Tonight, 8 candidates for the GOP nomination will gather at the Reagan Library for the NBC/Politico debate. While there have been other debates and forums, this has the feel of the first “official” one, possibly because it falls right after Labor Day. But, also because tonight Texas Governor Rick Perry will be on stage for the first time. In the few short weeks since he announced his run, he has vaulted to the top of the polls, looking like a potential frontrunner. His performance tonight will go a long way towards determining that. Look for lots of blood on the floor by the end.
My colleague John Nolte argues that all of the candidates have already lost by participating in an NBC/Politico debate. They are both unofficial media extensions of the Obama Administration and the DNC and will skew the questions against the candidates. The modern day version of “when did you stop beating your wife?” Alas, I think Nolte has an excellent point.
Anyway, The fun starts at 8pm EDT. (Even if the debate gets boring at times, remind yourself “I could be watching Obama right now.”) Check back throughout the night. We’ll have comments from other BIG editors and maybe even some polls. Let the games begin!
UPDATE:When did Brian Williams become a candidate?
Mike Flynn:
As usual, my colleague John Nolte was right. Each candidate had already lost as soon as they walked on stage. NBC/Politico used this platform to conduct opposition research for the DNC. There were no questions about what anyone would do as President or what their vision was of the country. Amazingly, there were no questions about the economy or government spending or our crushing debt. Brian “the Scarecrow” Williams threw out more straw man arguments that someone who had to repeat Philosophy 101. John “Peter Lorre” Harris was nervous and clearly obsessed with all things Texas. Highs of the night: Next just about every answer and Perry doubling down on the plain fact that Social Security is a ponzi scheme. Low of the night: The rest…and the realization that Brian Williams is a hard lefty who did his debate prep at ThinkProgress. We learned far more about the moderators than we did the candidates.
Joel Pollack, Breitbart EIC:
The story of the debate is that Rick Perry showed he can take the heat that the media and his rivals bring. He stumbled occasionally but did not fall, and some of his answers were brave and bold.
The secondary story is the disgraceful attempt by NBC and Politico to frame Perry as extreme. They ran with the false “anti-science” meme that NPR teed up this morning (https://bit.ly/qny1xP). Also, they treated the Telemundo anchor like an illegal guest worker, bringing him in for temporary immigration purposes and then deporting him. Why wasn’t he given an equal role?
The take-away is that the GOP primary might be more about intangible factors now, like leadership and character, than about policy and record. Romney and Perry’s strengths and weaknesses on jobs and health care almost seem to cancel out. We’re going to start hearing a lot more about two memes: whether Romney “flip-flops” and whether Perry is “toxic.”
Palin has the potential to tip the balance between the two, whether or not she enters the race, through her focus on crony capitalism and her continued role in leading the core of the grassroots opposition to Obama.
John Nolte, EIC, Big Hollywood:
My thoughts in the order of who impressed most:
1. Governor Perry: He did two important things tonight. First off, the “dumb meme” isn’t going to stick. He was fast on his feet and the quote of the night (if the MSM wasn’t dishonest) was his counter-punch to Mitt Romney about Dukakis creating more jobs than Romney. Very well done in the departments of homework and execution. Perry also didn’t come off as Bush II. So tonight he avoided two narrative traps the corrupt MSM had crafted for him. Furthermore, his answer to the “American interventionist” question, his insistence it was philosophical, was also very well handled. He wasn’t perfect, but for a first time, he impressed and looked presidential.
2. Newt Gingrich: He gets what the MSM is up to, especially the Politico hack who spent the night asking the candidates: “Isn’t that Perry guy nuts?” Nothing makes me happier than watching the MSM exposed and tonight Newt made me happy. You want my vote? Hammering Obama’s left-wing palace guards at Politico is a nice place to start.
3. Mitt Romney: Unfortunately for him, third place isn’t where he needed to be. He seemed a little more out of the spotlight this time. However, his gracious declining of an opportunity to beat up Perry was very impressive. He wasn’t going to play that Politico hack’s game.
4. Michele Bachmann: It wasn’t her fault, but she was pretty invisible during the first half. She came on very strong near the end, though.
5. Herman Cain: Another candidate who wasn’t called on enough and not helped by the fact that our moderators weren’t very interested in delving into the areas that will hurt their Precious One: the deficit, jobs, and the economy.
6. Rick Santorum: I could listen to him talk about social issues all day long.
7. Ron Paul: He has all kinds of great ideas surrounding the economy and the Constitution, but they can’t overcome his foreign policy ideas and statements.
8. Jon Huntsman: Don’t accuse me of being anti-science after the East Anglia email fiasco, k?
Overall, we have a very impressive field and they are getting better with each encounter. The message is sharpening and the differences between them are better defined.
The main problem were these two in-the-tank moderators and Telemundo Man. We are heading towards another recession and they want to protect Obama by talking death penalty and the border, anything but the areas where Obama’s failed.
Hopefully, in these upcoming debates, better moderators will focus on what the American people are focused on.
Alex Marlow, Associate Editor:
Of Obama’s palace guards in the mainstream media, Politico’s John Harris and NBC’s Brian Williams are among the palace guardiest, and the only reason a serious GOP presidential candidate should enter a debate moderated by the two of them is to confront them on that fact. Newt Gingrich was the only candidate who did that tonight. This election isn’t about Romney vs. Perry or the GOP vs. Obama as much as it’s about the mainstream media vs. conservatives and their values. The sooner the Republicans understand that fact, the better chance they’ll have to take back the White House.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.