A first(?) thread on 2008: McCain,Giuliani & the Republicans

nimh wrote:

Wow, everyone is falling over McCain on immigration, like a rat of hounds, cheered on by the public. There's even heated off-mike remarks between candidates in the background as one is talking on-mike.

Only Brownback sticks with him, conditionally, and making McCains point more articulately than he'd done. Principles, he's got, that man. He may be a Christian fundie, but he's got principles and sticks up for em even when theyre impopular.

McCain too, though, just now, speaking up as the single, only candidate on the demogagic question, "will anyone who does NOT want English to become the official language speak up now". Saying he is "allright" with how it is now. Navajos in his state have official documents in their own language; and people will learn English, also want to learn English, because thats how they get a chance in society, to become prosperous (implying its not necessary to have an official language).

Tommy Thompson on Fred Thompson: "Its this Thompson, not the actor, thats the conservative."

Thompson pulled that line twice, sheesh

Cycloptichorn

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Romney messed up on the abortion question bout 5 minutes ago - got fielded a question on his conversion on abortion - and VERY transparently tried to change the topic within 10 seconds, talking about taxes and suddenly, out of nowhere, about how "America has a brighter future than its past, and we have to be ready for the 21st century" - wtf?

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Rudy is sticking to his guns. We'll soon see if America is ready for a moderate Republican or not. I'm betting we are.

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OCCOM BILL wrote:

Is this a debate or a TV Evangelist's program.

Ha!

But, I am no Christian, let alone a fundy, but Huckabee played that very well. He was very articulate and passionate even as he managed to kind of squeeze out of his hands up on not believing evolution last time round.

(DId you hear that? He now leaves it open whether God created the world in six days, or "that those six days represented an amount of time in which..". But he easily got away with it in between his rich testimony.)

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OCCOM BILL wrote:

Rudy is sticking to his guns. We'll soon see if America is ready for a moderate Republican or not. I'm betting we are.

He reminds me of Bush, amazingly enough.

(Id never made the connection before, but then, being TV-less, Ive never seen him speak before.)

Its the impatient body language, the dogged return to ever the same talking point, a certain arrogance.

Just my impression.

And McCain - at best he sounds balanced and calm amidst all the excitable indignation of the others. But at least as often he sounds just... old.

Just now on oil - faltering, stammering, .. frail.

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Well, Ron Paul gets the Constitutionalist vote.

Pity its just 0,1% of the popular vote.

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Isnt it cool, in a way, to see all these Republicans, even fundy Christians like Huckabee, positively embrace "dont ask dont tell"?

I mean, they do so because the alternative goes further, but wasnt the religious right all up in arms about 'dont ask dont tell' at the time? And now all of these would-be conservative warriors embrace it?

Time flies, huh?

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Cute - "Im not going to ask you [how you would use Bill Clinton]", the mod asked, and a couple actually answered "thank you", like grateful schoolkids.

But they get a harder one: how to use W?

Thompson: I would have him do something completely innocuous and irrelevant.

Brownback: I'm sure he would tell me that he'd stay out of the way and not do anything much. (He got away with that by transforming his argument into a pot shot at Bill Clinton)

Tancredo: missed it, except that he was really, really angry at Bush.

None of the frontrunners gets this question.. Lord must they be relieved. Pity that they were let to escape like that.

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Giuliani is the first to speak up for Libby Scooter.. Rolling Eyes

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nimh wrote:

Giuliani is the first to speak up for Libby Scooter..

Shrug. It's just Rudy being the idiot that he is.

McCain was smarter and said 'let's see what the appeal brings.'

Cycloptichorn

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Giuliani is the first to speak up for Libby Scooter.. Rolling Eyes

And hopp, the rest of the line suddenly follows suit - Romney, Brownback, etc.

An exercise in herd thinking: the numbers two to five, four of em, pressed for "yes or no" all indignantly said, "no [I wont pardon Libby], not without reading the transcript!", sounding all tough. Until Rudy changes the framing, and hopp, the remaing four others all suddenly get indignant how unfairly Libby was treated.

Herd thinking, and a continuous undertone of indignant resentment - that strikes me, how all these candidates sound indignant and angry at just how bad this or that is. You wouldnt think that theyve just spent six years with the Presidency, Senate and House all full in their control huh?

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Brownback reminds me of a used car salesman.
Huckabee handled the evolution/creation thing well.
They, according to my notes, all dodged the gays in the military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" issue.
Part 2 coming up.

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This "pipe 3" thing sounds interesting... with the instant panel approval graph going on..

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I don't have the bandwidth for real-time commentary.

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nimh wrote:

This "pipe 3" thing sounds interesting... with the instant panel approval graph going on..

<grins>

Yes, it's neat....

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Wow, "bring our troops home" from the questioner.

The Republicans have been trying to act like the Iraq war is just an organic, even inferior part, in the big, all-important, war on terror / national security. But theyre gonna find out that Iraq will be a, or the, central front in these elections.

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Brownback, now McCain - are you getting the feeling that all these candidates are running *against* the Bush administration? (Brownback sneereing, "this administration has..", McCain giving "straight talk" about how "enormously mismanaged" the war has been..).

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God Damn, Ron Paul knows more about foreign policy then anyone else up on the stage, hands down.

Romney, McCain, Guiliani didn't answer the question when asked 'what would you DO to make the Iraqi gov't work before we leave?' Brownback went with partition.

Giuliani bitched about how no good news is reported, and said in September there will be good news from Iraq.

Cycloptichorn

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Yeah, 'horribly mismanaged.' That's GOT TO be a headline after this debate.

He should be asked specifically about it at each and every opportunity.

Stupid TV is in the living room, computer in bedroom, keep running back and forth > Sad

Cycloptichorn

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Ron Paul sounded damn good, true, but his stance ignores the reality of the consequences of turning our backs. Rudy: We broke it, so we own it, and therefore are obligated to deal with it. Check.

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Giuliani follows McCains example and walks forward to the edge of state for some personal bonding..

But damn does he have a stance that contrasts with all the others'. The rest is running against GWB, it seems - but Giuliani is going for a hardcore hawk position.

I mean, did you hear what he all still wants to stay in Iraq for? Not just basic security or anything - no, he basically wants to stay there to create the whole society, state, nation, system in full!

Sounds like he's planning to stay there for, well, at least a decade or so, perhaps two.. with aims like those..

"Its not too late to do it", rright.

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Cycloptichorn wrote:

Giuliani bitched about how no good news is reported, and said in September there will be good news from Iraq.

Cycloptichorn

That's not what he said.

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A first(?) thread on 2008: McCain,Giuliani & the Republicans

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