Posted on 12/12/2007 2:23:15 PM PST by Bobkk47
I watched the entire debate on a JetBlue cross-country flight, missing only one answer where Romney said something about eduction that made the Luntz focus group needles hit the ceiling of approval. (The captain was updating us on landing time.)
I was also able to hear Fred, Morton, Brit and Nina chew on the results, but it was the collective reaction of the Frank Luntz focus group on the Fox News Channel that was most riveting.
Watch it for yourself. Romney swept nearly the entire room. If that group reflects the GOP primary electorate, Romney helped himself immensely today.
Coupled with Mike Huckabee's casual descent into religious slander covered below, I think this was a very good day for Team Romney, and a very bad day fro Huck and the MSM. Allowing Alan Keyes to smash the china, while refusing to ask about headlines like waterboarding, the CIA tapes, the NIE and of course Huckabee's insinuation about the LDS Church was comically unprofessional. The inability of MSM to figure out how to run a debate underscores the profession's complete collapse of credibilityt among more than half the population, and with it, the declining audiences and revenues that ccelerates the cycle.
But the voters who watched it came away with a very high opinion of Romney. Coupled withe the endorsement of National Review and last week's speech on faith in America, Romney has had hisst week of the campaign. His meet The Press date this Sunday is another highn profile, high stakes event, and could be a decisive moment for Republicans looking for the candidate who can win in November.
Hewitt thought that Romney won?! Knock me over with a feather!!!
wow...Hugh Likes Mitt Hmmmmmm
He’s like a movie poster that proclaims “best movie ever - John Smith nowhere news”
If no one had said Mitt one, Hugh would find someone that did.
This is Hugh and it could be series.
>Allowing Alan Keyes to smash the china,
??
At this point, even Mitt’s press secretary must be saying, “Jeez, Hugh, enough with the spin.”
Hugh Hewitt takes the cake. Romney was OK, but sheesh.
Oh, come on, why get so hot & bothered about Hewitt. He's just doing his job...giving Romney his daily BJ.
Thank God elections aren’t decided by focus groups.
Hewitts credibility is zero anymore. His Romney fixation has totally obscured his ability to analyze rationally.
He may be hoping for gay polygamy to be allowed.
About all Mitt has to do is walk in without stumbing and the media will say he won. As for that Luntz group, where’d they dig those ‘conservatives’ up anyway.
Thompson came off with three to five hilarious one-liners sure to have won anyone but Tancredo, Hunter and himself the debate, if spin weren’t king.
When Luntz said Thompson won after the youtube debate, it didn't matter to Hugh, who still said Romney won.
But now that Luntz says Romney won, we're supposed to take it on face value.
Hugh is quite the spin-meister.
No, I believe Hewitt is saying the the Luntz focus group thought that Mitt won.
I'm sorry, but I just don't trust pollster Frank Luntz, or anyone else in the media these days, to put together an "unbiased" group of voters.
And if Luntz said someone else won, Hewitt wouldn’t mention it. Tagg Hewitt is campaigning to be Mitt’s Press Secretary in a Romney administration. He’s essentially thrown away all his credibility in that pursuit.
Hugh declared months ago that it was a two man race between Mitt and Rudy. He lost me at that point and his pimping for Mitt since that time has made him unlistenable when talking about the race....
I’m never thrilled with focus groups. I guess I’ve seen too many jury selections to have much faith in them.
See #14.
Even the group that Luntz put together applauded Fred’s refusal of “a show of hands.”
Indeed!
I like Romney. He or Fred are my 1st choice depending on who looks like they can knock off Rudy in 5-6 weeks. That said, Hugh Hewitt has gone overboard in his Romney cheerleading. Obviously, the guy wrote a book about Romney so the more attention he gives to Romney on his show and in his columns the more books he sells, the more interviews as a Romney expert he gets, but someday this election will be over. If Romney wins Hewitt gets to be his Press Secretary but if he loses Hewitt has to go back to his regular life and his credibility will always be questioned.
Eh, whatdoyawant? NR just jumped into Romney’s bed. Sad.
My guess is before Brit switched over to Luntz he had already influenced the group to vote that sMitten “won” the debate. I only saw the last half, and missed Fred’s dis of the mod, but I would have to say that the only two I would even consider voting for are Hunter and Thompson, and Fred sounded the best to me today.
“Watch it for yourself. Romney swept nearly the entire room.”
Gosh, Hugh, I never would have guessed you were a Mitt fan. You’ve only been carrying his water since last spring. Did he promise you a slot in his administration?
Any candidate that tells them to stuff it with the show of hands gets my vote. I hate that, this isn’t effing Kindergarten, for cryin g out loud!
But most importantly, did they debate in spanish so their constituency could comprende?
Does anyone know the makeup of that focus group?
undecided repos, conservtive and mods.
I’m still trying to understand why Keyes was there. He didn’t meet a single criteria for being there. Then he just threw a tantrum the whole time. Keyes was right about a lot but the tantrums made him look childish.
Keyes was there? Well, I know why...tantrum-throwing is his business. I’ve been PO’ed at him for about 6 1/2 years now. He’s another Ron Paul, and got about the same numbers.
“His meet The Press date this Sunday is another highn profile, high stakes event, and could be a decisive moment for Republicans looking for the candidate who can win in November”
Republican who can win.... but we’ll lose.
There will be a lot of protest votes on primary day!
I used to enjoy his show, but the constant cheerleading for Romney has gotten pretty much out of control.
Hewitt has been rooting for Mitt all along. Nothing new here. Move along.
Sometimes (in both the Dem and Rep focus groups), I wonder if they are listening to the same audio of the "debate" as the rest of us.
Romney was all talking-points, scripted, and coiffed to look "Reaganesque", but sure was not impressive to me.
Huckabee fell flat.
Thompson was assertive and not to be toyed with, as usual, and Hunter was STRONG and Presidential, in my book.
As for L Ron Paul, well, he was in the middle of some Vulcan mind-meld, as usual.
Romney rocked this debate!
Romney rocked this debate!
Not from where I stood. Oh he made his usual well rehearsed points. But when taken off guard he showed his true colors with the hand raised, oops no hand raised ...”I’m with him”...
then there was the “takes one to know one” when Fred said he was getting to be a good actor. Takes one to know one? Dang my 7 yr old gave up that saying long ago.
I was particularly PO’ed when Barnes said (paraphrased a little) “When they said the highlight of the debate was ‘the Fred moment’ shows you how bad the debate was”
Obviously, they had to trivialize Thompson’s brilliant response by comparing it to the entire event.
It WAS a badly formatted event but Fred Thompson rose above the whole ‘debate’ with leadership and fast response to an idiot’s question.
The Weekly Standard, among others concurs.
http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2007/12/republican-debate-iowa.html
He wrote the book. No, I don't mean it as a figure of speech. I mean, he WROTE. THE. BOOK. With pages and binding and everything.
Mitt did win according to the focus group, by a long shot.
You must not be able to read. He’s reporting that the focus group who watched the debate and then were questioned by Luntz said Romney won. It was almost unanimous. Huckabee fared very poorly. One member of the focus group said the supposed Huckabee boom was actually a Huckabee bomb in the debate. There was almost universal agreement that Huckabee was a loser, as was Giuliani with this group.
except that we know that at least ONE of the focus group was a member, or chair for “americansformitt”.
I’m waiting for more info...but...if that’s true...
No but unfortunately too many here (and elsewhere) give credit to that hack Luntz...and the 'reporting' of these focus groups as news at all is disturbing
Frank the Tool twists reality (caution language)
You Mittsters might want to read a book called How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Someone needs to give Hugh a wedgie.
Romney was on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show tonight and said, “The winner of the debate was Mitt Romney.” His meters were off the chart when Romney spoke, especially on education.
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