Posted on 11/29/2007 10:29:30 AM PST by Kaslin
Mitt Romney won the last night's debate because he emerged as a plausible, indeed compelling match-up to Hillary.
Rudy hit him hard --and below the belt, with the "sanctuary mansion" shot. But so what? We aren't expecting the Clinton's to play nice. Our candidate will have to be able to be "strong" without being "mean," superior on the issues and intellect and ahead on the key test of "Who shares my values?" That's Romney, and I expect the Clintons know it and will work overtime to take him off the board in the next six weeks.
What did Romney do when Rudy swung low?
Romney counter-punched. Hard. And for as long as it took. That exchange was the key to this debate. It is why Romney won. Hands down. Going away.
Romney did the same thing when Huck went all "up from poverty" as a counter to Romney's criticism in the "in-state tuition for illegal aliens" exchange.
Many GOPers who are leaning Romney in their minds wanted some show of knuckles and they got it. "Could Romney go one-on-one with Clinton, Inc?" they wondered.
"Is Romney tough enough, or too nice for the show?" Tonight the skeptics got their answer: Romney will take on Hillary in the fall debates and beat her. Handily.
Said Katherine Jean Lopez at NationalReview.com in the most telling of all live-blog comments:
So Far [Kathryn Jean Lopez]this is Romney's best debate performance yet. He reminds us he has experience and outside of Washington, he's tackled difficult issues, and does not let his temper get the best of him with a New York bully (something that will come in handy).
K-Lo is right. The GOP race is all about beating Hillary in the debates of October. Rudy swung hard and didn't phase Mitt. Huckabee played the victim card and Mitt refused to let him do so. Mitt wins both rounds. And the debate.
And, I think, the nomination.
Other post-debate observations:
Some important center-right pundits can't find their way to saying a definitively good thing about Romney. Are they anti-Mormon or just concerned that the Mormon handicap is too great?
Some folks refuse to recognize the blindingly obvious: A vote for Huck is a vote for Rudy, so don't pull for Huck and tell me you can't support Rudy in the general.
Ron Paul got a raw deal from CNN. I don't care for his isolationism or for some of his supporters, but MSM bias is on parade when Ron Paul doesn't get to say hello for 35 minutes and then gets a video question on conspiracy theorists.
If CNN had sent a memo around with a heading "How Do We Make All The Republicans Look Bad?" they couldn't have telegraphed the corporate motive in this debate with any more transparency. What a revealing moment about the "Most Busted Name In News." Imagine a CNN debate in late 1944 --without a question about the war in the first hour. I am surprised Anderson Cooper didn't throw a flag on his own network. Cooper's skills are such that he could be a serious name in journalism, but not if he continues to stand by and let network producers involve him in train wrecks like this one.
To the YouTube kid sent to flak the debate on Tuesday: The voice of the people throws up Grover Norquist? I know Grover. He's not the people. He's a Beltway demigod. And the people want a guitar solo to open their debate?
The circus is leaving town. And not a moment too soon.
Absentee voting starts in New Hampshire on December 10. The Union will be more secure if the Granite State's voters skipped this carnival.
Yawn .
G e e z, Hugh, why don’t you two just get a room.
The Clinton's what?
Hugh Hewitt is delusional.
Oh my, I’m just AMAZED that HH thought Mitt won.
I mean, Hugh only wrote an entire book praising the man to the heavens.
He must not have watched the same debate I did.
This is Townhall! They are an extremely conservative site. One of the good guys. Not sure what they mean by this but still not to be gaffed off.
LOL !
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Hewitt has been promoting Romney from the get go. His comments are not surprising.
Not sure what debate this guy watched.
Mitt looked terrible. Got caught flip flopping, looked taken off guard.
Rudy even tucked it to him.
Maybe you can tell us, then.
Hugh Hewitt has been in the tank for Mr. Perfect for quite some time now . This holds no weight at all .
I guess that the real power in politics is the ability to NEVER ANSWER A QUESTION with a YES or NO. Romney never answered any question put to him....only started spewing verbal vomit each time he was asked a question.
Wow...it’s almost like Hugh’s trying to sell a book or something.
I don’t think Romney was on his game at all. He looked angry and defensive and it didn’t play well for me.
LLS
Mitt revealed that he wants to open the military entirely to gays and lesbians.
ROMNEY: “One issue I want to clarify concerns [grammar in context] President Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” military policy. I believe that the Clinton compromise was a step in the right direction. I am also convinced that it is the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military. That goal will only be reached when preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians is a mainstream concern, which is a goal we share.”
CNN Transcript:
Cooper: Governor Romney, you said in 1994 that you looked forward to the day when gays and lesbians could serve, and I quote, “openly and honestly in our nation’s military.” Do you stand by that?
Romney: This isn’t that time. This is not that time. We’re in the middle of a war. The people who have...
Cooper: Do you look forward to that time, though, one day?
Romney: I’m going to listen to the people who run the military to see what the circumstances are like. And my view is that, at this stage, this is not the time for us to make that kind of...
Cooper: Is that a change in your position...
Romney: Yes, I didn’t think it would work. I didn’t think “don’t ask/don’t tell” would work. That was my — I didn’t think that would work. I thought that was a policy, when I heard about it, I laughed. I said that doesn’t make any sense to me.
And you know what? It’s been there now for, what, 15 years? It seems to have worked.
Cooper: So, just so I’m clear, at this point, do you still look forward to a day when gays can serve openly in the military or no longer?
Romney: I look forward to hearing from the military exactly what they believe is the right way to have the right kind of cohesion and support in our troops and I listen to what they have to say.
(Audience booing)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.