MSNBC Republican Debate 1/24/08

Hopefully not too many people sat through that snoozefest, if you were lucky enough to miss it here's a quick rundown. I will rank them in no particular order.

Mitt Romney: Got a ridiculous amount of time (22 minutes out of a 90 minute debate with commercials and crosstalk). Did well against agressive questioning by the loathsome Tim Russert. I think Mitt is a phony even by politician standards, but I still felt bad for him when Russert attacked him over his wealth and self funding. Brian Williams also asked him about his Mormon faith and if it would hurt him in the election, kind of a cheap shot. Moderators should ask about issues, not campaign strategy and election demographics. If I was a neocon/country club Republican, I would certainly vote for this humanoid.

Ron Paul: As usual, the least amount of time, the best answers. He got about 6.5 minutes total. He was the only candidate who did not think the Iraq War was worth it, which drew applause. Also willing to think outside the box regarding the economy, god I wish he could have a one on one debate with any of these clowns. Finished strong with a nice answer to questions about him leaving the Republican party, all his answers are worth seeing here.

Rudy Giuliani: He is toast and he knows it. Didn't really go after anyone despite trailing in the polls a few days before Florida. Not even any attacks on Romney. Seems to me he is thinking about his various business ventures and does not want to burn any bridges. He is also incredibly hard to watch and listen to, his lisp and facial contortions seem to have gotten worse as the campaign progressed. Imagine a 30 minute State of the Union address from this freak?

John McCain: Once again proved himself to be a vicious, unrepentant, liar. First he angrily questioned the truth of a statement Williams made about his lack of knowledge on economic issues, the only problem was it was a quote from McCain himself. He also claimed to have won a majority of the Republican vote in NH and SC, despite exit polls showing he did no such thing. Ron Paul's question about the President's Working Group on Financial Markets showed him to be utterly clueless as to what the group was. He tried to recover by muttering something about the Reagan Revolution, and name dropping Warren Rudman, Phil Gramm, and the Concord Coalition. He tried to somehow drag Paul down with him, saying "Ron, you were there", but only ended up sounding like a stoned frat boy who forgot the end of the story he was telling. The fact that this man is considered a front runner is a truly damning indictment of our nation's collective intelligence.

Mike Huckabee: Sounded more and more like John Edwards as he railed against corporations, trade with China, and Wall St. Proposed some sort of New Deal plan to build a superhighway from Maine to Florida with "American steel, American concrete, and American workers". No mention of how this would be financed with good old American taxes. Was given his mandatory religion question, which he answered convincingly, if predictably. If there was anyone out there who does not know about Huckabee's deep faith they do now. If you already knew, then your eyes probably just sort of glazed over. Huckabee also stared at Ron Paul with a bizarre enthralled expression every time he spoke. It wasn't hostile, it was almost as if he had never heard or seen someone speak the truth before. As the campaign goes on I find myself hating Huckabee less and less, probably because it is less likely he will get a chance to inflict his religious socialism on America.

Tim Russert: A deeply disturbed, tuberous creature, Russert's style of journalism is to dig up an old quote, preferably from decades ago, and unleash it on an unsuspecting target. Seems to think that this makes him a tough journalist, instead of a petty, pedantic, know-it-all. He breathlessly attacked Romney over his self financing, obviously realizing that the Republican party has no patience for wealthy CEO types.

Brian Williams: Seemed uncomfortable asking some of the rather stupid questions, perhaps he has some manner of soul? Not a bad moderator, all in all. I almost forgot about the moronic Chuck Norris/Sylvester Stallone/Roberta McCain line of questioning. It was brain-meltingly stupid, and I found myself yearning for the dignity of the YouTube debate.

As usual most of the Mainstream media declared McCain the winner, I believe he would have to actually start drooling on stage to receive criticism at this point. I will be surprised if anyone calls him on his blatant lies and obfuscation on his economic record. I will be even more surprised if anyone even mentions Ron Paul. Most journalists would like to avoid researching what the PWGFM is as well, so better to ignore him and his question. All in all, a pretty bad debate, par for the course in this horrible election cycle.