The GOP debate overall seemed fragmented and crowded with the participants jostling for position as they attempted to shoehorn their pet issues in as often as possible. The constant, rasping interruptions from Matthews were unwelcome but, understandable in the face of all the clamor.
The worst of the field definitely included Ron Paul and Tommy Thompson. Paul for his hard, disagreeable demeanor and Thompson for his apparent struggle to present a congruent, holistic answer. McCain had the advantage of “straight talking” right into the camera but, Romney and Brownback definitely won as they came forward with polished ideas posited in a professional manner. It will be interesting to contrast these performances and ideas with those presented by Senator Fred Thompson tomorrow night.
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If you got to the DRUDGE REPORT you can vote on it. So far Mitt Romney has a lead at 33% but its relatively early and who knows if everyone watched.
Mitt Romney definitely commanded the debate.
Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee are honorable mentions…
Everyone else just flopped, but I think the bias of MSNBC is to blame.
He’s number 1 douche bag. Ron Paul for President!
Ron Paul has the highest debate performance on the MSNBC poll
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18421356/
I think you’re very wrong about Ron Paul having a “hard, disagreeable” demeanor. I think he came off as answering the questions from the deepest foundation of belief in principles compared to the other more “polished” politicians.
McCain stopped straight talking years ago. Guiliani can’t secure the election as he is pro-choice. Romney looks like an older model (and talks like a blonde one). Dr. Paul is a real, American man who has solid beliefs that are remarkably similar to the founders of the country.
I’m surprised to see this support for Ron Paul… I never heard of the guy before tonight. Honestly I wasn’t that impressed
I’m confused that a supposed conservative blogger is bad mouthing Ron Paul, the ONLY Republican candidate running. Maybe any others who read everyone’s comments will wake up and get with the program. Big government and the mainstream media ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS.
11,000 votes have been cast on MSNBC, with Ron Paul winning with a 43% approval rating. Before the debate, he had a 9% rating. You can’t make this kind of stuff up. For whatever reason, Paul dominated this debate. Romney is a close second in everything.
Rudy destroyed himself in the opening debate. Terrible showing.
Paul in ’08?
Poor Tommy acted like he was running for Gov. of WI.
MSNBC is a pretty biased station… I’d like to see a different platform and see how the debate would be different… especially less those screwball questions. It was as if MSNBC decided who should win the debate before it even began
lol, the Ron Paul spammers are out in full force tonight. Everyone knows that you guys are cheating the internet polls.
Yes, Spidey, you’re right! How did you find out about Ron Paul’s massive Internet army? There are so many of them there is a special task force designated to Marquette University political blogs!!! In fact, out of the 13,000 voters on MSNBC, 12,500 are in the Ron Paul army…
Give it up Tommy.
I find it quite amusing just how threatening the media and the party puppets find Dr. Ron Paul. You simply cannot accept that the supporters of Ron Paul are well-coordinated, and devoted to RESTORING LIBERTY. THAT is why Ron Paul dominates the internet polls… we go on the net SEARCHING for polls, and when we find one listing Ron Paul as an option, we spread the word — coordination. We don’t spam… but the moderators of many of the polls simply cannot believe that Ron Paul would have so many internet supporters!
I think we all could see from the debate that the only candidate who cares about liberty is Congressman Ron Paul. All of the others emphasized how much the want to expand federal government, spend public money, and legislate morality. Actions speak louder than words, so look at Ron Paul’s voting record and you will see that his actions PROVE that he is a voice FOR THE PEOPLE, and can be trusted as the next president.
I am squarely on the Ron Paul bandwagon.
For what it is worth, Ron Paul has been getting a lot of love from Washington Post blog readers, too.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com.....ap_up.html
I’m still amazed at the Ron Paul support… I don’t see him going anywhere?? He’s like the Dennis Kucinech character of the GOP right now
Romney won that debate hands down. He was postive, clear, and polished.
But on another note, we need to stop whining about the MSNBC format and questions. I’m sorry but if a candidate can’t handle that, what the hell do you people think is going to happen in the general election. The media is biased against conservatives, and that isn’t going to change. We need a candidate who can overcome it and defeat it. That is what Regan did at a time when there was little conservative talk radio, one or two magazines, and no internet. So it can be done.
That is what I liked most about Romney is that he took the heat, and beat it back. Most of the others fumbled and failed when dealing with harsh questions, Romney went on offense.
For those of you who don’t understand the support Ron Paul has, I encourage you to study what he stands for and why that distinguishes him from the rest of the field. Do we remember the importance of a Constitutionally limited government, or is that just a “piece of paper”? Conservatives and Republicans have, until the recent advent of neo-cons, been traditionally pro-Constitution, pro-liberty, pro-state’s rights, anti-consolidated government, anti-tax, anti-spending, anti-socialism, and anti-foreign entanglements and nation building. It’s a shame that these pillars of Conservatism are mocked by those who would profess to be Conservative.
BTW. have you looked at Ron Paul’s congressional record? In a word, stellar.
From a Ron Paul press release
Since the debate on May 3, Ron Paul:
1. Handily won two post-debate polls posted by event sponsor MSNBC.
2. Placed a close third (18%) in a post-debate poll on the conservative Drudge Report.
3. Won an ABCNews.com online debate poll with 84%.
4. Won a C-SPAN online GOP candidate poll with 69%.
5. Became the third most-mentioned person in the blogosphere, beating out Paris Hilton, according to the reputable Technorati.com.
6. Produced a YouTube.com video that was ranked the 8th most popular overall video, and the most-viewed political video.
7. Was featured, by popular demand, on the front of Digg.com.
8. Generated so many bulletin posts on MySpace.com that the site owner News Corp. blocked all additional posts about Dr. Paul.
9. Became a “most searched” term on Google and Yahoo!.
10. Saw a quadrupling of daily visitors to RonPaul2008.com.
ouch…. hard facts hurt blind supporters and band waggoners. Give Ron Paul a chance. His track record is clear and hes totaly straight about ever issue. And as you can see hes extreemly passionate about what he belives.
At least research what he stands for and state why you disagree rather than just saying you dont think he won the debate.