Political Debate: The Morning After
Last night, the most recent Republican debate took place in Columbia, South Carolina - with all of the Republican Presidential contenders, including Ron Paul, present and accounted for. Televised on Fox News, the hot topics for the debate were the economy and illegal immigration, which are the two biggest issues on the minds of voters in Michigan and South Carolina. John McCain came into the debate as the front-runner, after his victory in New Hampshire, while Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee squared-off more than once, particularly on plans for settling immigration problems. Mitt Romney drew chuckles from the crowd with emphatic one word answers and was adamant that voters want change, rather than Washington political expertise. Rudy Guiliani tried to steer the topic towards national security and the war on terror, areas he feels are his strong suits, while Ron Paul did little to add momentum to his campaign. In fact, news reporters commented on his awkward showing.
Probably supporters of each candidate, with the possible exception of Ron Paul, will say that their man did well. It remains to be seen which candidate will take Michigan and South Carolina. I’m not forecasting anything, after the results in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it appears that Michigan is critical for BOTH Romney and McCain. Fred Thompson is hoping for a good showing in South Carolina, where he has campaigned heavily.
While we may not have seen any startling revelations at last night’s debate, I believe the best line of the evening simply has to go to Fred Thompson, talking about his immigration plan. Thompson told voters he has one of the toughest proposals to fight illegal immigration by reinforcing the nation’s borders. He said, “We need to be a nation of high fences and wide gates and we get to decide when to open the gate and when to close it”. Sounds Presidential, doesn’t it?
On the Democratic side, Barack Obama received endorsements from both John Kerry and Jesse Jackson. It remains to be seen whether this will help or hurt his campaign. It’s no surprise that Kerry didn’t endorse John Edwards, his running mate in his failed 2004 Presidential campaign. There’s no secret that during that campaign the two men were at odds with each other over many issues. The snub to the Hillary Clinton campaign brings back memories of Kerry’s complaints that the Clinton’s were not as supportive of him as he would have liked. Apparently Kerry knows how to hold a grudge pretty well. Meanwhile, all is quiet on the Clinton front as Hillary and her advisors plan her next steps carefully before Super Tuesday.
So for now, it’s back to Michigan for the Republican hopefuls.
Tags: Barack Obama, Democrats, Fox News, Fred Thompson, Hillary Clinton, illegal immigration, John Edwards, John McCain, Michigan Primary, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, New Hampshire Primary, Politics, Presidential primary, Republican Presidential debate, Republicans, Ron Paul, South Carolina Primary, war on terrorLeave a Reply
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