Free Republic

About 18 months ago, I announced that I was pretending to run for the presidency. Frankly, the day-to-day responsibilities of work, church and family have prevented me from taking a very active part in my own faux campaign. However, I did manage to participate in last night's televised debate, moderated by former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. This morning, I reviewed the video and published transcripts on the internet and found that most, if not all, of my contribution to this civic forum had been mysteriously deleted. So, as a public service, I here provide a transcript of the questions...

ABC’s coverage of Tuesday night’s second of three debates between presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama led the four broadcast networks’ coverage of the 90-minute event, according to overnight data reported by Nielsen Media Research from 55 of the 56 metered markets in the country.

Last night's debate was not a barnstormer. McCain pointed out a lot about Obama that needed saying, but it was not done in a way (IMHO) that would close the deal, and his proposals on housing certainly did not exicte the base (to the contrary they departed from the base). But here's a "fact" that the few in the MSM will consider. Sarah Palin is the "closer" in this election (and no one else, particularly not Obama or Biden). If McCain keeps her on the trail, drawing the crowds she is drawing and generating the excitement she is generating...and if...

There are other threads here that point out some of the disappointments of this town hall debate. There are other threads that denounce Senator John McCain along with Barack Obama. There are other threads that provide an outlet to cry and declare defeat. Well, Free Republic Folk, I for one, am NOT willing to concede. I am not willing to see just the bad without seeing the good. I am not willing to give ONE inch to that terrorist loving, slim associating, undeserving domestic thug while we still have an honorable man who gave real truth, real character and real...

(Henry Kissinger's Unhappy with Obama)

Andrea Mitchell gave it the old college try for Obama this morning. Summarizing the debate on Today, Mitchell managed to cobble together a video clip that showed McCain's only stumble, while snipping out what many including her colleague Chris Matthews saw as the debate's most salient feature: the multiple times Obama expressed agreement with McCain. And so it was that Andrea treated us to McCain's difficulties in pronouncing "Ahmadinejad." But the eight times Obama abjectly agreed with McCain? Not a one made it into the Mitchell editor's cut. Then there was Andrea's parting shot: "The only question is whether in...

This is a non-denominational prayer request for tonight's Presidential debate. May our candidates' attitudes and responses be in your control, may the ideals of each become increasingly clear, may their hearts and intentions be blatantly revealed.

If the truth be told (and I’m about to tell you the truth based on an encounter I had last year), the late great Tim Russert scared the established politicos to death. Amidst the accolades coming from the Republican and Democratic leaders following his heart attack on Friday, the fact is that Russert was the toughest interrogator in the media. He was a modern-day Howard Cosell (without the bravado), and for the top brass, he was too intimidating. Ever wonder why Russert was never asked to be the moderator of the presidential debates? I wondered the same question, and luckily,...

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

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.

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..

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

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

GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee picked up an endorsement from one of Florida's most influential conservative politicians this evening in advance of Wednesday night's Republican debate in St. Petersburg. State Senate Majority Leader Daniel Webster, who last week hinted he would support Huckabee, this evening publicly endorsed the former Arkansas governor prior to a fund-raiser in downtown Orlando attended by about 50 potential donors. "The governor's proved himself to be a leader. Not just someone who sat there and pushed against what was happening but yet became the leader of a state that had a lot of problems. And he...

Republican Party of Iowa to host presidential debate in DES MOINES Debate to be nationally televised by FOX NEWS CHANNEL The Republican Party of Iowa announced today that it will hold its presidential debate at Hy-Vee Hall in downtown Des Moines. The event, to be held the evening of December 4, 2007, will be the first debate in Iowa to be televised by FOX News Channel this election season, as well as the first debate sponsored by the Republican Party of Iowa. Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Ray Hoffmann said, “With the caucuses less than a month away, our December...

Hillary Clinton made two big mistakes in Tuesday night’s debate that were overshadowed by other issues and thus underreported. Her response to Brian Williams asking whether any candidate who becomes President would pledge to be the President who knocks cancer down from the status as number one killer of Americans under the age of 85. Senator Clinton’s answer was: “I’m going to do everything I can to do that. I went to Lance Armstrong’s cancer symposium in Iowa and it was a very moving experience — not only people like us speaking but a lot of cancer survivors, a lot...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Republican front-runners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney defended their conservative credentials in the face of pointed attacks from campaign rivals Sunday night in the most aggressive debate to date of the race for the White House.

<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...

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...

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

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #4 – Des Moines, Iowa 08/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread ABC News will be conducting a debate to be aired on This Week. The nine announced GOP presidential candidates meet in a campaign debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. George Stephanopoulos is the moderator; Des Moines Register political writer David Yepsen poses additional questions. Debate starts at 8 am CT (9 am ET/ 6 am PT) * check local stations for broadcast time in your area * Candidates participating Sam Brownback Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom...

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).

The Democratic presidential candidates and their aides have likely been spending a lot of time lately combing through videos on YouTube’s Web site in preparation for tonight’s first-ever CNN/YouTube presidential debate in Charleston, S.C. The candidates will have to respond to several dozen of the 2,989 homemade question videos that users submitted. No one is quite sure whether this new kind of presidential debate will turn out to be “an overhyped gimmick or if it will substantially alter the debates or politics,” writes The Times’s Katharine Q. Seelye. The debate begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Things could get interesting...

Hi everyone. I have been granted press access as a blogger at Thursday's Democrat debate. As such, I will have full access to the candidates who appear as well as their staffs. What questions would you like me to ask them or the media? Thanks, Matthew Sheffield Executive Editor NewsBusters.org

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #3 - Manchester, New Hampshire 06/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread WMUR-TV, CNN, and the New Hampshire Union Leader will host a Republican debate in Manchester, New Hampshire on the campus of Saint Anselm College. Moderated by Wolf Blitzer. Debate begins at 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT) and will last two hours. Sam Brownback Jim Gilmore Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Tommy Thompson Watch live video including complete coverage of the Republican debate on CNN.com

WILLIAMS: Let's now begin the questioning. Senator Clinton, your party's leader in the United States Senate, Harry Reid, recently said, "The war in Iraq is lost." A letter to today's USA Today calls his comments "treasonous," and says, "If General Patton were alive today, Patton would wipe his boots with Senator Reid." Do you agree with the position of your leader in the Senate? CLINTON: Well, Brian, at the outset let me say that the American people have spoken, the Congress has voted, as of today, to end this war. And now we can only hope that the president will...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #2 – Columbia, South Carolina 05/15/07 - Official Discussion Thread Watch live coverage of the First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Candidate debate on FOX News Channel and FOXNews.com on Tuesday, May 15, at 9 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. PDT). Sam Brownback Jim Gilmore Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Tommy Thompson The 90-minute debate will air from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET (6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and will be moderated by "Special Report" anchor Brit Hume. Questions will be posed by two panelists — "FOX News Sunday"...

Mitt Romney won Thursday night’s debate by every objective standard of style and substance. First, the style: At six-feet-two-inches tall with perfect hair and impeccable tailoring, Romney was Ronald Reagan incarnate. Romney was George Clooney/George Hamilton cool (complete with the tan) surrounded by a dorm-room full of average dudes. Whether it was Romney’s genial laugh, his upbeat persona, his non-arrogant confidence, or his complete mastery of head, body, and hand motion, he couldn’t have been more at ease if he were attending a backyard family barbecue. Regarding substance, Romney appeared to be the smartest kid in the class without sounding...

Despite the 100 laptops urgently typing away here in the press room, it’s hard to say much really happened tonight at the first Republican presidential primary debate. The early campaign's Big Three — McCain, Romney and Rudy — all performed well and avoided any deadly mistakes. None of the dark horse candidates broke through, although several performed credibly and probably increased interest in their campaigns. Each of the Big Three had their strong moments. John McCain made the biggest strategic move of the night, reaching back out to the center with a blunt appraisal of the Bush administration’s many mistakes...

Simi Valley, Calif. — If you needed any proof that politics can sometimes be a bit cutthroat, you could find it in the Spin Room after the Republican presidential debate here at the Reagan Library Thursday night. Not in the stuff people said for the cameras and the microphones, but in what they said in whispered tones.“McCain looked like something out of The Shining, that part where Jack Nicholson goes GGGRRRRRR!” confided one adviser from a rival campaign. “McCain looked like that guy down the street who yells at you to get off his lawn,” said one reporter. Sen. Lindsey...

Alone among 10 Republican presidential contenders, Rudy Giuliani said in campaign debate Thursday night "it would be OK" if the Supreme Court upholds a 1973 abortion rights ruling. "It would be OK to repeal it. It would be OK also if a strict constructionist viewed it as precedent," said the former New York city mayor, who has a record of supporting abortion rights. His nine rivals agreed that it would be a great day if the court overturns the landmark ruling. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney acknowledged he had changed his mind on the subject when he began to delve...

On Thursday night, the current crop of Republicans running for president in 2008 met at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, for their first debate. National Review Online asked a group of commentators and politicos for their take on this first venture out together. Yuval Levin In terms of the format and the moderators, this was easily the worst political debate I’ve ever seen. Too many questions, too little time, too much focus on silly Internet questioners, and Chris Matthews was simply a buffoon. Why shouldn’t a Republican host a Republican primary debate? Given that inherent (but...

Romney won, Rudy lost. Chris Matthews left no doubt that was his opinion on the GOP presidential debate he moderated on MSNBC last night. Meredith Vieira, who interviewed Matthews at 7:09 EDT on this morning's "Today," seemed clearly to share her colleague's assessment. TODAY CO-HOST MEREDITH VIEIRA: Winners and losers in your assessment? MSNBC HOST CHRIS MATTHEWS: Oh, come on. Well, let me just say I thought that just factually, Giuliani stood out on the issue of abortion rights, clearly. At one point I asked if they would be happy, if it would be a good day for America, if...

DRUDGE REPORTThe Reagan DerbyWell, with 47,617 individual Votes recorded as of 12:55AM EST on 5/4/07, The Drudge Report has provided perhaps the most sweeping and comprehensive initial survey of viewer reaction to the first GOP Primary Debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.The Results thus far: {{{{DRUDGE POLL}}}} WHO WON THE REAGAN DERBY? Mitt Romney -- 35%Rudy Giuliani -- 21%RON PAUL -- 16%Tommy Thompson -- 7%John McCain -- 6%Tom Tancredo -- 5%Mike Huckabee -- 4%Duncan Hunter -- 3%Sam Brownback -- 2%Jim Gilmore -- 2% With an optimistic, confident demeaner and a polished presentation, Mitt Romney decidedly overshadowed the erstwhile Front-Runner,...

MSNBC's Republican presidential debate with candidates: Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas);the former Virginia governor James Gilmore (R-Virginia); the former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani; the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee; Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California); Senator John McCain (R-Arizona); Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas); the former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney; Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado); and the former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson. Moderated by Chris Matthews with questions by John Harris, editor in chief of politico.com and Jim Vandehei, executive editor of politico.com. At the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California Transcribed by the Federal News Service, a private transcription agency.

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #1 – Reagan Library 05/03/07 - Official Discussion Thread Sam Brownback Jim Gilmore Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Tommy Thompson The debate will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and will air live on MSNBC from 8:00 to 9:30 pm (ET) and stream live on MSNBC.com and politico.com and will include audience questions gathered on politico.com.

Well, my first thought is just how much more substantive that debate was than the Democratic debate, in terms of both specificity and grappling with deep, philosophical questions. But, now, to name the winners and losers. Off the bat, let me stipulate that I don't consider any of the seven dwarves to necessitate much analysis. Ron Paul is a pure libertarian, so I always enjoy hearing from him. But I'll stick mostly here to the Big Three. Winner: Mitt Romney. Loser, by a mile: Rudy Giuliani. Treading water: John McCain.Mr. Romney: If anyone stood out from the other candidates, in...

NEW YORK - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign announced Friday she would participate in a presidential debate later this month sponsored by the South Carolina Democratic Party. All the announced Democratic contenders have now agreed to appear in the debate, which will take place at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg April 26. While the candidates have all appeared at several issue forums during the campaign, the debate will be the first time they engage with one another directly in front of an audience. "I'm excited to be part of this debate so that I can share my views with...

IN THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE on domestic issues, CBS newsman Bob Schieffer asked one of the best questions of all three forums: Do you think homosexuality is a choice? The true merit of the question was lost in the subsequent hubbub over Sen. John Kerry's reference to Dick Cheney's daughter's sexuality. A gasp was heard round the nation as viewers recoiled. The majority of people polled thought Kerry's response was inappropriate. Maybe they weren't sure why, but Miss Manners could provide an answer: It's bad form for someone to exploit a highly personal issue involving your kid to try to score...

That's my boy. That's my Bush. He a hoss — a debatin' hoss. Last night, he was flat-out marvelous in debate. I said, following the second debate, that he had done well, but not his best. (Who does his best all the time? That's why we call it "best.") Last night, he did his best — and his best is superb. And I say this as an analyst, not a Bush partisan. Regular readers will trust me on this, I believe. The president was relaxed, informed, commanding, thoughtful, forceful, humorous — the whole array. Sometimes people ask me, "What do...

How do you rate each candidate's debate performance?

The indefatigable Bush and Cheney families and some of their friends continue campaigning as the president readies for the final debate tonight, perhaps known in the Bush-Cheney 04 campaign as Creamed Kerry on Toast. Descriptions of who, what, when, and where accompany the photos. Well we know the Why. Enjoy your daily dose of W @ Sanity Island!

Alert! Alert! Alert! Protestors are planning to be out in force against Bush/Cheney 04 The October 13th Alliance: Democracy for a Change Phoenix/ Tempe, Arizona www.oct13alliance.org Phoenix/ Tempe Presidential Debate Call to Action July 14, 2004 The attention of the world will focus on Phoenix, Arizona for the 3rd Presidential Debate on October 13th. We are using this opportunity to get our message heard. All too often presidential debates are reduced to glorified news conferences in which the candidates merely recite prepackaged sound bites. We declare our independence from passively watching this take place. We will create real dialogue on...

DEBATE 2:Bush KOs Kerry (The Lethal Danger of Kerry-Edwards + Old Media)POURQUOI JOHN KERRY EST DANGEREUX POUR L'AMÉRIQUE by Mia T, 10.10.04 (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE)  BUSH:[G]oing into Iraq... was the right decision. The Duelfer report confirmed that decision today, because what Saddam Hussein was doing was trying to get rid of sanctions so he could reconstitute a weapons program. And the biggest threat facing America is terrorists with weapons of mass destruction. We knew he hated us. We knew he'd been -- invaded other countries. We knew he tortured his own people.   KERRY:I...

Moderator Gibson decides that this is to be the final question of the second Presidential Debate: "Q. President Bush, during the last four years, you have made thousands of decisions that have affected millions of lives. Please give three instances in which you came to realize you had made a wrong decision and what you did to correct it." In a debate with no high points, the final question was one last chance to stump the President. Gibson chooses a question which is designed to put Bush on the defensive, hopefully having to answer for mistakes, and allowing Kerry the...

The heads of the debate commission just said on Fox News that they're using the same screening process for tonight's debate as they used in 1992 and 1996. Gallup has sampled to identify undecided voters as well as "soft" Kerry and Bush voters.

Most people score debates on "presentation" rather than "content". That always makes me mad when they do that. Debates are not about image, they are about issues. Plain and simple. Being in debate for both high school and college (and also being a volunteer debate judge for high school debate tournaments), I learned to score debates on "substance, rather than style". Debates can be won or lost on one key phrase or argument that is made in a debate. If an argument is made, and the other opponent does not respond to the point made, then the other side carries...