I usually don't get to include videos in the debate wrap-ups because of the time crunch, but since last Wednesday's debate wasn't streamed and I had to watch it on YouTube, I figured I'd take advantage of the opportunity and snip out a few choice moments. Rather than the usual debate wrap-up, this'll be commentary on the vids and a few side thoughts.
Now here's a surprise:
The debates are getting better.
Although I didn't catch it live, I eventually saw it on video and the gang was on. My guess is that the moderators coming right out of the gate with their attack program really woke everybody up.
That is, if you consider the second question as 'out of the gate'.
The first question sounded fairly innocuous; how will Italy's impending meltdown affect America, and should we do anything to help them? A fair and reasonable question, directed to Mr. Cain.
Cain responds as you'd expect, pointing out that we can't really help them, and we should be focusing, instead, on the domestic economy. And how does the moderator respond? She phrases it like a statement, rather than a question:
"So, to be clear, focus on the domestic economy and allow Italy to fail."
Yeah, that's it, Maria. Focus on the economy and allow Italy to sink into the fiery abyss of hell incarnate, thereby telling every Italian-American in the audience, "Hey, screw your grandparents! Let 'em die!" Not surprisingly, Cain didn't bite, and when the question was directed to Romney, he said the same thing; that Europe was perfectly capable of fixing itself, thankyouverymuch.
From that point on, I wouldn't say the candidates were particularly on their 'best behavior' with the moderators. Three or four times a moderator cut in during an answer and was rewarded with a snippy "Pardon me, but do you mind if I finish?", if not outright ignoring them. It wasn't 'antagonistic', but certainly no undue respect was given the moderators the rest of the evening.
In truth, I don't think the moderators were quite ready for what they were about to unleash.
Maria, this just isn't a gotcha gang.
Speaking of the moderators, one of them had a pretty funny line. It was one of the 'guest moderators', only on for a segment. They'd just asked all of the candidates how to fix health care in 30 seconds, and when it got to Newt, he characteristically laughed at the whole concept of encapsulating an issue like health care in 30 seconds, and two of the other candidates mentioned the ridiculousness of it, as well.
They were heading for commercial break and as the moderator is starting to say, "We'll be back in a moment", the guest breaks in with, "Hold on, I want to give them each 15 seconds to solve the deficit."
One issue that I don't think we've raised is the student loan debacle. One trillion dollars owed, more than all credit card debts combined. The following clip is of Paul and Gingrich.
When it comes to Ron Paul, although I often like to mock, scorn, deride, debase, abash, excoriate, vilify and metaphorically crucify him, this isn't to say I don't like the guy. When it comes to getting rid of bloated entitlements and outright boondoggles, few do it better. His part in the following clip demonstrates why he's so popular with so many 'devout' fans. I note on the side (as you'll hear in the clip) that he's the only candidate who used the words The Constitution during the evening.
The second half is of Newt again, and watch how Mr. Big Picture immediately falls back a step from the immediate topic and puts it into a larger perspective.
One thing that's both interesting and unexpected is that after Cain started pushing his 9-9-9 flat tax,
three other candidates have now offered up a flat tax of sorts; Perry, Bachmann and Romney. It's usually just a variation of the existing tax, albeit with a flat corporate tax, but it's interesting that he's gotten the ball rolling.
As for his
bold plan, it almost got to be an in-house joke at one point, and after he'd already mentioned it a half-dozen times, he was about ready to mention it again, paused for a sec, and then, like it was the first time he'd said it that night, declared, "I have proposed a
bold plan..." and there was a side shot and even the other candidates were cracking up.
Which explains the first bit in this next piece. And yes, this guy is a total nutcase. Actually certifiable, in my opinion. I'll consult with Dr. Bliss after I'm through here and maybe we can get this unfortunate man started on some strong medication.
The reason I'm including it is because it was, by far, the longest interchange between a candidate and moderator of the evening, and it's great watching Cain take the aforementioned pompous ass head-on.
Very strong medicine.
As far as Perry's memory lapse goes, I actually thought it was kind of endearing. One of those 'Oh, everybody has those moments' feelings that people can relate to. As is usual for Republican gaffes, it wasn't a tenth as bad as the MSM had made it out to be.
I'd also note that Perry made a very express point of making sure the retirees in the audience knew that their Social Security "will be there for them". I doubt the words Ponzi Scheme will ever cross his lips again.
The CNBC 'But First...' Dept
I originally wasn't going to watch this thing, because I really like Perry and the thought of him holding a pistol to his head and crying, "Vote for me or I'll pull the trigger!" was just too sad to contemplate. At least, that's how I pictured it after reading all of the "Perry Shoots Self (And Career) At Debate!" headlines.
But after Tom mentioned the following scene, I knew I had to watch it. It is, truly, one of the rarest things on TV, and something we've been lucky enough to have already witnessed a few times in these debates:
An audience booing a bunch of muckraking liberal moderators.
"Popcorn! Popcorn! Get yer fresh popcorn!" "Batter up!" Crack! "And the centerfielder's going back... back... Home run, Team Republican!" Sorry, just getting in the mood. With this ext
Tracked: Nov 16, 10:42