First Republican Debate / First Half
It would be interesting to hear a little more from the frontrunners, and a little less from those running behind -- especially because some pretty wacky stuff has been emanating from them . . . and that's not even counting Ron Paul's call for foreign policy isolationism in a post 9/11 world.
Just a few minutes into the debate, Tommy Thompson has apparently forgotten that the USA doesn't own or control Iraq. He's talked about requiring elections in all 18 Iraqi provinces, and giving a stake in the oil wells to every Iraqi man, woman and child. How, exactly, are we supposed to make this happen?
And Mike Huckabee has asserted that problems in Iraq resulted from the generals not getting hte funds and troops they had asked for. Not so. The problem is that hte generals to whom the President was listening insisted on a "light footprint" lest we incite hostility by making the Iraq people feel like victims of an occupation. It's OK to fault the war, but let's be honest about it . . .
Tom Tancredo seems somewhat long-winded and out of his depth when it comes to anything but immigration.
Oh, and as much as I like the idea of dismantling the IRS in theory, it strikes me that Ron Paul isn't doing anything to mainstream his candidacy by advocating it.
Tommy Thompson's response about firing homosexuals was unbelievably bad. OK -- it's totally defensible that there shouldn't be legislation providing special protections to gays, but accompanying that position should be a strong statement deploring bigotry and hatred of all kinds, and reminding all of us of the inherent dignity of every human being, whatever his/her sexual orientation.
As for the frontrunners, why would John McCain spontaneously bring up his age, one of his greatest disadvantages? He's also said he doesn't want to be president of a "failed nation." Say what? Is that question even on the table?
As of halfway through the debate, it seems that Giuliani and McCain have been the most passionate and articulate (although McCain has come across occasionally as a bit shrill) -- and Romney has done a great job with the question about whether the government should have a position on Catholic bishops denying communion to pro-choice politicians.
Just a few minutes into the debate, Tommy Thompson has apparently forgotten that the USA doesn't own or control Iraq. He's talked about requiring elections in all 18 Iraqi provinces, and giving a stake in the oil wells to every Iraqi man, woman and child. How, exactly, are we supposed to make this happen?
And Mike Huckabee has asserted that problems in Iraq resulted from the generals not getting hte funds and troops they had asked for. Not so. The problem is that hte generals to whom the President was listening insisted on a "light footprint" lest we incite hostility by making the Iraq people feel like victims of an occupation. It's OK to fault the war, but let's be honest about it . . .
Tom Tancredo seems somewhat long-winded and out of his depth when it comes to anything but immigration.
Oh, and as much as I like the idea of dismantling the IRS in theory, it strikes me that Ron Paul isn't doing anything to mainstream his candidacy by advocating it.
Tommy Thompson's response about firing homosexuals was unbelievably bad. OK -- it's totally defensible that there shouldn't be legislation providing special protections to gays, but accompanying that position should be a strong statement deploring bigotry and hatred of all kinds, and reminding all of us of the inherent dignity of every human being, whatever his/her sexual orientation.
As for the frontrunners, why would John McCain spontaneously bring up his age, one of his greatest disadvantages? He's also said he doesn't want to be president of a "failed nation." Say what? Is that question even on the table?
As of halfway through the debate, it seems that Giuliani and McCain have been the most passionate and articulate (although McCain has come across occasionally as a bit shrill) -- and Romney has done a great job with the question about whether the government should have a position on Catholic bishops denying communion to pro-choice politicians.
posted by LadybugUSA at 5:21 PM
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