..was great in one other aspect: It was a loaded question that he wasn’t asked. The moderator was ready to move on and Newt jumped in to get a chance at the question. While I still have a lot of heartache over his appearance on Meet the Press a few weeks ago, I thought he did really well last night. I think there are probably people who may be re-examing their thoughts on Newt this morning.

His answers were better than the other speakers and it was obvious that even if he isn’t the ultimate candidate he does bring a lot to the process.

His answers were better than the other speakers and it was obvious that even if he isn’t the ultimate candidate he does bring a lot to the process.

… or at least conservatives. It was on Ted turner’s desk, but that doesn’t mean we cannot use it. “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way.”
It’s well nigh time for Government to get out of the way.

Bachmann Shines. Pawlenty became Mr Gumby. Romney was like a black cat, sitting there staring down Gumby. Gingrich should have used his zingers (and he has zingers!) on Romney – what’s he waiting for? Redemption? Well, he got it…another life left out of 9 lives!

But Bachmann – what a magnificent start! She is clearly smart as a lawyer that she is, articulate, three terms in Congress, Pro-Life, Genuine Conservative! Wow. Michele is Now!

I agree Erick, I always thought she had a lot of possible upside once people get to know her… she’s really quite impressive, and that charm/charisma can’t be taught- a couple guys standing there would kill for that, no need to name names lol

http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/2011/06/bachmann-impresses-in-first-debate.html

I meant to say I disagree that Romney won. He held his own but Newt did come up with some great answers, even though I thought his campaign was dead in the water last week. He redeemed himself. The other candidates had their moments also.

I think last night’s debate was more of establishing a baseline of a united front on who the enemy is. As the campaign goes on, they can start differentiating themselves from the each other.

As for Romney, I noticed he took the moderate road when it came to the question as to whether you would question a Muslim for a position in the Cabinet. His moderate stripe showed, while Newt, Cain and the others laid out their position for all to see.

I think it was a great debate and the GOP has solid candidates. All they have to do is stick to their guns in the face of the attack questions of the MSM and not waffle.

I think CNN was a big loser. Format sucked. King would ask a “do you
still beat your wife?” question on follow ups and then hurumph when the answer passed 31 seconds. Constant reminders that time was of the essence and then stupid Coke or Pepsi, Leno or Conan.

The final straw was the Biden or Palin BS question. Only surprise was that King didn’t have everyone state for the record how they stand on science vs evolution and whether the earth is flat.

Erick’s assessment of Pawlenty is a little of, unless you wanted the candidates knocking one another off this early in the game. I think that CNN might have liked that. But they didn’t. Last night it was a combined assault against the left and the Obama administration. At one point Gingrich winked at Bachmann, and he jumped in to support Cain on the Muslim question. All in all it was a bad night for Obama.

from all debaters, even Ron Paul, surprised and calmed the apprehensions I had over a CNN controlled event. Though I wish the grunting moderator had been moderated.

Each candidate had shining moments and cool soundbites, but Con. Bachmann clearly shone as she declared her run for the presidency. Her gravitas resumé, family centeredness, and her clarity of responses to unexpected questions define a candidate voters of all stripes should seriously sit up and consider.

I’ve been a fan of MB for some time now and didn’t think she would run. Her performance last night was solid. But I have to admit, NG made my eyebrow rise with his statement about Islam and protecting our borders.

It’s good to see the beginning of the 2010 race off to such a solid start for conservatives.

Romney and Perry are the only two “contenders” that are “endorsed” by the Bilderbergers.
Keep that in the back of your mind.

That leaves me with Pawlenty or Romney (in that order).

To my way of thinking, it’s simply way too early to be taking the gloves off and going after anybody else, and that seemed to be the thinking of all the candidates also. Of course the obvious target is Romney as he leads in the polls, but its such a tiny lead and he’s got such a negative resume (Romneycare, the flip flops on abortion, gay rights, etc. etc. etc.) that there’s almost no need to attack him, you really just need to become the alternative to him and you probably end up the winner, and the most obvious way you do that by winning Iowa and finishing second in New Hampshire. As this debate was in New Hampshire, a state Romney is likely to win even if its the only one he wins the entire campaign season, there especially was no need to go after him, just stay positive and give the voters your message. Certainly Newt and Michelle did a good job of that, although Newt has already hurt himself so badly that its hard to see how he ever becomes a serious player again, and Michelle will only become a serious player if Sarah decides not to run.

I agree the race is still very much wide open, I disagree completely that Mitt ‘won’ or even came close to that, I’d say multiple candidates did better than Romney last night. He did hold his lead, which was huge since this is New Hampshire we’re talking about, but outside of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire region he’s still left with very little real support and very little chance of actually winning a 1 on 1 race against any of the other candidates on that stage, or the major ones who are still considering running. I believe that Mitt is the Guliani of 2012, he’s a low level front-runner, due entirely to name ID, and that lead will evaporate once he, and the alternatives, become better known. I’m still hopeful that alternative will end up being Sarah, but whether its her or one of the others, I can’t see any of them losing to Mitt one on one. So a smart strategy to keep it positive tonight, I’d expect that to continue for quite a while, maybe even all the way through to the end of the year.

I thought they all stuck together against Obama, which I thought was really good this early on. Not enough conservatives came out against Romney which I thought they should have done. They all had chances to go at each others throats, but they were civil. They still could have brought up all the times Romney has made an about face.

It wasn’t a dog and pony show like the CNN host kept trying to turn it into. I thought Pawlenty did very well. I’m not sure I get this rhetoric about him not explaining why he said Obamaneycare on Fox Sunday. He explained it very clearly the first time, and even more so when the host asked him the same question again. The host was obviously trying to make something out of it when all Pawlenty said is how Obama apparently looked at MA to model Obamacare.

Bachmann did very well too. Santorum had his moments, but him and Herman Cain seemed distracted or something at times. I expected them both to come out with better answers. After a few of Herman Cain’s responses, I’m not so sure anymore that he is as knowledgeable as I thought. Or he is, but he just doesn’t speak effectively. I thought Bachmann and Pawlenty both spoke well. Newt, Paul, and Romney did too, but out of those three Newt is the only one I would maybe even think of casting a vote for. I think Bachmann and Pawlently tied.

One of the things both me and my father noticed was that the debate was insanely civil…in fact a few of them seemed even friendly with one another. If you watched as it went to commercials after newt’s choice of American idol, him and Bachmann actually had a conversation in earnest, in which both were laughing. At the same time, Pawlenty seemed to tell Cain a joke because he laughed pretty hard. Maybe it was just an act but it seemed more sincere then that, and on top of that, they all listened intently to the other comments. Very civil.

Mitt Romney has a problem that can be summed up in four words that no one will mention, “He is a Mormon.” Fair or not, and I believe it is not, there are simply too many people (including many in the evangelical wing of the Republican Party, that view the Mormon Religion as little more than a cult. It may never be mentioned, but it is a prejudice that will be in many people’s minds when they vote. Best tweet of the night came from Dick Morris, comparing a Republican debate on CNN to a NATO debate on Radio Moscow.

Nobody outside the sycophant media wants this guy anywhere but off the stage. Sometimes I wonder if even the GOP establishment realizes how despised our president truly is. His ability to only bring in 900 people in an arena that seats 2200 last night should tell them everything they need to know.

All we have to do is put up a principled conservative that can stand on the stage with him and look presidential and point out the fact that everything he has tried hasn’t worked. Please, please, GOP, don’t screw this up. I can’t take four more years.

Nobody outside the sycophant media wants this guy anywhere but off the stage. Sometimes I wonder if even the GOP establishment realizes how despised our president truly is. His ability to only bring in 900 people in an arena that seats 2200 last night should tell them everything they need to know.

All we have to do is put up a principled conservative that can stand on the stage with him and look presidential and point out the fact that everything he has tried hasn’t worked. Please, please, GOP, don’t screw this up. I can’t take four more years.

I liked them in this order: Santorum, Romney, Cain, Bachmann, Pawlenty. None of the others even resonated.

You can tell that a lot of her legislation has been posturing for a presidential run. She’s the first one to pass repeal bills for all of Obama’s legislation. That’s nice but those aren’t accomplishments (as 1 Hot Air review noted). That is too reminiscent of Obama setting up committees and vague targets and appointments and calling those accomplishments. I really want an executive. A governor with executive experience. I don’t think congressmen make good presidents. I realize she runs a small business though I have no idea what it is and I doubt it’s the size/importance of the businesses Romney and Cain have run.

She is too Manchurian candidate for me, a lot of political posturing so that she has a nice resume for running for president. The Tea Party caucus, etc etc – these things are nice – I just want an executive with REAL accomplishments. It’s hard for a congressman/woman who’s submitting/voting on legislation to prove they can have the leadership to actually get crap done. Governors are much better prepared. And I think a governor will contrast with Obama much better.

Mitt Romney outright won the debate last night. T-Paw looked meek for not backing his past statement about “ObomneyCare”. Also Bachmann was able to out perfrom T-Paw. Not good for T-Paw. Bachmann will be known as the MN candidate. While t-Paw will be known for now as that other MN candidate.

I really hope Rick Perry jumps in. Perry would be the best conservative alternative to Romney.

I think TPaw is in danger of fading away before the race really gets started. The guy has great advisors and endorsements, but he’s just not much of a candidate.

I went into last night hoping to come away impressed. I didn’t. Instead, TPaw just faded into the background. If he can’t stand out against a weak field, he’s in big trouble.

Right now, I think this is becoming a two way race between Mitt and Bachmann. If so and Bachmann, pulls ahead in Iowa, TPaw is all but done.

I think last night opened the door wider for Perry, Jeb, or Christie to jump into the race. Jeb has tacitly backed TPaw so it must have disappointed him to see TPaw fade into the background.

Regardless, there needs to be a top tier alternative to Romney and there’s not one yet. Bachmann is great, but I don’t see her as the nominee.

I think TPaw is in danger of fading away before the race really gets started. The guy has great advisors and endorsements, but he’s just not much of a candidate.

I went into last night hoping to come away impressed. I didn’t. Instead, TPaw just faded into the background. If he can’t stand out against a weak field, he’s in big trouble.

Right now, I think this is becoming a two way race between Mitt and Bachmann. If so and Bachmann, pulls ahead in Iowa, TPaw is all but done.

I think last night opened the door wider for Perry, Jeb, or Christie to jump into the race. Jeb has tacitly backed TPaw so it must have disappointed him to see TPaw fade into the background.

Regardless, there needs to be a top tier alternative to Romney and there’s not one yet. Bachmann is great, but I don’t see her as the nominee.

Romney was just a polished politician hitting softballs. He certainly gained little additional traction with his doubters. At this point in the process, the viewers of the debate are pretty much confined to activists and political junkies. I’m sure a far number of NH residents tuned in, but most of them have already formed opinions about Romney.

Other than Newt and Paul who are well known to voters, the others did very well for themselves. Even among the politically aware audience, many had never seen the others. All of them came across as mature, thoughtful, adults, who would bring substance to the White House. I think Bachmann did a bit better on this because, as a woman, she had a somewhat higher bar and she passed it.

Newt and Paul were both themselves. Nothing new with either. They changed no minds.

So Romney “won” the debate and Bachmann surprised some pundits. There will be some shuffling, but in the end I predict that Newt will keep dropping. Pawenty, Bachmann, Santorum, and Cain will close some on Romney. The “undeclared” candidates (Palin, Rudy, Perry, etc) will continue to hang on to support.

The next “mover” that will shift things will come in the next couple months as the “undeclared” make decisions and either declare or drop out.

Doesn’t anyone remember that, after the State of the Union speech, Paul Ryan spoke; and then Bachmann spoke and was so much clearer and smoother than Ryan?

She speaks in plain, understandable English and makes herself clear. It’s pretty apparent she believes what she says. And despite the fact that she’s attractive and a conservative Republican, she is intelligent. Surprising? Absolutely shocking!!

In response to the stupid “Which one of these folks would you choose as VP?” which of course nobody is going to answer, I wish Pawlenty had said something on the order of “I won’t tell you that, but I can tell you which one I CAN’T choose: Michele Bachmann.” Then when the gasps stopped remind everyone that our Constitution says Pres. and VP can’t be from the same State.

Although someone might recall that’s why the Cheneys moved back to Wyoming in 2000.

Like the rest of you I am greatly relieved at how quick and informed our side is. Enough of the whining about our field. But who is the best anti-Romney??

I think Pawlenty would make the best Pres but cannot sell it.
Bachmann, a surprise but… maybe VP.
Cain has made way too many serious gaffes last few weeks.
Newt’s baggage should keep him from doing all of that traveling the way airlines are charging these days.

So we are left with Rick Perry. Would he have been as smar as the otherst last night? Sure, on the obvious topics but on all? He would be great for Texas but…the very best Pres for America??

bet that most average American voters did not either. Therefore I hesitate to say that one candidate has soared above the others. Each one will have time to make up any lost ground or lose any gains for that matter.

As to Romney, i give very little credence that he is leading in polls. This is the same meme that was put out in 2008 and he lost the nomination. I do not think that he can appeal to Tea Party people at all in the primary, he is too slick and establishment and frankly not conservative. He will need their support to win.

These same negative qualities will hurt him in the general as well.
Remember McCain in 2008? Romney is the 2.0 version of him.

Bachmann is an articulate and fairly charismatic speaker. The Left has tried to paint her in a bad light, but don’t fall for that. She has displayed an intimate knowledge of Presidential politics, due to her insider position in Congress and obvious interest in the bigger issues. After predicting that she would “surprise” in the debate, my follow-up prediction is that she will be on GOP ticket. Winning.

Mitt Romney comes from central casting to fill the generic President role, so he will usually do well in a debate. He looks the part and generally speaks well, but is he believable on his positions? Will Romney-care, close ties to Wall St, and many flip-flops overcome his movie perfect Presidential appearance? He held his position.

Newt is smart, and a good speaker. He sometimes goes over heads, and his past leaves a slightly slimy feel. He proved he was serious about cost cutting when he called for shutting down all of the unnecessary military bases around the world. Once again though, is he believable on positions? Pretty much neutral performance considering that he was almost completely written off the day before with his staff exodus.

Pawlenty was bullied by the moderator to make him look weak on the Obamney Care quote. Hard to overcome that, unless you can come up with a witty response to put the moderator in his place. He didn’t really overcome that. Fading.

Cain is the nice guy with good intentions, and a good speaker, but as we start to look deeper, he doesn’t seem to have the depth. He sometimes stumbles when it comes to details. Fading.

Paul is another smart guy. Too bad he is a terrible speaker. He gets too excited, and starts to omit words. It’s not polite to age-discriminate, but he is getting old. Starting the debate with an intro on Austrian economics severely limits your appeal. And while the Federal Reserve is to blame for destroying the dollar, and even accentuating some economic/financial bubbles, it is not the sole cause of all bubbles or manias. It is interesting to see the entire field of candidates taking on many of Ron Paul’s other positions. Everyone is talking about reducing the size and scope of government and cutting spending. Newt even took up his call for shutting down unnecessary foreign military bases. Policing and re-building the world is becoming much less popular. He probably didn’t add or lose supporters with this debate, except for the fact that many of his ideas have become mainstream GOP. Neutral performance.

Rick Santorum comes across as much more likable than the Left wing media would have you beleive. They have really demonized him over the years. His positions are generally good, but the media will continue to paint him as the homophobe, and try to make him a fringe candidate. He probably got a slight rise from this performance.

If I was Herman Cain I’d have said “Are you shi#*ing me! We live in a country with the safest and most abundant food supply in the world, and you ask about food safety!

Pump up Bachmann because they think she is beatable. Several lame stream networks called her “a star”. Definitely coordinated messaging. Journolist? You know who they want to tear down. They were especially tough on gingrich and Cain, two people they know will confront them nose to nose.

The RNC or whoever represents the party in debate setup, better get tougher in setting up format. A candidate to tell king to quit freakin grunting would have won me over. Or one that would have said, “America is in trouble and YOU want to waste time asking pepsi or coke?”. Seriously, when will we wake up to realize the lame stream media has declared war and we’re in enemy territory when appearing on their networks?

Overall a good debate showing by all, no clear winners in my book.

Romney was the Al Gore of that debate, complete with inane AGW beliefs and wooden delivery.

All I could smell was slippery, slimy politician from the Romney podium. I couldn’t help thinking “That is no leader. That is a compromiser, a failure; not one dime would be cut from the budgets Romney would sign.”

McCain Lite.

All the candidates did well last night . They exhibited a TEAM effort in the enemy camp. While John king was trying to diminish the Tea Party and get the candidates to attack each other they stuck together to get the conservative message out on a cable network that rarely heard some of what was said.

Gingrich showed his mastery of the liberal trick questions and answered with what HE wanted to message..Strong and tough! Bachmann made me proud of the way she explained the Tea Party as a movement of democrats, Republicans , and independents that know the government spending is out of control. She championed her base that the liberals fear! great job Michelle!

Romney , the liberal media choice (this cycles McCain) served himself well by playing offense rather than defense. He is confident and imposing ….let see how he does when the liberal media tries and Palinize HIM

Cain’s message probably was seen for the first time to liberals on CNN….He was on point and confident. A Team leader and his stance on Muslims was a positive for the people who will vote for him.

The surprises IMO were Pawlenty and Santorium. There message was that of detail and common sense. John King tried to pick a fight over the Obamneycare issue….T-Paw fielded that grounder and threw the guy out at first…..Santorium got his point over on his record of running against liberals .

And God love it that Ron Paul….. is Ron Paul…!! he was left out of the debates last cycle and many in the liberal audience were running for their laptops to google some of what he said……To see and hear the conservative message from this TEAM of players was uplifting. Ron Paul is just what we need in this country to turn it around quickly …..he may just be too much medicine for the dipshidiot electorate.

Their opponent got his ass kicked….and that is the COnmander in Chief himself ….Barrack Hussein Obama …the one term WORST President in American history! The theme of the night……Obama has failed and any one of us will turn this country back toward success

Seriously, people. We don’t pick our presidential nominee by who looks better, talks better, holds his/her own or has composure. We pick them by their policies and our trust in them. I don’t care how well Romney is composed or if he looks presidential. I will NOT vote for a primary candidate who supports state run health care, thinks there is man-made global warming and has the arrogance to talk about when he’ll be debating the president. We need to keep out eye on the ball – substance over style. And as much as I like Bachmann, she couldn’t stop talking about herself which I found embarrassing and quite disappointing. With a few differences between them, it’s going to come down to who we trust not to sell out our Conservative values. At this point, my short list is Cain, Bachmann and Santorum. Don’t trust the rest of them as they have already sold us out in the past. I think they all need to take a page from Newt and talk about the importance of winning the Senate. They also need to talk more about the unconstitutional power grabs of the government through the EPA, NLRB and other agencies. I also think for them to hang their hat on how the economy will be in November of 2012 is pretty ridiculous. I fully expect Obama to pull out whatever rabbit he has in his hat to get re-elected. Our nominees need a balance approach to being president – good economic ideas, foreign policy ideas, immigration reform ideas, etc.

The clear winner in the NH debate was the Republican party. The debate showed that it is the Republican Party and not any other option is the only way out of the mess this country is in.

Other winners…. Paul Ryan, each and every candidate (except Newt) backed his plan, even Ron Paul who may believe that it doesn’t go far enough.

The American people who can now feel a little better that through conservative principles this country can get our swagger back.

The people of New Hampshire. maintained their independance and “live free or die” belief in states’ rights.

Big Looser … clearly OBAMA!!!

What the Dems saw in the debate.

via Drudge, from:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/06/obama-campaign-sends-around-misleading-dnc-video-on-gop-debate.html#tp

excerpt:
But President Obama’s 2012 campaign is sending out a DNC video suggesting the candidates spoke only about sharia law, an anti-gay-marriage amendment, repealing health care, Sarah Palin, and the space program.

“You should watch this,” says campaign manager Jim Messina in the email to supporters, “if you or anyone you know is wondering where the leading GOP candidates want to go, this clip makes it clear. The first big Republican debate last night was like a time machine. They want to go back to the failed policies of the past that caused the economic crisis in the first place. They want to go back and reopen every settled debate that they’ve lost over the last few years — on the health care law, on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and on reforming Wall Street’s abuses. They even want to turn back the clock and end Medicare as we know it.”

I wonder if Dems are trained to distort, or if it comes naturally.

is a person I do not want to see or hear again. Why did republicans allow cnn to sponsor them. Regarding king, I was wondering what the grunting was and where it was coming from, until the unkingly grunter showed himself. Romney and Bachman did very well, despite having to answer inane questions from the grunter.