then defend his vote against right to work. "Well, I was representing Pennsylvania." Wasn't Romney representing one of the most liberal states in the Union?
I think it's sweet that people think that 35 votes in Iowa are some kind of a game change, but Santorum still got stomped in New Hampshire and he's not even in contention to win South Carolina. There's a word for Santorum's status: irrelevant.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRomneyCare was the basis for ObamaCare. Gov. Patrick is now proposing changes because costs continue to rise, getting rid of ObamaCare is critical, I just don't see Romney going to the mat to do this, I just don't trust him nor do I trust Newt who supports "green conservatism". RP on foreign policy is a show stopper so I'm down to RS. I don't like any of the candidates. Newt's opening comment was right, many good people never get in the race because they do not want to put their families through the pain of the ugly campaigning. I don't blame them but American loses, 2012 is the election, we cannot wait for 2016. ABO will be my vote, once again I am voting against candidates and not for anyone.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLittle Ricky gets lots of (definitely non-sexual) love around here because he's against birth control or something. Even Steyn has swooned over the screechy little whiner. I was surprised that NRO let Medved tell the truth about their darling. Santorum is about as likeable as a schoolmarm with an umbrella up her you-know-what. A snotty, preachy, pestering little prude.
Gingrich's growls at the media got old a millenium ago, but they pay off in GOP primaries. Of course, the media-ripping would be disastrous in the general. Indies and Dems would figure (rightly) that Newt just doesn't want to answer awkward questions. Still, he should win SC because he picked the right hate-object in the media. And Gingrich is toast in the general, anyway, if he gets that far. The exes will shred him while Michelle and the Adorable Kids go on Disney and be adorable. I reckon at least 60-40 Obama-Gingrich in the female vote.
Romney might actually beat Obama, so it's no surprise NRO dislikes him. They want four more years of good material. The obsession with the tax returns is getting funny, though. Sort of like Rod Dreher's (remember him?) long-ago obsession with perv priests.
Paul? Maybe if he talks even slower he'll fall asleep and spare us the paranoid rants about Israel and the Fed. But even he should beat Little Ricky in SC. All in all, it's time for the NRO gang to head for the fever swamps at American Spectator, where Quin Hillyer tends the St. Santorum shrine.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSteyn has also said that Santorum is a little too much of a big government "compassionate GOPer."
I don't think he's swooning.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMaybe we were watching a different debate? Newt is way too impressed with himself. Rick sounded like some adolescence whining throughout the night. They are both tough to listen to; I would not want either of them in my living room for four years.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Steyn has also said that Santorum is a little too much of a big government 'compassionate GOPer.' I don't think he's swooning."
Steyn put a laughable note on the Corner today about how poor little Ricky got wronged in Iowa. If they had just given him 25 more votes he might have won everything! And been President and all! But no, evil forces denied our hero his due!
Delusional, hilariously so. Little Ricky bombed in NH and he'll even bomb in SC, a state where he should actually do pretty well. Steyn can whine and conspiracy-theorize all he wants. The problem is that ever lovable screechy Santorum sanctimony, not a couple dozen ballots in Iowa.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTry as I might, I just can't LIKE Mr. Sanctomorum. Of course, I'll vote for him if he wins the nomination. But he HAS to stop SNEERING at people. It is so.....Obama-like. I can't stomach the idea of watching TWO sneering men debating each other in the General.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe're really a bunch of lemmings. Every time Gingrich gets asked a tough question that he really doesn't have any good answer to, he attacks the moderator, accusing them of being an MSM dupe of the Democratic party, and the audience gives him a standing O. In one of the earlier debates, at the time that his campaign was imploding and his staff were defecting to the Perry campaign, the moderator asked Gingrich to comment on why he thought he should be nominated when it looked like he couldn't even effectively run his own campaign. Newt lambasted the moderator for asking a "gotcha" question, and everyone cheered. I guess it's just not important that the chief exectutive of the U.S. be able to effectively run an organization, nor that he seems to be a serial cheater when it comes to the most fundamental relationships in his life, you know, the one where he swears an oath of fidelity to his "life" partner(s).
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