On the merits, I think Santorum won and Paul arguably came in second. Politically I think Romney was the big winner.
Santorum just doesn’t have a lot of room to improve until/if Gingrich is out of the way. Romney desperately needed to keep Newt from surging and show some fire. He did that. It was his first solidly good debate performance in a long while. Meanwhile Newt clearly came in winging it without a plan to turn things around. I think when his attempt to turn the tables on Wolf fizzled it hurt him politically and drained him psychologically. He finished well, but sagged for a long time.
I would have bet before the debate that Newt was going to re-energize the race tonight and win the Florida primary. Now, I kind of doubt it.
In before the first, "Jonah's a big Beltway-living, Scotch-swilling, cigar-smoking, DC elitist RINO", post.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Politically I think Romney was the big winner."
Yeah, because winning non-politically means so much in these debates. What a joke. Romney crushed tonight and Jonah knows it. But he's scared of the commenters so he makes nice with the irritating Ricky-twerp who's a patron saint on NRO.
Free from NRO's biases, Intrade isn't afraid to note the obvious. Romney is now a 92% fave for FL. He was at 75% as the debate began. External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt is a little odd intrade has Romney 92% likely to win Florida and 88% likely to win Nevada, I would say Nevada is more of a sure thing than Florida.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSheesh. I can't keep up, Jonah. Who are you in the tank for today? "Ricky-twerp" or Romney?
oh, I get it: whoever you say a positive thing about in your latest post.
It's comments like Casey's that make me wonder just how emotionally exhausting it must be to do what you do.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMitt>>Our problem isn't 11 million grandmothers
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That was one of Mitt's best received lines and said something that had long needed saying.
This whole issue of 25-year illegals is a classic red herring invented by Newt and milked through several debates. Nobody is talking about chasing down stable, long-term illegals and deporting them. Newt just conjured it up as a little wedge issue.
All of this suggests to me that one of Mitt's problems in previous debate prep has been that his team has not really thought through Newt's arguments. A good debater must often challenge premises, identify red herrings, etc., rather than follow his opponent into the weeds. Mitt should have swatted this junk down the second time he heard it if he wasn't nimble enough to answer it the first time. So much better from Mitt tonight.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's the immigration version of how 'rape or incest' is used in discussion about Roe v Wade.
What percentage of abortions performed are due to rape or incest? About as proportionate as illegal grandmothers
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Mitt>>Our problem isn't 11 million grandmothers
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That was one of Mitt's best received lines and said something that had long needed saying."
Well, 2 months ago in a debate when Gingrich said that he will not deport grandmothers, Romney went after him saying that Gingrich is for "amnesty" of illegals. Everyone not completely devoid of memory know that for Romney 2 months ago apparently the problem was exactly "11 million grandmothers" (to whom Gingrich was offering amnesty), but yesterday in Florida - this was not the problem at all.
This is yet one more thing on which Romney has flip-flopped and this is just in the past 2 months! Romney cannot keep a straight position on anything for more that one debate and this is a fact!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAlthough Santorum was clearly the most caffeinated and Newt the least tonight , I thought it was Romney's best night. Santorum's hyper hectoring is a turn off . His passion often comes off as anger. Ron Paul can be charming and funny as
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusehe often was tonight . His line about sending politicians to the moon was LOL.
Romney was in charge and it showed and he played Newt like a French Horn .
Newt looked really tired and worn tonight -like an old cabbage patch doll. Being closely surrounded by a small group of physically fit men ( Ron Paul supposedly runs 3 miles a day ) highlighted Newt's poor shape. I can't imagine Newt possessing the stamina to physically handle the rigors of a presidential campaign.
>>. Ron Paul can be charming and funny as
he often was tonight.
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Agreed. A lot of his positions are crazy, but he wins the one-I'd-like-to-have-a-beer-with competition.
I loved the moment when he was asked how he would respond if Raoul Castro called him, and he said that he'd ask Raoul why he was calling. Many of Paul's funny and human moments -- like this one -- seem not to be deliberate jokes but a simple man giving a straight-forward answer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe Raoul Castro line was his best, Ed. Loved that response.
I confess I have not watched all of the debates until tonight. Too many on stage until now. I do think any of these four would be a huge improvement on The Won, although I could not vote for Ron Paul without huge apprehension due to his security policies. However, no way am I not voting against Democrats in November...that is the goal.
That said, am voting Romney on Tuesday. A telling moment for Floridians tonight should have been McCollum on stage with Gingrich. I voted Rick Scott and Marco Rubio in the last election (McCollum and Charlie Crist? No contest for me to vote against them).
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI generally agree with Jonah's assessment.
But on a totally unrelated note: Does anyone else use the iPhone app, and have issues logging in/posting comments? It's driving me nuts.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAndroid user here - have not been able to read comments, let alone add one, since they've been tinkering with the site for the past week or so. The "Comment" link is gone on my phone version.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYeah, I have the same problem if I use my phone's browser. I can at least read comments through the app, just can't post.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI even tried emailing Lowry about the missing comments. I'm also on an Android. Didn't expect a response, but hoped he'd get tech guys to swiftly resolve issue. Still waiting. I don't use the app and I've tried both my stock browser and Dolphin to no avail.
My kindle fire is showing comments, so the issue seems to be specific to phones.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSantorum definitely drew a good deal of blood on RomneyCare. It's absolutely crazy that at this stage Romney is still defending the mandate, which of course is the feature of ObamaCare that voters across the spectrum find the most repugnant by far.
Overall, though, Romney was very strong tonight, very forceful. He's on the right stylistic track with this new debate coach.
Scoring it, I'd say Santorum won and Romney was a strong second, followed by Paul and then Gingrich, who seemed like he got more than he gave on almost every exchange.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI am a RN in Florida. When Romneycare was first presented, many ED doctors and surgeons I know thought it a great idea. We have seen hospitals go under due to the burden of the uninsured in other states.
The Democrats in the MA congress wrote stuff into the original bill that Romney opposed. He needs to clarify this along with his statement that only TWO people opposed the vote when the bill was passed in the state of MA. "On April 12, 2006 Governor Mitt Romney signed the health legislation.[citation needed] Romney vetoed 8 sections of the health care legislation, including the controversial employer assessment.[19] Romney also vetoed provisions providing dental benefits to poor residents on the Medicaid program, and providing health coverage to senior and disabled legal immigrants not eligible for federal Medicaid.[20] The legislature promptly overrode six of the eight gubernatorial section vetoes, on May 4, 2006, and by mid-June 2006 had overridden the remaining two.[21]'
Whether the co-pay is $5 or what I pay for private insurance (through an employer), you should pay something based on your income. Romneycare was begun due to the rampant cost of ED visits and hospital care to the uninsured, many who are illegal immigrants. If they can afford beer and cigarettes they can contribute to the state's cost of healthcare. Of course, with only 53% of American taxpayers paying income tax, their contribution will remain zero. The entire system needs to be overhauled, but Obamacare and socialized medicine is not the answer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseUnfortunely, Newt didn't do well tonight which means the elite establishment will get their nominee. However, Mitt Romney will not win an election against President O'bama. Average voters will not vote for a rich elite millionaire over President O’bama. If Romney is the nominee, Georgia may very well vote Democratic....ha, now, that would be amazing! The people are the losers in all of this though, because Romney as President means the same ole Washington establishment status quo governing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJust pointing out that you claim both that Romney cannot win the presidency and that the American people will be the losers when he's president. Not sure how you think that will happen....
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePlease explain to me how voting for Romney (millionaire businessman) vs Obama (millionaire socialist) is comparable? Yes,hey both have money, which apparently offends the 99%. They both pay taxes, which puts them with the rest of us 53%.. Romney gives more to charity. Romney inherited some money and earned the rest as a capitalist (evil!). Meanwhile, Obama, who appeared from a vapor, earned his millions from his books written about his glorious self as well as wealthy liberal bundlers and Hollywood buffoons who support his socialism.
I am from the deepest heart of Dixie. I am a WASP, and I am voting for Mitt Romney and know many others (with same background, and not a religious bigot among us) who are also voting for Romney. I believe he can defeat The Won, and that is the end goal for me. If Gingrich is the nominee, I will vote for him. If it is Santorum, I will vote for him. I do feel that Romney is the best of the four right now and he will have my vote in the Florida Primary. He is far from the "elite establishment" that people fear, as Gingrich is a closer fit to that label.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLike your point about the 53%. I'd like to hear much more talk about the 53 and the 47. I'd like to hear someone from our side advocate that the 47% pay at least the price of a six-pack a year in taxes so they have some skin in the game and some pride in contributing. That might accomplish more than trying to take away from the rich, since it would not discourage investment. Neither would cover the overspending--it's about incentives and participation.
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