http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/7085.html

 

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071129/NATION/71129002/1001

 

She makes Karl Rove look like an amateur. I hope those who railed on Rove for these type of tricks rail on her for the same or worse thing.

 

 

From the Washington Post article,

Mr. McCain also said today that "I've been told there were several others that were, quote, independent."That was a reference to the fact that some questioners are declared supporters of Democratic candidates. For instance, a woman who asked an abortion question has a YouTube profile in which she is wearing a John Edwards shirt. A man who asked about Log Cabin Republicans is also reportedly a Barack Obama supporter.

It seems that the General works for Hillary's campaign. It will be hard for CNN to avoid damage on this one. Either they knew who he was and they purposely failed to identify him as a partisan or they should have known but didn't.

 

They knew who he was, he was on one of their shows in 2003 after he came out. I'm glad he was booed. Where was he at the Dems debate asking Hillary (who he works for) what she thought about her husband's policy?

Overall, I really can’t put my finger on an outright winner, so I’ll just tier them. I also broke it down by a few issues. On another note, I caught the end of Lou Dobbs before this aired, and he may have lost his mind.

 

Not Cold

I think this was Huckabee’s first debate as a leading candidate, if I’m not mistaken, and he did well with the spotlight on him. Romney didn’t do badly either. He didn’t do anything to put him above the rest, but he didn’t hurt himself either.

 

Cold

McCain was probably the best last night, he has thee distinct advantage of not mincing words when he speaks as he doesn’t have to worry about something being construed to hurt him in the polls. He’s certainly the voice of reason on the stage for the Republicans and for him to be booed for being honest and realistic is ridiculous. Ron Paul apparently has a lot of supporters. He also got mired into answering some technical questions and having to explain his conspiracy theory. A few more primetime questions where he could make his points would help him. Thompson is fading out. He’s a great comedian but there wasn’t much substance behind it. If he wants a real shot he’s going to have to start sinking his teeth into some issues. Guiliani didn’t do much; he took the brunt of a lot of mud slinging and seemed flustered at times. I think he struggled to articulate what he meant sometimes and really never settled into a groove. I don’t see him winning. Hunter falls in here as well. I think he had a few reasonable answers but didn’t get enough spotlight. Additionally, he lacks the charisma to grab that spotlight, as soon as he starts talking I start thinking about whatever he isn’t talking about.

 

Deep Space Cold

Tancredo. The Republicans’ Kucinich.

 

Immigration

I found this part particularly frustrating to watch, as I don’t share the Republicans’ disillusioned view on immigration at all. If it weren’t for McCain I may have watched something else. Romney and Guiliani started it off with a personal argument that was better suited for a schoolyard. Romney, by default, came out on top because Guiliani looked shaken up a bit and stuttered through answers when he needed a powerful comeback. Either way, none of their points stuck, the “sanctuary cities” fell off of them as soon as they hit. McCain is the only one who made any sense by saying that the issue was much deeper than “no amnesty” and that the bill earlier in the year wasn’t an amnesty bill, but was booed. Huckabee avoided the fray, coming in at the end and was only pressed when Romney forced him to defend some school program that gave illegal immigrant children merit scholarship opportunities. He did well enough. Huckabee will enjoy not having polarized anyone over immigration. And Tancredo is an idiot.

 

Spending

Huckabee was a big hit here with the IRS. He really had the crowd into it and was effective. Thompson had another comedic quip but then rambled about nothing. Paul used this to talk about Iraq, saving money by not funding a war. Paul articulated a great point later about how everyone wants to cut taxes, but spending must be cut as well. McCain again made sense when he clearly bested Paul on Iraq and was booed. The farm subsidy program was brought up and all the candidates tip-toed around it as to not anger Iowa farmers. It was amusing to see small government Republicans crawfishing around about unnecessary subsidies. Tancredo is an idiot.

 

Abortion/Death Penalty

Romney squared his past stance on it very well, he did excellent here. Ron Paul also had a solid answer. Huckabee was articulate here, but he still dodged the issue with his long speech about signing death warrants. Guiliani and Thompson hammered the usual states rights approach. Tancredo is an idiot.

 

Foreign Policy

McCain is the class of the group here. Everyone but him came off a bit middle of the road. Someone is going to have to step up and really battle with McCain here. Tancredo is an idiot.

 

One of the best questions of the night, I thought, was the black father and son from Atlanta asking about inner-city violence. Romney got the chance to answer, and he did well talking about family values. But his best point was saying the education system has failed the inner-cities. I really wish this one was asked off all the candidates, besides Tancredo.

What did you think of Tancredo?

It seems that the General works for Hillary's campaign. It will be hard for CNN to avoid damage on this one. Either they knew who he was and they purposely failed to identify him as a partisan or they should have known but didn't.

 

Why would that damage the Clinton News Network?

They knew who he was, he was on one of their shows in 2003 after he came out. I'm glad he was booed. Where was he at the Dems debate asking Hillary (who he works for) what she thought about her husband's policy?

 

I have no pity for the guy getting booed. Would I have booed him myself? Not likely. However, CNN handled it poorly, IMO. I have no problem with his question or him asking it. They let a few guys answer it...and it should have ended there. I think CNN messed up by asking the guy if he thought they answered his question, and then basically giving him time to make the longest speech of the night...if the crowd hadn't booed, his speech might have finished the night off. I want to hear the candidates speak about issues and answer questions...not some retired gay general giving a speech because he didn't get the answer he wanted. Bad deal, IMO.

She makes Karl Rove look like an amateur. I hope those who railed on Rove for these type of tricks rail on her for the same or worse thing.

 

I may have to rethink my opinion on whether she is the smartest women in the world. Not only can she control what questions she gets asked, she controls what questions the Republicans get asked.:eek::lol:

Biggest loser of the night! CNN