I thought the debate went fairly well... here are my thoughts:
- Rick Perry went after Mitt Romney really hard, as he has in the previous debate. This is really degrading Mitt Romney's positions, so I think he'll be losing his support now. Which is very good.
- Rick Perry's little quip calling everyone who doesn't support a law he passed which subsidized education for illegal immigrants "heartless" really showed his true colors. Combine this with Ron Paul's devastating attack against Rick Perry in the last debate, where Ron Paul pointed out that, under Perry, taxes have doubled in Texas and state debt has tripled, and you have a situation where Rick Perry's conservative and Tea Party base ought to be disappearing.
- Jon Huntsman had a really powerful moment when he got into a battle with Rick Santorum over foreign policy... Huntsman made excellent conservative points about why we need to pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Santorum fumbled and Huntsman received powerful applause. It truly was a very powerful moment and I think this shows that the Republican Party is slowly but surely moving towards a different approach on foreign policy...
- Rick Santorum also fumbled the question regarding the recent repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He made social conservatives who support this position look silly. More points for those who are socially tolerant and/or liberal. Thanks, Senator Santorum. (:
- Ron Paul made some good points in the debates, as always. Gotta love the old man.
- Michele Bachmann had a weak performance, but she did make a few good points on fiscal policy. It shows that the Republican Party is moving in the right direction on issues of fiscal policy.
- Gary Johnson had a weak performance in the beginning, mainly because he was given SO LITTLE airtime, and he wasn't even asked a question about who he is, etc. etc. You'd think that the debate moderators would have the courtesy to ask Gary Johnson about his credentials and so forth, considering that this is the first debate he's qualified for, but no such question! So it felt awkward when Gary Johnson had to fit in all of his positions in response to questions about a specific issue... But Gary Johnson pushed his image of an ultra fiscal conservative, socially tolerant candidate well, AND finished strongly with that one-liner "my neighbor's two dogs create more shovel ready jobs than Obama's stimulus." That gave him a lot of positive attention from the audience and the other candidates. Hopefully, this will build his reputation and recognition among primary voters.
- Herman Cain did well, I thought. He pushed the issue of fiscal conservatism and lower taxes well.
- Newt Gingrich gave a lot of credence to all of the Republican candidates with his constant "I think everyone here will be better than Obama and has a good shot of winning" talk. This legitimizes Ron Paul and Gary Johnson to those who might be opposed to them...
Overall, I think this debate showed a strong move towards a more libertarian Republican Party.
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