Immediate Thoughts After Watching the 1st GOP Debate

10:30 pm
What was most shocking about the Republican Party debate tonight at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California was the fact that, with the exception of Congressman Ron Paul, none of the second-tier (and there are only two tiers) candidates attempted to take down any of the big three. Governor Mitt Romney and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani were allowed their previous flip flops, Giuliani was allowed his less-than-conservative credentials, and Senator John McCain was allowed his previous lack of loyalty to the Party. This is much like last week’s Democratic debate, though the Dems displayed not only civility but congeniality. What is odd about the unwillingness of the GOP candidates to go after one-another is that Republicans are unhappy with their candidates currently, which means that giants can and will fall. The top tier – Giuliani, McCain, and Romney – may be reticent to go after each other because if opens a bigger hole for a Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich to fill.

That being said, Mitt Romney did the best over all. The candidates kept talking about what made President Ronald Reagan great – his unflinching optimism, his unwavering faith in the greatness of America(ns) – and they all laid claim to his legacy, asserting that they could be a Reagan-esque candidate. The only person, however, who channeled that aura was Romney. He was bright, hopeful, and had clearly articulated ideas about what was right with America and what we could build upon. Plus, for a white guy, hair doesn’t get much better than that.

McCain showed his experience, though he appeared nervous at the beginning. He also ruined a great line. After saying, “I’ll follow him [Osama Bin Laden] to the gates of Hell,” McCain flashed a smile showing his pleasure that he had nailed his prepared one-liner. The trick with a one-liner, that is not meant to be funny, is to deliver it naturally, as though it came to you in the normal course of your response rather than rehearsed. He wasted what could have been a terrific clip, played again and again. One refrain that he was very solid on was cutting government spending. If he wins the nomination and if Iraq is on firmer footing (not likely), this could become an appealing mantra.

Giuliani had a very poor performance with the exception of his last statement on terrorism, which was strong and clear. His challenge of wrapping his more Liberal positions in Conservative packaging proved to be a difficult task for him. This is surprising because this obstacle has not come out of left field. He will have to articulate his positions and the nuances therein in a much more clear and succinct way in the debates to follow.

Thompson had the most interesting proposal on Iraq. Brownback, Huckabee, Hunter, Gilmore, and Tancredo were all solid. However, none of them felled a giant and it seems like they might be playing for a V.P. spot or a cabinet post.

The most interesting question for me that MSNBC did a horrible job of showing was who were the candidates that do not believe in Evolution, and there are quite a few of them. You could only see hands, but it was difficult from the shot to identify the believers and non-believers.

All in all, the Democratic Primary last week was much more entertaining because there were not a bunch of posers on stage, claiming to be someone they’re not – Ronald Reagan (can’t wait for the Loyd Benson moment that is sure to come at some point this election cycle). Additionally, the Dems seemed to have more fun and the characters of Kucinich and Gravel provided some very real comic relief. Ron Paul was not nearly so adapt as an outsider shaking things up in way that lightened the room.