South Carolina Republican Debate

The candidates spent less time attacking each other tonight and focused more on their ideas. It was a pretty good debate given the limited time the candidates had to answer the questions.

Ron Paul is always interesting and I find myself agreeing with him in areas. We split dramatically when he brings everyone home and closes up shop. We can't ignore the rest of the world. It's not an ideal world, we're not going to stop people from hating us just because we leave them alone. Especially if we take our money when we walk away. I've gotten into an area that deserves a full rant and my drooping eyes won't stay open long enough for two topics, thus I'll move back to the debate and my thoughts.

If Fred Thompson had performed in other debates like he did tonight he'd probably be the front runner. Unfortunately, he's been a bit too laid back, unfocused sounding and definitely uninspiring. Tonight I swore he'd been reading my blogs and gotten the message. He was on point, his quips were timed perfectly and he came across strong and knowledgeable. This is the first time I've liked him.

Mitt Romney didn't lose any points with me, but he didn't gain any either. His performance wasn't as good as in the past. I had the feeling the weight of all the constant attacks was getting to him. Just a personal thought, not one based on anything he said. He just seemed a bit flat and there was a tightness to his expressions that I haven't noted before. Could be just the stress of campaigning.

John McCain tied with Thompson as a winner in my estimation. He was sharp, gave good answers, was strong in areas he needed to be and showcased his depth of commitment to cutting spending, lowering taxes, protecting the country and closing the borders.

Mike Huckabee had one of the best lines of the night when talking about the incident the other day with the five small boats menacing our ship. You're going to hear the quote a hundred times over the next few days if you listen to the news. Although he had some good responses overall I would make Huckabee my personal loser. He was definitely the one in everyone's sites. I think everyone lobbed an attack or two in his direction. He didn't defend himself very well. He left some of the barbs unanswered. Fred Thompson in particular targeted Huckabee, rather successfully overall.

Who's left? Ah, I almost forgot Rudy Giuliani. I wanted to like Giuliani tonight and I wanted him to perform well. In the past I've felt that he might be the best candidate to face Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I'm losing faith in that premise and tonight didn't help his cause. I haven't had a chance to look at the tax plan he's proposing, but I'm glad to see he's presenting some ideas rather than simply talking about his past.

I'll be glad when we can whittle the field down a bit. I'd like to have debates that allow the contenders to flesh out ideas rather than have to squeeze as many words as possible into a short minute or two at most.

Aside from Ron Paul, I'll say again that I'd be happy with any of these guys leading our country. There is so much strength of character and passion on that stage!

By the way, I don't know the criteria for choosing the candidates to include in the debate, but I did not like it that Duncan Hunter was excluded. He at least has won a delegate. I'm sure we'll be losing him as a candidate sometime in the near future. When the media ignores you it's just a matter of time.

FOX News Debate Impressions

Much to my surprise, Mitt Romney came out on top in my estimation. He handled himself well under pressure. He was calm, he spoke clearly, he knew his stuff, he didn't back down. Each time I see him in an interview or on a debate I like him a bit more.

Huckabee? He danced around the issues tonight. You could hear it when he switched on the candidate-speak, the tone of his voice changes. At the beginning of the debate he was winning back some of the high regard I lost for him during last night's ABC debate. But the more he came under scrutiny, the more he talked, the more he rubbed me wrong. Again. He tossed out a lot of platitudes and feel-good statements.

Giuliani? Flat. He didn't win, he didn't lose. I suppose by not winning he lost to some degree. He had some good lines, made sense but his sparkle is gone.

Thompson? Liked some of what he had to say, but if he'd just speed it up a little he'd be able to say twice as much. Maybe he stretches it out so he doesn't have time to go into details. He comes across as plodding... or calm... depending on whether you like him or not. I think he'd handle himself well under pressure, don't think anyone would push him around. BUT, I think listening to a State of the Union address would be torturous.

McCain? I thought he did really well. Great on foreign policy. He had some fun, came across strong where he needed to, deflected the negative and outlined his positions very well. He's right up there at the top of the heap.

I wasn't impressed with the questions chosen by FOX. I wasn't really impressed with the debate.

Chris Wallace, the moderator, was tough on all of the candidates, almost baiting them. I thought he focused a bit much on Romney, Huckabee and McCain. Probably because they are currently the front runners.

It was like watching the Sunday morning political talk show, which I like. But I wanted to hear something new, to hear something I haven't heard before. After watching the debates the night before and watching the talk shows this morning I felt like I was watching a re-run to some degree.

I'm ready to hear them outline a clear position on issues. I wasn't interested in whether Romney's ads were attacks or not, how Huckabee and McCain felt about them.

Wouldn't it be interesting to just give the candidates a question about an issue and just have them tell their position, not worry about contrasting it with the other candidates? "What's your plan to deal with illegal immigration?" "What are you going to do about Social Security? Welfare? Health care? Tort reform?"

Tell them they CAN'T refer to other candidates at all, can't contrast their plan, can't make any digs at their opponents or the other party (and for the Democrats, they can't mention George Bush or refer to him in any way during their answer).

I have until Feb. to lock in on the candidate who'll get my vote... I guess I'll keep watching and reading. Although I pick on all of the candidates in my columns, I like ever one of the Republican candidates in tonight's debate and I wouldn't have a problem supporting whoever gets the ultimate nod to run against the Democratic nominee.