a painful debate for some, especially the viewer
Tuesday night, the 10 current field of candidates took the stage for a 3rd time in this young political season. CNN again hosted the event, as they had done Sunday night with the democratic field of contenders.
Missing was recently filed candidate, Fred Thompson, who won't make his official announcement until July 4th weekend reportedly.
The rest of the Presidential wanabees debated for about 2 hours. The event was hosted by Wolf Blitzer, who after 2 debates, wasn't nearly as in control as the Fox commentators were on their event, failing to stop candidates who went over their time on a regular basis. And he lacked the enthusiasm and animation of MSNBC's Chris Matthews who hosted the 1st round of debates on the 24 hour cable news network.
Who won? Well, no one really wins or loses these things, especially this early on. But several statements are always made that will probably either be refernced back to or attacked by opposition candidates down the road. Here are some of the highlights as I saw it...
As far as the "big 3" front runners went, McCain probably had the best night. He was more at ease than he was in the 1st 2 debates and defended his war position and immigration position well. As others tried to knock down his position, McCain put out the challenge of anyone putting out a plan that actually might have a shot at passing, and his honest evaluation of it. No one did. What did happen was more of the same rhetoric on immigration. The most radical of which was the issue's "chicken little" candidate, Tom Tancredo. Tancredo declared that he was not only against illegal immigration, but against legal immigration as well. This gave the rest of the candidates something to pound on for the rest of the evening and helped avoidany real discussion on the issue for the most part.
Mitt Romney did manage to speak out slightly more than the typical rhetoric. He actually was one of the rare politicians who brought up a point that I and others have in the past. He brought up the fact that we already have the laws on the books since 1986 to take away most, if not all of the incentives for people to illegally cross into our country or over stay their visas. Outside of that, Romney also called for a less arrogant foreign policy with more resolve than we have seen out of this administration. Romney also mimicked Bill Richardson's stance on energy policy. But he had a hard time remembering the word "Appollo" and opted for "like when we put a man on the moon." He was joined in that sentiment by mayor Rudy Giuliani, who did remember the name of the space program that led to countless innovations not only in space, but here on earth in our everyday lives.
McCain also was a rare republican in acknowledging that some of the sacrifices incurred by our troops were wholly unnecessary and were caused by "bad mismanagement" of the Iraq war. McCain still contended that the fight was not lost, and urged Americans to support the efforts.
Sam Brownback also borrowed from the left in his policy stances. Again citing Joe Biden's plan for a more federalist Iraq. Brownback and Biden introduced a measure in the Senate the next day that was based on Biden's plan which has been endorsed by people and organizations throughout the spectrum since it was introduced about 2 years ago. Brownback has been on record as endorsing the plan since last summer.
Sam also surprisingly told the right leaning audience to "get real" on immigration. Those lines were not met with much enthusiasm.
But amongst the lines that did draw more applause, Mike Huckabee, who amongst the "2nd tier" candidates, probably had the best night opened with this..."i'm from Hope Arkansas. You may have heard of it. All I ask is that you give us 1 more chance."
The opener drew applause and laughter and set Huckabee up for a night where he was eloquent and sharp in defending his stances on the issues presented. He mostly stepped up in defending his christian faith and captured the crowd with non-threatening stances that don't deny his faith or shove it down other people's throats while remaining firm in his beliefs. Of all the candidates, who all try to emulate the late Ronald Reagan in theri own way, he succeeded the most and showed the least effort in trying.
Ron Paul also drew applause for his "humbler foreign policy as the founders intended" stance. Which was surprising considering the audience was made up of republicans and "right leaning" independents. Paul also got to actually talk about sound fiscal policy and the constitution more than he did in the 1st 2 debates. His comments were received well.
Unfortunately, Tommy Thompson bombed again. He started off in the hole with a dismal line on his name and trying to elevate himself above Fred Thompson when he said " my name is Thompson, Tommy. I'm the candidate, not the actor."
Silence....And that silence followed Thompson all night. Another indicator that he should probably drop out of the race after the Iowa straw poll at the latest. I think he's established his interest in a cabinet position or the VP spot should a republican win in 08. But an extended campaign will probably embarrass the candidate who can't hold his water or hear properly even further. Which is a shame, because Thompson is a decent man. He's just not a good national candidate.
Rudy Giuliani probably had the most frustrating night, perhaps sans Thompson. But regardless, the lightning outside, which got particularly intense when he was discussing abortion and his relationship with the Catholic Church was a thorn in his side. And to an audience that takes the Bible very seriously in most circles, the metaphor of the lightning striking may prove costly to Giuliani in the long run. The sybolism of the lightning allowed others like Brownback to really go after Rudy later in the evening and even declare and imply that Giuliani can't or won't be the nominee of the GOP because of his "immoral" stances.
Back on the 2nd tier, Duncan Hunter had an uneventful night but did bring up some key points about the incentives illegals do indeed have for coming or staying illegally. Mainly, he brought up businesses like the Swift plants, that were paying a pretty good 18 bucks an hour. When INS swept the place and cleared out their illegal work force, the next day the place had more applicants than jobs. Except these applicants were legal Americans. Americans who had been "shut out" previously so Swift Inc. could abuse their illegal workforce without fear of retribution. He also stressed that his "Hunter Bill" which authorizes the 800+ mile fence that mimicks the one bordering San Diego has only seen 11 miles be built in the 6 months since it's passing.
Jim Gilmore once again faded into the backround with not much more to say than claiming he was the most conservatve conservative in conservativetown.
From what I saw, a little of the "shaking of the tree" happened tuesday night. But probably not too much. Fortunately for the candidates that did not do so well, the Paris Hilton debacle has dominated most of the news this week. So, a lot of what was said will be put into the archives until the race gets heated, and some will probably just get lost in the mix. Giuliani, Thompson (Tommy), Gilmore and Tancredo are probably loving Paris Hilton this week.
But Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Paul and Brownback are probably a little upset at the heiress stealing their thunder and positive headlines. And Hunter and Gilmore meanwhile, are trying to figure out how to get anyone to just notice them on the crowded stage.
And somewhere in Tennessee, Fred Thompson is trying to figure out how he's gonna "whip em all."
But CNN definitely needs to upgrade their presentation. They simply did not measure up to either MSNBC or Fox in their coverage both Sunday or Tuesday. Next month CNN will be presenting a "totally new" format where all questions will be asked by citizens. It will be in partnership with Google and YouTube. We'll see what happens.