The more we see of Romney, the less he looks like a winner, the more he looks like a hack who is trying to say the right talking points. The problem is he has so much history as the former moderate governor of a blue state, he will never pass the tea party tests that are ruling all any and all moderate republicans. Only extremists may apply.
Cain is trying to sell himself as a businessman, talking about the nation as though it's a business. He suggested that all programs should be assessed for their efficiency. It made me wonder. If a program like medicare is inefficient, would he can it altogether? He is not a serious contender.
Bachmann. Michelle Bachmann is riding fairly high in polls, but what does she bring to the table? Pawlenty accused her of accomplishing nothing as a member of congress. She used a phallic symbol reply-- "I've been at the at the tip of the spear" fighting President Obama's healthcare plan and the debt limit increase. Pawlenty replied that with all her efforts, Obama's actions have still succeeded. Yet the pundits seem to have given her the victory... because Pawlenty was too negative and she had attitude.
Ron Paul is the candidate who stands out, in terms of audience response. He takes stands that are highly independent of the usual Frank Luntz right wing echo chamber talking points. According to AllFacebook , " Rep. Paul won the debate with 46.52 percent of the vote according to Fox News' Facebook poll"
If you're an independent, Paul, Huntsman and Pawlenty are the three non-teaparty faces in the race. But this race is not about independents. It's about Republicans and the Republican party has been-- some say hijacked, I say courted and charmed by the tea party-- so it is now run by tea party ideology.
Rick Perry will feel quite comfortable there, because his politics gibes with the tea-party's and because the rest of the candidates were unable to really stand out as leading the pack.
Bottom line, this was one of the most entertaining, funny debates I can ever remember seeing. Over and over again it felt like I was watching Saturday night live. Every 45 seconds, it seemed like there was some observation I could have tweeted. You won't learn much if anything new, but it'll be a fun watch.
Each candidate had 30 seconds to give closing remarks. Outside of Ron Paul, most of them used the time not to talk about THEIR strengths, but rather, to attack Barack Obama. Apparently that's the way, along with religiously hewing to right wing talking points, that they expect to win.
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