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THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. The first question is actually a question that will go to all of you, but I'll start with Governor Romney. Ronald Reagan himself asked this question during a debate. During a 1980 debate, he suggested Americans determine who to vote for by asking themselves, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" So tonight, in terms of the economy, are Americans better off than they were eight years ago?

Debate among the GOP presidential contenders. Live at 9:00pm EST/8:00 CST

Update: Even Hugh Hewitt, devoted worshipper of Mitt Romney, says Fred won! Wow! Thompson came out of the gate swinging tonight! He went for the jugular on Huckabee exposing him as the tax raising liberal he is to the entire Nation. Huckabee definitely got taken to the woodshed. McCain is the one that is ahead right now in South Carolina and he got the pass. Fred will need to contrast himself from McCain as well. Other than that, Fred took the stage! Michelle Malkin is on the same page: The debate is finished. Fred will be declared the clear winner....

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #15 – Myrtle Beach, SC 01/10/08 - Official Discussion Thread Watch the Republican presidential primary candidates debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., live on FOX News Channel and FOXNews.com at 9 p.m. ET.

Frank Luntz's Professional "undecided' focus group members Sept 5 group vs Jan 6 groupYOUTUBE VIDEO LINK Fuller video of tonight's Luntz focus group

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #14 – Milford, New Hampshire 01/06/08 - Official Discussion Thread Fox News Channel; Roundtable format Candidates the gatekeepers are allowing to participating: Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee John McCain Mitt Romney Fred Thompson

Charles Gibson will moderate the Republican and Democrat debates tonight in New Hampshire, beginning at 7 PM Eastern. Have at it..

WASHINGTON (AP) — The New Hampshire Republican Party is sponsoring a forum for Republican presidential candidates on Jan. 6, two days before the state's first-in-the-nation primary. The forum, where the candidates will be questioned by Fox New Channel's Chris Wallace, will be held a day after ABC holds back to back Democratic and Republican presidential debates. "Never underestimate New Hampshire voters' appetite for politics," said Fergus Cullen, the chairman of the state Republican Party. Participating in the forum will be Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. Unlike a debate, the candidates will face questions...

The words are Krauthammer’s, expressing a consensus shared by everyone from my pal Barnett to America’s Mayor. The incredible, unanswerable question of the hour: What kind of slackjawed moron would take the two most important issues of the election off the table at the start of the last pre-primary debate? If anything, she should have kept those two and jettisoned everything else. After today’s withering reviews, the moderators are bound to be working out the kinks for tomorrow’s turn with the Democrats. Kucinich is disqualified so the field will be leaner and meaner than the GOP’s bloated Keyes-plus format. The...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #12 – Johnston, Iowa 12/12/07 - Official Discussion Thread Live at 2PM EST on Iowa Public Television, CNN, C-SPAN3, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN Radio, and Fox News Radio Candidates participating: Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter Alan Keyes John McCain Ron Paul Mitt Romney Tom Tancredo Fred Thompson Live streaming at desmoinesregister.com

RFFM.org Commentary by Daniel T. Zanoza, National Director I haven't quite figured it out yet. Were those participating in the Republican Party's presidential debate--which was carried on CNN and in conjunction with YouTube--naive or stupid? I just don't understand why Republicans continue to let themselves be punching bags on a network currently designed to craft their demise. Practically everything has been said about what took place last week during the CNN/YouTube debate. The network missed the fact that an "openly gay man," who was a general for 43 years, was a Clinton operative to boot. OK, let's just say things...

It seems that Gay Keith, the Clinton plant, was not a Brigadier General and he served only in the reserves. I received this note from retired Brigadier General William Becker: IN SPITE OF MY CURRENT DISTRACTIONS AT HOME I AM FORCED TO ENTER THE PUBLIC ARENA TO EXPRESS MY OUTRAGE AT THE CURRENT REPUBLICAN DEBATE AS MANAGED BY CNN. GAY KEITH IS NOT A BRIGADIER GENERAL. HE IS NOT EVEN AN ACTIVE DUTY RETIRED ARMY OFFICER. HE SPENT HIS YEARS AS A RESERVIST SOLELY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA MILITARY BUREAUCRACY. HIS BIO IS PUBLISHED IN THE GAY ORGANIZATION DEDICATED...

Talk about a turnaround: Republican presidential contenders who couldn't be dragged near a Spanish-language debate three short months ago suddenly are tripping all over each other in the mad dash to take part in the debate next Sunday at the University of Miami. Back in August, the Spanish-language network Univision offered the presidential candidates from both parties a chance to make history. For the first time ever, the network planned to put on nationally televised presidential debates in Spanish. The Democrats accepted. The Republicans, for the most part, scurried for cover. The notable exceptions, to their credit, were Sen. John...

CNN would have you believe that out of all the people THEY selected to ask video taped questions of the Republican presidential candidates the this evening at the CNN/YouTube debate they had no idea that Keith Kerr, retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve, was a member of a Hillary Clinton LGBT Steering Committee. Nor did they know was on the National Veterans for Kerry Steering Committee in 2004. CNN was, however, able to find this 13-year-old Mitt Romney quote about gays in the military to make Kerr's question into a booby-trap for Romney (From NewsBusters transcript):...

CNN can spare us the alibis for letting Democratic operatives slip past them as questioners in this week's Republican debate. The Hillary Rodham Clinton News Network may be as dishonest as it is slanted. All it took was a Web search to figure out that the supposedly independent retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr, whose video question for the candidates was chosen by CNN for the GOP YouTube debate, was a co-chairman of a Clinton campaign organization. Yet after CNN's Anderson Cooper innocently announced "another question from a YouTube viewer. Let's watch," came a gravelly voice right out of George C....

Media: CNN can spare us the alibis for letting Democratic operatives slip past them as questioners in this week's Republican debate. The Hillary Rodham Clinton News Network may be as dishonest as it is slanted.All it took was a Web search to figure out that the supposedly independent retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr, whose video question for the candidates was chosen by CNN for the GOP YouTube debate, was a co-chairman of a Clinton campaign organization. Yet after CNN's Anderson Cooper innocently announced "another question from a YouTube viewer. Let's watch," came a gravelly voice right out of George C....

Remember the gay retired brigadier general who chastised Republicans for their stance on gays in the military at Wednesday's CNN/YouTube debate? Turns out Keith Kerr was packing a partisan sword. He's served as a member of an advisory team on gay and lesbian issues to the Sen. Hillary Clinton Campaign. In the words of CNN's debate crew: D'oh! And here's Anderson Cooper falling on his nonpartisan sword. So how did this slip under CNN's radar? Maybe CNN could have checked its own website. Instead, they paid for Kerr's airfare and hotel to St. Petersburg for the debate. This is a...

© 2003- The Press Democrat BYLINE: GUY KOVNER THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: A1 For about 30 years, Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr lived a painful, personal lie. As a gay man in the Army and the Reserves, he risked the loss of a cherished career if his sexual orientation became known. "It made you paranoid," the soft-spoken retired officer said at his home in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove area. Kerr's double life came to an end Wednesday, when the New York Times published an interview with Kerr, another general and an admiral in which all three declared they were homosexuals....

MCLEAN, Virginia, Nov. 29 /Standard Newswire/ -- Senator Fred Thompson released the following statement tonight regarding abortion: "In tonight's debate we saw once again that on abortion, Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice and Mitt Romney is multiple choice. I believe abortion should only be allowed in the instances of rape, incest and the life of the mother and penalties should be assessed against the abortion doctor and not the woman."

I don't know if the folks who put the debate together were purposely trying to make the Republican candidates look bad, but they certainly succeeded. But it was chiefly the questions and who asked them that made the debate so appalling. By my recollection, there were no questions on health care, the economy, trade, the S-chip children's health care issue, the "surge" in Iraq, the spending showdown between President Bush and Congress, terrorist surveillance, or the performance of the Democratic Congress. The most excruciating episode occurred when Cooper allowed a retired general in the audience to drone on with special...

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) -- The eight candidates vying to be the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 elections answered questions submitted by CNN and YouTube users in a debate Wednesday night. Here is a full transcript of the event: Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer: Welcome to tonight's presidential debate, co-sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida. It is my pleasure tonight to introduce the man who has brought new ideas to state government, and whose leadership has been embraced by the voters of Florida, and who has become the nation's most popular governor.

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #10 – St. Petersburg, Florida 11/28/07 - Official Discussion Thread CNN will hold this debate, hosted by Anderson Cooper, with submitted questions in video form via YouTube. 8pm ET/5pm PT Hosted by Anderson Cooper Candidates participating: Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Ron Paul Mitt Romney Tom Tancredo Fred Thompson

The following is a transcript of the Republican Presidential debate in Orlando, Fla., as provided by Congressional Quarterly. PARTICIPANTS: REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, R-CALIF. FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ. REP. TOM TANCREDO, R-COLO. FORMER MAYOR RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI, R-NEW YORK CITY REP. RON PAUL, R-TEXAS FORMER GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE, R-ARK. FORMER SEN. FRED THOMPSON, R-TENN. MODERATORS: BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS WENDELL GOLER, FOX NEWS CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS OTHERS: GOV. CHARLIE CRIST, R-FLA. JIM GREER, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA HUME: Welcome to Orlando in the heart of central Florida. Tonight we're insight...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNEHMjZ6PqsTRANSCRIPT WALLACE: Senator McCain, you're running the closest to Clinton, but you still trail her by three points in our latest poll. The biggest issue between the two of you clearly is the war in Iraq. You strongly support the troop surge. She wants to start pulling the troops out. Is that a winner for Republicans in 2008? MCCAIN: I don't know. And I can't be concerned. Because I know too many brave young Americans that are serving and sacrificing in Iraq, as we speak. (APPLAUSE) I would much rather lose a campaign than lose a war. And now I'm......

Here is Sunday's GOP Debate from Florida in it's entirety, posted on nine YouTubes 10 minutes each..........

<p>WASHINGTON — One of the most contested states in presidential politics is center stage Sunday night as FOX News airs a Republican candidates primary debate in Orlando, Fla., that is sure to be used by the 2008 contenders as a chance to cater to the party's conservative base.</p>

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #8 – Dearborn, Michigan 10/09/07 - Official Discussion Thread CNBC/MSNBC/The Wall Street Journal are jointly sponsoring the first Republican Presidential debate of the 2008 campaign focusing on economic issues. It will be held on October 9 in Dearborn, Michigan at the University of Michigan-Dearborn at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. Broadcast is live on CNBC at 4 PM ET (1 PM PT) and re-broadcast on MSNBC at 9 PM ET (6 PM PT). CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and MSNBC's Chris Matthews will host the debate. Live streaming on CNBC.com Candidates participating: Sam Brownback Rudy Giuliani...

However, I do have one sensitive point and that is, I don't mind being wrong -- I try to be right. I don't mind somebody saying I'm not fair -- I try to be fair. ... If someone says I'm not independent, it's going to be very hard for me to bite my tongue. ... For twenty years I've paid the price of indepdendence. I've taken it from everybody ... every night of my life for the past twenty years. ...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #7 – Baltimore, Maryland 09/27/07 - Official Discussion Thread All-American Presidential Forum on PBS Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland September 27, 2007, 9:00 pm-10:30 pm ET (check your local PBS listings) Moderated by Tavis Smiley. Candidates participating: Sam Brownback Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter Alan Keyes Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Journalists involved... Ray Suarez is a Washington-based Senior Correspondent who joined The NewsHour in October 1999. Suarez has thirty years of varied experience in the news business. Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist whose work appears in...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #6 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida 09/17/07 - Official Discussion Thread The debate will focus on issues of special concern to social and religious conservatives who brand themselves "values voters." The candidates will begin arriving here mid-afternoon, and the debate kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. It will be streamed live via the Internet at ValuesVoterDebate.com and the website for the American Family Association. It is also reported to be telecast on Sky Angel's Angel One channel & Dish Network channel #262. Moderated by Joseph Farah, editor of WorldNetDaily Candidates participating Sam Brownback John Cox Mike...

I found the debate frustrating. Neither of the top tier candidates -- Giuliani and Romney -- had a good night. Giuliani took a big hit early over his 1994 statement welcoming illegal immigrants to New York. Thereafter, he seemed to answer most questions by referring to New York city crime statistics. He needs to diversify Romney seemed defensive and, at times, evasive. His answers on Iraq were rambling. When the deputy sheriff in the restaurant called him out for not articulating an "end game" strategy, Romney was unable, I thought, to take advantage of the opportunity. McCain did pretty well....

On Wednesday night, the GOP candidates faced off in the New Hampshire Republican Debate, hosted by the FOX News Channel. In the ring were front-runners Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney, alongside Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter. Who do you think was the winner of the debate? FOX wants to know! E-mail us at speakout@foxnews.com and check back later to see if your response has been posted.

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #5 – Durham, New Hampshire 09/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread Viewers of Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate in Durham, N.H., should be sure to have their computers up and running early, as FOXNews.com offers special live streaming video before, during and after the event. The debate itself, to be aired on FOX News Channel and streamed on FOXNews.com, begins at 9 p.m. EDT (6 PDT). Moderated by Brit Hume Candidates participating... Sam Brownback Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo

DES MOINES, Iowa - Nine Republican presidential contenders sought to reach out Sunday to a dissatisfied GOP electorate in the nation's first caucus state, using a televised debate to try to strengthen ties to conservatives while attacking the Democratic field. On issues ranging from abortion to a future U.S. strategy in Iraq, each of the contenders sought to carefully cast themselves as a forceful agent of change for a White House besieged by criticism though hewing a line of not directly attacking President Bush's leadership. Instead the GOP contenders largely teed off on Democratic candidates' calls to quickly bring U.S....

This Sunday, a live 90-minute debate with the Republican Presidential contenders on a special edition of "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." The candidates: Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator Mike Huckabee (R-AK), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA), Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), and Former Governor Tommy Thompson (R-WI).

Howie Carr live thread

A solid meaty debate. Because there’s less agreement among Republican candidates, you get policy disagreements and actual arguments, instead of can-you-top-this-I’m-so-committed-to-this-issue contests the Democrats have. I’m going to score this a… Four Way Win. The four winners: Rudy: Man, was he wearing a flame-retardant suit in that first debate? Because since then, he has been en fuego, as they say on SportsCenter. Loved the self-depreciating fear of thunder on the abortion issue. Eager to take it to the Democrats. Like with Hillary, it might be a bit early to go after the opposing party, as Rudy still needs to persuade...

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Does L.A. Times columnist Rosa Brooks think 9-11 was "fictional and entirely implausible"? I ask, because in the GOP's Torture Enthusiasts today, that's how she describes a similar scenario that Brit Hume sketched during this past Tuesday's GOP presidential debate. In inviting the candidates to discuss their views on interrogation during this past Tuesday's get together, debate moderator and Fox News DC Bureau managing editor Brit Hume said the following: The questions in this round will be premised on a fictional, but we think plausible scenario involving terrorism and the response to it. Here is the premise: Three shopping centers...

Columbia, SC (LifeNews.com) -- With Rudy Giuliani getting intense heat over his pro-abortion position in recent weeks, causing him to slide in the polls, the rest of the Republican presidential field tried to grab the pro-life mantle during the second presidential debate. They each tried to outmaneuver the other to say they are the most opposed to abortion. With most of the candidates going on at length about their pro-life views, Giuliani urged respect for differences of opinion on abortion. "There are people, millions and millions of Americans, who are of as good conscience as we are, who make a...

"Bin Ladin’s grievance with the United States may have started in reaction to specific U.S. policies" THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT EDITION

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford: "I think that Romney looked very presidential." (Fox News) Club For Growth President Pat Toomey: Romney was "reasonable, articulate, and conservative." National Review's T. J. Walker: "Mitt Romney is too slick. Of course by 'too slick' what I really mean is that I can't think of a single way to fault Romney's style, intelligence, grammar, emotion, or ability to connect with an audience. ('Too slick' is the last refuge of a scoundrel political/media critic who can't think of any other way to attack someone who has communication gifts beyond mere mortals)" New York Daily News'...

Eric Dondero, a former Ron Paul staffer, is declaring against his former boss after last night's debate embarrassment, where Mr. Paul appeared to blame 9/11 on U.S. foreign policy. You can read his full missive after the jump... Good morning, I am making this announcement on my favorite website RedState.com. Many of you here have urged me to take this course. And now, after last night's GOP Presidential debate, I've decided to move ahead with my plans. I have spent the early morning scanning the major political blogs, and news sites. It's unanimous. Ron Paul got slammed by Rudy Giuliani...

Fox News Debate

Iraq and abortion loom large as 10 Republican presidential candidates debate a second time Tuesday. On one issue the four-year-old war the GOP field is largely in sync, backing President Bush in opposing Democratic calls for beginning a withdrawal of U.S. forces. But the candidates are split on social issues, most notably a women's right to terminate a pregnancy. Iraq and social issues dominated the discourse that night, a preview of what was sure to await the candidates in Columbia, S.C., where conservative Christians make up a large chunk of the state's GOP primary voters. Since the California event, Giuliani...

The media is starting notice Duncan Hunter. The rest of the electorate will as well. If any of the Republican presidential candidates who participated in the debate sponsored by MSNBC and Politico.com illustrated that he has inherited the mantle of Ronald Reagan, it was Congressman Duncan Hunter. Moderator Chris Matthews said that everybody knew where Ronald Reagan stood. By evening’s end everybody knew where Hunter stood. He was the paradigm of the unambiguous, resolute, succinct leader. While McCain and Giuliani equivocated on the issue of abortion, Hunter was firm about his pro-life beliefs. While Romney was uncertain how to respond...

Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," will moderate the May 3 GOP presidential debate at the Reagan Library, officials announced Tuesday. The same evening, Matthews will air a "Hardball" program from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum with analysis of the debate, the first debate of its kind in Ventura County. "Debates put presidential candidates on the same stage. That's the way voters like to see them, squaring off, testing their wits, competing with ideas," Matthews said in a news release. "It's an honor to be moderating the first Republican debate." The 10 candidates who have confirmed they will...

There won't be room for the public at the May 3 GOP presidential debate at the Reagan Library — a landmark political event for Ventura County. Nine presidential candidates have confirmed that they will participate in the event, which originally was billed as open to the public but with limited seating. But because of a change in location and for security reasons, Reagan Library officials now say seating is limited to about 400 people, with no room for the public. "We've always wanted the public to be able to attend the debate, but with (nine) candidates, we needed a larger...