Stream of Conscious. Here we go….
Romney’s hit on Gingrich regarding immigrations… Awesome. I hope this becomes more of a standard for Romney, especially against Gingrich. Gingrich has played bully far too long on that stage. Besides, Romney’s right. 🙂
Housing…. Phasing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Romney started off with a hit directly on Gingrich, tying his work there with some of the failures. It’s obvious that Gingrich is a touch uncomfortable and, surprisingly, it looks like he’s not quite sure how to respond. Is Romney really having that kind of impact?
Gingrich’s response is, of course, “Romney is lying.” The consistent “he’s lying” whining is pretty lame. And his follow up? Romney has shares in these two companies. Wow… Really? Especially, as Romney points out, his investments are held and have been held by a blind trust AND Gingrich has investments in the same! Awesome.
Romney is rocking Gingrich. That, more than anything, is painfully obvious.
If this were a boxing match… DING DING!
One general comment… Paul and Santorum are struggling to get time, and that’s been true for two straight debates. It’s apparent that the debates and campaigns are narrowing.
Paul, by the way, is right. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should have been liquidated. It would have hurt immediately, but the long-term advantage validates the move.
Santorum’s response called for reform, namely decreasing the size of mortgages available through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Oh, and nice call by Santorum to drop the lines of attack on Gingrich’s time in Congress and Romney’s wealth/business expertise. If nothing else, it’s a couple brownie points (here you go… eat slowly, it might be the only ones you get).
First break, and a VERY obvious win for Romney. Second round looks like transparency. I expect that this will be a tough one for Romney unless he is completely clear.
Gingrich calls it a nonsense question, but, as Blitzer points out, Gingrich has made this an issue again and again. Pretty two-faced.
Romney’s hit back was AWESOME! “Wouldn’t it be nice if Gingrich didn’t make statements he wouldn’t talk about in debates?”
So far, Romney is answering strongly, clearly, and concisely. It’s pretty obvious that Romney has practiced and seen how this hit him in SC.
Gingrich is calling for a two-way truce? Uh…. You don’t get to call the truce when you are the aggressor simply because the one you attacked is suddenly crushing you.
Flat tax vs simplified? If I actually get the choice… either. I think the simplified with multiple rates based on straight income is best, but I’d take a flat as well.
Paul said a veritable mouthful (something he struggles with to be honest), but he’s fun. Loved Paul’s challenge to the 25-mile bike ride. Honest guess? He’d win.
By the way, I’d like to welcome you to “EVERYONE GANG UP ON GINGRICH” night. This has not been and is not a good night for Gingrich. Maybe he can pull it out in the end, but he’s getting hit from every side.
All candidates, in regards to space, are pointing to privatizing space programs. I agree. The wealth of space in technology advancements alone is worth the investment to a private company. I strongly believe that the next generation of major companies will be space-based companies who develop the next generation of space technologies.
And there’s Romney burying Gingrich again. Sigh… I do like seeing Gingrich being hit again. And again.
And again.
And again.
hehe….
And now Paul is hitting Gingrich.
I’m thinking that Gingrich is desperate for a break.
Santorum–Personal message to you… WE DON’T CARE ABOUT ROMNEYCARE!!! Have you noticed that you are the only one hitting on this anymore? Drop it.
There goes Santorum with his stupid shake of the head…. I need to slap something (Santorum preferably).
Santorum is also pushing health care to the federal level…. WRONG. This is a state issue, and Romney is dead on. This should be handled on the state level.
Seriously Santorum… My love. DROP IT!!! You are sounding stupid. Again, by the way.
To the break. Who won this round? Paul, possibly Romney. Definitely not Santorum, and Gingrich once again found himself fighting off the ropes for a good chunk.
As much as I seriously dislike Santorum, I recognize his value in keeping Gingrich’s numbers down. However, I am looking forward to the day when he can just go away.
Cuba… Is this generational? Do older generations feel that Cuba should be shunted and ostracized? I don’t know that younger generations feel that way. I don’t feel that way, especially about Cuba. I think Paul is right on this issue. Continuing to put Cuba in this position is continuing to push Cuba as an enemy. I simply don’t see Cuba as an enemy. I don’t agree with the Cuban government and the despotism (of course), but I see little reason to continue to put sanctions on them and restrict them so heavily.
Given how much I typically disagree with Paul on foreign policy issues, I sometimes surprise myself on agreeing on this issue.
Palestinian issues… I think both Gingrich and Romney are right, but I would add one thing. Palestine is legitimate, and one of the issues is the lack of recognition many in the world give in that direction. Yes, Palestinian leadership must support the peace process and yes they must be willing to work with Israel, but a good first start on our side is to recognize that Palestine has legitimacy.
I’m disappointed that only Santorum addressed the Puerto Rico question. That deserved more time.
New break. No clear winner and an honestly benign round.
It looks like the debate is closing up. Looking at these closing statements, the nomination is dividing into two clear groups: Paul, pulling about 20% and the other three battling out for the remaining 80%.
And that’s the debate.
Winner? Romney definitely in the early rounds, but the debate kind of settled down and turned gentle. If you had watched the last hour, you’d have to assume that the debate was a draw, but given Romney’s strong first half, the win definitely goes there.
Good night for Romney. Arguably one of his best debates.
Solid night for Paul. He lost nothing, but also won’t gain much due to his ceiling.
Gingrich… eh. He’s okay. He didn’t kill himself, but he was largely unable to fend off the repeated attacks from Romney, and it seems he may have once again hit his peak. I do not see him pulling the win in Florida, and that should start the beginning of the end.
Santorum? The same. He and Gingrich are continuing to feed off each other’s voters, and the simple truth is that they’ll keep each other down. Fine by me. By the time Santorum does drop (after Florida?), it’ll be just a tad too late for those supporters to put any energy behind Gingrich.
Whew…. Saturday, hopefully I’ll have the Libertarian party rebuttal to the State of the Union. I looked for it (and the Green Party’s) on Wednesday, but nothing had been posted yet. They seem to take a day or two, so I’ll check back later.
The Prodigal 