Thursday night’s Republican presidential primary debate in Sioux City, the last before votes are cast next month in Iowa, played out as a microcosm of the current race. As his rivals’ attack ads are beginning to chip away at Newt …
Debates
Gingrich Emerges Mostly Unscathed From Pivotal Des Moines Debate
In a crucial Saturday night debate that marked the beginning of the final, frantic sprint to the Iowa caucuses, Newt Gingrich weathered an onslaught of attacks from his Republican rivals and emerged relatively unscathed, …
All Eyes on Des Moines as GOP Candidates Head Into Crucial Debate
All year, debates have been the fulcrum of the GOP presidential primary race. But the pair of Iowa debates over the coming week, beginning with Saturday night’s in Des Moines, will be the most pivotal yet, as the candidates gear …
How GOP Debates Democratized the Presidential Race
If you’ve grown numb to the gaudy, glittering spectacles that are this year’s televised presidential debates, there’s a reason. Last Tuesday’s Republican forum on CNN was the 11th of 2011, or the 12th if you count a South Carolina gathering last spring that drew just five participants. At this point four years ago, both the Republican …
What You Missed While Not Watching the GOP National-Security Debate
0 minutes. They call it a campaign, but it’s really a reality-TV show with eight contestants who compete for nearly a year. Each week or so, they get on a stage and are prodded to attack each other, equivocate and regurgitate …
Debate Deja Vu: Newt Gingrich Faces Familiar Immigration Quandary
At times, Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate on nation security gave the unmistakable sensation of deja vu. The audience was culled from major conservative think tanks in Washington and familiar faces from the George W. Bush era such as former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, ex-speechwriter Marc Thiessen and …
The Snooki Effect: Why the GOP Debates Now Matter Less
The Republican Presidential candidates will gather tonight for their eleventh televised debate, and as usual the media mob is teeming with predictions and storylines to watch. I can’t help but wonder if the power of debates has …
On Foreign Policy, the Republicans Fumble Their Way
After a long series of Republican debates that focused almost exclusively, and rather predictably, on domestic policy–repeal ObamaCare? check. No new taxes? Check. Stimulus failed? Check–last night’s CBS debate devoted to …
The Republican Debate: Reverse Stockholm Syndrome
Yes, yes, Rick Perry….uh….what was I going to say……about…..Rick…..uh….oh, I remember! Those of us who have achieved a certain, ah, maturity can certainly sympathize with the Texas Governor’s aphasic moment, although the Republican electorate can’t afford to be so kind–there is, I suspect, zero chance that Republicans will …
What You Missed While Not Watching the CNBC ‘Oops’ Republican Debate
0 minutes. The beat calls to mind Queen and the boom-boom-chick of “We Will Rock You.” It’s CNBC’s way of setting the mood: a deep-voiced narrator. A video montage of struggling Detroit. The grim facts of American decline. …
‘Oops’: The Most Memorable Moment of the GOP Primary
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zUA2rDVrmNg]
Watching Rick Perry fail to recall the third part of his own answer in tonight’s debate was like seeing a thoroughbred get euthanized on the track after a fall. It was shocking, grisly and impossible to look away. Seems like the race is over for this horse.
Election 2011: A Victory for the Silent Majority
Rochester, Michigan
I’m out here for the deathless drama and schoolyard hijinks that attend each and every Republican debate and, wandering the spin room, I came upon NBC’s Chuck Todd who made a very good–and sort of flattering–political point: last night’s election results reaffirmed the mood that I encountered on my recent road …
What to Watch for at Tonight’s Republican Debate
For all the carping about how there are too many Republican presidential debates, I’m actually looking forward to No. 11. It’s been more than three weeks since the gloves came off in CNN’s Las Vegas debate and the field has …