For my review, see: My Final Debate Review
"In a Spirited Republican Debate, Romney Finds Himself a Target" by MICHAEL COOPER and MARC SANTORA
MANCHESTER, N.H. — It was five against one, or maybe one against five: Mitt Romney skirmished with each of his Republican rivals on Saturday night during a fiery debate here that was marked with repeated attacks that sometimes dripped with scorn.
He tangled with Senator John McCain of Arizona, his main rival in New Hampshire, over immigration. He traded barbs with Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, on foreign policy. Fred D. Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, sparred with him on health care. Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former mayor of New York, poked fun at his penchant for running negative ads. And he even debated Representative Ron Paul of Texas on foreign policy.
Mr. Romney, who was set back by his upset defeat in the Iowa caucuses last week and is now placing his hopes on a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, found himself waging something of a five-front war.
The stakes in the debate were highest for Mr. Romney and for Mr. McCain, who both badly want a victory on Tuesday, and they ended up having some of the most spirited exchanges of the night. Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, took aim at a sore point for Mr. McCain: His support last spring for an immigration proposal that was roundly opposed by Republicans and which cost him support at the time.
Mr. McCain responded dryly by turning Mr. Romney’s new campaign theme against him:
“We disagree on a lot of issues, but I agree, you are the candidate of change.”
Mr. McCain was poking fun at Mr. Romney’s renewed effort to promote himself as an agent of change with a jibe at Mr. Romney’s history of changing his positions on issues like abortion rights, which he once supported and now opposes.
Yeah, and the arrogant condescenscion of McCain didn't go over well with me!
Oh, and on abortion, I RESPECT Mitt!!!
If you are going to change, THAT IS THE WAY TO GO!!!!
For LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Romney, whose campaign ran an advertisement during a break in the debate that criticized Mr. McCain’s stances on taxes and immigration policies, shot back that “the personal barbs are interesting but unnecessary.”
Nearly all the candidates on the stage at the debate — which was held at St. Anselm College here and was sponsored by ABC, Facebook and WMUR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Manchester — had reason to take aim at Mr. Romney, who they sensed was weakened by his second-place showing in Iowa and whose ability to pour his personal fortune into his campaign has posed a threat to them.
Yup, so they -- exempting Ron Paul, of course -- POURED the ATTACKS ON HIM!
I found it disgusting, and the whole event makes Mitt my second choice after Dr. Paul now!
And I don't even like Mitt!
Mr. McCain is banking on a win in New Hampshire to revive his candidacy, and polls show him with momentum. Mr. Giuliani’s campaign needs an unsettled field if his strategy of hanging back until the Florida primary on Jan. 29 is to work. Mr. Huckabee, who won in Iowa, is competing with Mr. Romney for the more conservative voters. Mr. Thompson’s campaign has long believed that chaos in the field will give him an opening.
See how the MSM FORESHADOWS the FIX that's been SET, readers?!
This is what I posted in my review, readers:
"The spin will be the re-emerging darling of New Hampshire John McCain; the flagging Romney campaign; Rudy's surprise repositioning (credited to advertisements and debate performance); Huckabee's historic and expected fade here (which will dry up what little money and press he's getting); Paul and Thompson will either be also-rans, or asked if they are dropping out."
Ready to believe in my acumen now?
Some of the testiest exchanges occurred when Mr. Romney criticized Mr. Huckabee for an article he wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine in which he criticized what he called the “arrogant bunker mentality” of the Bush administration’s foreign policy.
Mr. Huckabee asked: “Did you read the article before you commented on it?”
Mr. Romney icily responded: “I got a copy of the article and read the article.”
Mr. McCain broke in with a little humor, asking: “Did you read mine?”
Mr. Romney replied: “John, no I didn’t.”
Mr. Romney, when Mr. Huckabee suggested that Mr. Romney had not originally supported the troop buildup last year in Iraq, said he was wrong:
“Governor, don’t try to characterize my position.”
Mr. Huckabee, in a not-so-subtle reference to Mr. Romney’s reputation for changing his mind on issues, asked:
“Which one?”
Mr. Romney, who has run the most negative ads — his campaign calls them “contrast ads” — of any candidate:
“You know, we’re wise to talk about policies, and not to make personal attacks.”
That whole exchange just reeks of anti-Mormon bias!
Romney is "icy, negative, and changes his mind."
McCain has "dry humor," and Buckahee gets away with no criticism after the stabbing the subtle knife in Mitt's back!
Even Mr. Thompson, who is hardly competing in New Hampshire, tangled with Mr. Romney over his health care plan in Massachusetts, charging that he favored mandates in his own state.
Mr. Thompson, when Mr. Romney said that he supports only certain kinds of mandates, retorted:
“The ones you come up with.”
Mr. Romney strongly criticized Mr. Paul’s opposition to the Iraq war and his critiques of United States foreign policy. So did Mr. Giuliani, who has argued heatedly with Mr. Paul in past debates. The exchange this time, however, occurred after Mr. Paul beat Mr. Giuliani in the Iowa caucuses.
Look at how the minimize and diss Ron Paul, readers!
Why I am tired of the lying AmeriKan MSM!
Several of the candidates seemed to relish taking on Mr. Romney, who has had the sharpest elbows of the campaign, tangling at various points during the past few months with Mr. McCain, Mr. Giuliani and, more recently, Mr. Huckabee.
Now the biased NYT says Romney has SHARP ELBOWS!!!
How about checking out that THUG of a MAYOR you are backing, you scandalous shitrag of Zionist propaganda?!!
Mr. McCain, when Mr. Romney said that Mr. McCain’s immigration proposal from last spring was akin to giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, argued that his plan contained penalties:
“It’s not amnesty, and for you to describe it as you do in the attack ads, my friend, you can spend your whole fortune on these attack ads, but it will won’t be true.”
Yup, McCain and his lies get a pass from the stink Jew MSM!
Mr. Giuliani picked up on that theme as well, noting that former President Ronald Reagan had offered amnesty to illegal immigrants:
“I think he would be in one of Mitt’s negative commercials."
None of these guys are Reagan-esque -- EXCEPT for RON PAUL!!!!!
