Mitt Romney Wins Wednesday Night Debate
There was much riding on the performances for each of the four Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for president when they gathered center stage in Arizona. Perhaps no one had more riding on a powerful performance than Mitt Romney. With a solid command of the facts, and a strong appearance of acting like the party nominee Romney came out of the debate as the winner.
While I have severe differences with Rick Santorum, and find him more on a religious crusade than on a quest for the White House, I still can view politics and this debate in an objective way. Since there is no way Santorum can win the general election with the positions he is staking out on a whole host of cultural issues that seem more fitted for 1959 than 2012, he needed to score with a more populist and economic driven message. While he attempted that his responses fell flat and never soared off the stage, and over the airwaves where they needed to land.
It was my sense that Santorum was caught time and again trying to defend his past votes and actions for ‘big government’, and then try to put them in some context with his current political statements aimed at wooing voters. It made for awkward moments, and even elicited boos from the conservative audience.
The way Romney was able to pivot on attacks by Santorum over receiving federal dollars for the Olympics, and show the clear-headed response about the rationale for the funds, made Santorum look weak and unprepared for the obvious answer. That question set the tone for the night.
Romney was able to score debating points without coming across as mean-spirited. He looked like a presidential nominee, and his money, organization, and establishment support across the nation will, in my estimation, allow him to achieve that.
Santorum had to shine in this debate to win, but there was nothing stellar about his debate performance that would indicate he did anything to move the ball forward for his campaign.
I suspect this makes Romney more secure for the Michigan Primary.
The one funny, and truly out-right lie that was told from the stage Wednesday night was when Newt Gingrich described himself in one word as “cheerful”.
And I am a conservative.
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I see that everything that’s wrong in the world is due to the unions, according to the Mitten. We’ll see if the union members, other dems, and independents vote in the open primary to push Santorum over the top. Obama’s superpac is targeting the Mitten too. Another dynamic is if the UP and out-state voters, more socially conservative show up. But never forget, the Mitten loves Michigan, and it’s just right height trees, and the lakes, not just the Great Lakes, but the little dumpy inland lakes too. Can anyone say Asperger’s syndrome?
1959? How about 16th century.
And I am a marigold. But you’re correct, Mitt won last night’s debate. He put Santorum back on his heels. You know the old political maxim as well as I: If you’re explaining, you’re losing.