Stu Norman
Point Spreads
Friday January 25, 2008
There was a strong anti war pro Ron Paul crowd in the Florida Primary Republican Debate audience on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida tonight. Results from a MSNBC post debate text messaging poll showed Ron Paul leading before the network decided not to post the official results at the end of the post-debate coverage. The move clearly gets conspiracy theorists abuzz on the Ron Paul posting forums. There was no doubt once again that the clear winner of the debate was Ron Paul. Sportsbook.com has Ron Paul at 25 to 1 odds to capture the 2008 Republican Party Presidential Nomination.
“We are moving into a new era,” stated Dr. Ron Paul.
Paul has yet to win a primary but his second place finish in the Nevada Caucus followed by his second place in yesterday’s Louisiana Caucus has boosted his campaign. Republican Presidential hopefuls such as John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Rudy Guiliani do not have the dough to survive that far beyond Florida giving Paul a nice advantage to outlast the other lower tiered candidates and gobble up some of their support once they leave the race.
Unlike the Democratic Party debate for the South Carolina Primary race, the Republicans had a nonaggression pact before the start of the Florida Primary debate. All of the candidates were cordial and refrained from attacking each other. Another difference between the two debates were the stances on the Iraqi War. It was very clear that all of the Republican Candidates, with the except of anti-war candidate Paul, will go into fall Presidential Race saying the war in Iraqi was worth it. It is looking more and more like it will be a PRO WAR vs ANTI WAR Presidential Race in 2008.
If Republican Presidential front runner John McCain wins the Florida Republican Primary, he should lock up the Republican Party's 2008 Presidential Nomination. Sportsbook.com has John McCain at 4 to 7 odds to secure the 2008 Republican Presidential Nomination. The elder statesmen with the silver hair stumbled tonight when he was asked a question on the United States Economy by Ron Paul.
McCain has been endorsement by former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato, a blow to Guiliani campaign. The endorsement could be a sign that the Poker Player Alliance is making some head way against the current “War on Internet Gambling ” taking place in Washington. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is an American nonprofit Interest group of over 840,000 members that was formed "to speak with one voice to promote poker, ensure its integrity, and, most importantly, to protect the players' rights." The PPA formed to serve as an advocacy group to Washington in order to establish a legal framework of rights and protections for United States online poker players. Alfonse D'Amato is chairman of the PPA.
The Rudy Guiliani campaign got another dagger when the New York Times endorsed John McCain saying “he is ready to be president...it is a difficult era....he can beat Hillary Clinton."
All of these endorsements, including the recent one from Rambo, won’t help McCain with the GOP conservative base which does not like him. A lost in the Florida Primary will certainly be a blow to the cash strapped candidate who needs a win or strong finish to secure additional campaign contributions. Mitt Romney has already spent $40 million dollars of his own funds for his campaign and has plenty more to pour in if needed.
Copyright © Infowars.net All rights reserved.
Printed from: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/250108Debate.htm"
"Ron Paul Shunned In Blatantly Unfair MSNBC Debate; Congressman given less than a third of the time afforded to Romney, half the questions" by Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet Friday, January 25, 2008
According to those that recorded the time afforded to each Republican candidate during last night's MSNBC debate in Florida, Congressman Ron Paul was again given the least coverage, being allowed to talk for less than a third of the time and receiving less than half the questions compared with Mitt Romney.
Here are the final speaking times as compiled by The ConnieTalk blog.
Romney: 21 minutes, 11 seconds (12 answers and asked 1 question)McCain: 16 minutes even (12 answers and asked 1 question)
Giuliani: 13 minutes and 50 seconds (10 answers and asked 1 question)
Huckabee: 12 minutes and 11 seconds (8 answers and asked 1 question)
Paul: 6 minutes and 31 seconds (5 answers and asked 1 question)
Establishment candidates were lavished with time and allowed to ask each other more questions uninterrupted while Paul was shunned and marginalized, despite the fact that he has clocked up back to back silver medals in both the Nevada and Louisiana caucuses.
It was symptomatic of the way the establishment media has treated Paul since his presidential campaign began, terrified of the momentum he would rapidly build if he was given the equal face time that establishment candidates have enjoyed all along.
Viewers also noted how Romney, Giuliani and McCain were allowed to crack jokes and enjoy pops and cheers from the audience, but when the audience responded to Ron Paul they were politefully told to shut up.
"The first time it happened, MSNBC reminded the audience no "outbursts...or applause." The second time Paul got the studio audience cheering - when he said we never should have invaded Iraq - the audience was reminded to hold back "pent up energy." Nothing was said when any of the other candidates told jokes or inspired audience interaction," according to ConnieTalk.
Several viewers also reported that the pre-debate promo ads featured photos of all the Republican candidates bar one - Congressman Ron Paul.
Bloggers are encouraging Paul supporters to sign a petition in protest of MSNBC's skewed and unfair coverage, which ranks alongside Fox News' style of bias and crony fixed debates.
In another bizarre moment, following a question from Tim Russert directed at Mitt Romney in which he asked, "Will you do for social security what Ronald Reagan did in 1983?" a hushed voice is heard to whisper "raise taxes" before Romney responds, "I'm not gonna raise taxes".
Is Romney wired? Is he debating with the aide of the infamous Bush bulge? Who was the voice in his ear helping him clarify the question? A fellow establishment candidate or some kind of remote audio hook up? Whatever the explanation, it was an odd occurance to say the least.
"Some have speculated that the whisper is a prompt for Russert to add on the rest of the question, "raised taxes," to what Russert said about Reagan, but listen to how incredibly fast the whisper comes after Russert finishes his sentence. Seems mighty fast to have been someone trying to get Russert to finish the question - how does the whisperer know that Russert is done? It sounds much more like a prompt for Mitt," writes blogger E. Stewart Rhodes.
For what it was worth, here are Ron Paul's answers (within the paltry time MSNBC graciously afforded him) at last night's debate
