Could this be the last debate of the 2011-2012 campaign? I can only hope. Though tonight’s debate was miles better than Monday’s NBC Florida Debate snoozer, we were still faced with riveting questions like “Why would your wife be a good first lady?” and “will you release your medical records?” Check out a look at the winners and losers going forward:
Winners
- Rick Santorum- I’m not sure that anyone was really listening to Rick Santorum, but if they were he did himself a favor tonight. He demonstrated a breadth of knowledge on foreign policy and articulated his talking points convincingly. Santorum also made the strongest case against RomneyCare that anyone has been able to make over the campaign. He drew strong similarities between RomneyCare and ObamaCare, and though Romney tried diligently to distance himself from the President’s unpopular policy, that’s an argument he’ll never win. The problem Santorum runs into is that he’s got virtually no money, making it very difficult for him to capitalize on tonight’s strong performance. If there was any thought that Santorum may drop out before Tuesday’s vote, tonight squelched that pretty solidly. Grade: A
- Ron Paul- Sure he said little of substance tonight, but he sure was likable. Congressman Paul was the much needed comic relief during tonight’s otherwise tense debate. On the subject of Cuba, Paul said his response to a late night call from Castro would be “Why are you calling?” On the subject of releasing his medical records, Paul went as far as to challenge his competitors to a 25-mile bike ride. Tonight showed more than ever that Paul is in this to push his message, not necessarily to move into the White House. Grade: A- (On substance, a C)
- Mitt Romney- Romney came out swinging against Gingrich tonight, and he was mostly effective. Romney’s attacks weren’t focused on Gingrich’s policy, but rather his process. For example, Romney made an issue of a controversial ad by the Gingrich campaign that incorrectly called him “anti-immigrant.” When Gingrich dismissed Blitzer’s attempt to start a confrontation, Romney hit back and said he wished Gingrich would address the issues on the stage and at the rally. Though Romney had a good night himself, his good performance was blunted by Santorum, who was able to paint a strong comparison between RomneyCare and ObamaCare. Romney tried to defend the original ObamaCare, but ultimately there isn’t much he can do to defend the facts. If the polls are right and the momentum was already shifting to Romney, however, this will likely do enough to extend the shift. Grade: B-
Losers
- Newt Gingrich- What Gingrich needed was another knockout a la South Carolina debates, and that he did not get. Gingrich avoided the total flame out that Romney probably wanted and needed, but he didn’t seem to enter the debate with any real “disarm Romney” strategy. I also don’t think Gingrich did enough to dismiss the Freddie Mac talk, only mentioning in passing that his contract with company prohibited him or his associates from doing any lobbying. Instead, Gingrich hit Romney for investing in Fannie and Freddie, which was unfortunate because Romney revealed that Gingrich did too. Still Gingrich, hit high points when talking about Israel and moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a smart move in heavily-Jewish Florida. Another high point for Gingrich came when discussing his relationship with Ronald Reagan, putting an end to all the petty “Gingrich hates Reagan” nonsense. In the end, Gingrich didn’t have the night he needed to and it’ll likely be evident on election day. Grade: C+
Who do you think won tonight’s CNN Florida GOP Debate? Vote in our poll by clicking HERE.
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Category: Politcs
Tag: 1/26 gop debate, cnn debate, cnn debate winner, cnn florida debate winner, conservative, debate gop winner, debate winner, debate winners and losers, florida cnn gop debate, florida debates, Gop debate, mitt romney cnn debate, newt gingrich cnn debate, opinion, republican debate, republican debates, who is debate winner, who is the winner, who won cnn debate, who won florida debate, who won tonight's debate
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Poll: Who Won the CNN Florida GOP Debate?
John Daryyl says:
Ron Paul, nothing of substance? EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS OF SUBSTANCE! Is bickering about things by the establishment candidates, when no real specific change is offered, substance to you author?
Brian says:
I agree. Every time Ron Paul spoke, I felt like I was being educated after being deeducated by the other candidates.
Kent McCarty says:
I said little of substance, not nothing. To say that everything he says is of substance is a bit extreme, especially when he spent time challenging the others to a 25 mile bike ride.
Looking Down on you says:
Kent, People like you really amaze me. The message is simple. Do the right thing. The only thing that Newt and Romney accomplished is to look Dumb and Santorum looks even Dumber. To say that anything these loosers have to say is of substance … you gotta be a retard. I am not a Ron Paul follower but the others are just as big of losers as you are.
BigBlackAndBeautiful says:
How “Looking Down on You” I’ll give you something to look down on.;)
Kent McCarty says:
Well, tell us how you really feel. You’re right, to Paul it is simple: end the Fed, close the Department of Education, stop foreign aid, and just like that the prosperous America of days gone by is back. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. These are great ideas, but where Paul lacks substance is in how we’ll execute. It’d be nice to wake up one day and have the government out of our lives, but it’s not that simple. What I want from Paul is the HOW: HOW will we end wasteful spending abroad, HOW will we transition back to the gold standard, etc. Until then, he’s just a likable grandfather with a great sense of humor and a pile of blood thirsty, albeit devoted, followers.
Messlinger says:
To be fair though. None of the other candidates have talked about “how” they are going to do any of the things they promise. I keep hearing them talking about “getting people back to work”, “creating jobs”, “repealing” all kinds of stuff, but not how. So you can’t really pick out Ron Paul on this particular point.
777denny says:
In the end, isn’t it about how to get results and what results you get?
All big thinkers and shakers are grandiose in their ideas, and many don’t mind telling you about their grandiose ideas. Ronald Reagan had a grandiose idea of calling the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire.” Now the Establishment Republicans and the Democrats didn’t like this idea, but Reagan didn’t want to live with this threat, instead, he wanted to ELIMINATE IT! And so he set out to convince as many people as possible of this grandiose idea, and was able to get elected and build up our military — even through the Democrats’ nasty campaign against this idea with their name calling and frightening people into thinking Reagan was a “war monger.” But Reagan prevailed because he could communicate to the Public his ideas well enough that they accepted them.
Newt Gingrich had grandiose ideas back before the 1994 elections. He wanted to win the House of Representatives back from the Democrats, who had held it since 1952, forty years. He convinced a great deal of Republicans and voters that his ideas were better than the Democrat’s ideas. And what happened? A spectacular, historic victory! His strategy with the content of his 1994 Contract with America propelled the Republicans to a 54-seat gain in 1994 to win control of the House of Representatives, the Republicans only capturing it two out of the previous 62 years. Even the Reagan Revolution failed to achieve that!
Then Newt led the House Republicans in 1996 to their first re-election as a majority since 1928 — an astounding almost 70 years!
And once in power, Newt Gingrich actually delivered on his promises, and maintained a solid conservative record, working closely with Conservative Activist Groups on every one of these issues. He carried out the Contract with America in full, holding a vote on every item as promised, with most of the items passing. Newt maintained a RECORD of unswerving loyalty to pro-life, pro-gun and Second Amendment, and anti-tax issues.
Under Newt’s leadership, the total federal spending relative to GDP declined from 1995 to 2000 by a whopping 12.5%. This equals about one-eighth of the size of the economy in just five short years!
As a result, those nasty $200 billion annual federal deficits that had prevailed for over 15 years were instead transformed into record-breaking surpluses by 1998. They peaked at $236 billion in 2000.
Mr. Gingrich also led enactment of a capital gains tax rate cut of almost 30% in 1997. It went from 28% down to 20%, the largest capital gains cut in U.S. history! And BECAUSE of that cut, capital gains revenues went up a whopping $84 billion higher for 1997 to 2000 than projected before Newt’s rate cut.
RINO Romney ran to the Left of Ted Kennedy, governed like Ted Kennedy, voted like Ted Kennedy and then ran for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination as a Conservative WITHOUT a record of conservatism! Go Newt! — 777denny
GoldenGopher says:
Looking Down on you, people like you really amaze me. This Kent guy really seems to have his wits about himself and you obviously were not watching the same debate as the rest of us. You are probably one of “those guys” that voted for Obama. If you think that Gingrich is anything other than the perfect fit for President then you just need to leave The US of A you imbecile.