By Joseph Slabaugh, AKA Mr. Deleted
By Joseph Slabaugh, AKA Mr. Deleted |
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; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; "From left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and businessman Herman Cain stand on stage before first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday, June 13, 2011. (Image: Associated Press)")
From left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and businessman Herman Cain stand on stage before first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday, June 13, 2011. (Image: Associated Press)The most entertaining answer was probably when Newt Gingrich was asked if he preferred Dancing with the Stars or American Idol. Without hesitation, the former Speaker of the House answered American Idol, which will no doubt allow political commentators some playful jokes over the next few days, but these questions and answers offered little substance to the debate.The winner of the night – who was also the winner of the first Republican debate – was Ron Paul. At least a few times, some of the candidates referenced Dr. Paul in their answers, and sounded their best when they used similar rhetoric as the Congressman from Texas. He was not as exciting as he was last month in South Carolina talking about Heroin, but he was able to refrain from giving himself a bad image – something none of the other candidates were able to do.Michelle Bachman got the ball rolling by dodging the first question that was asked of her. When she was asked about Wall Street and whether or not they needed oversight, she instead announced that she was officially running for President of the United States and failed to give any answer to what her position was on the issue. This seemed to be an obvious attempt to shift the focus away from the question and to bring attention to herself, but no one seemed to care all that much.div class="mce_image_container" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; float: left; width: 272px; background-image: url(Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, answers a question during the first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday, June 13, 2011. (Image: Associated Press) Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, left, and businessman Herman Cain share a laugh during a break in the first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate. (Image: Associated Press)Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty both got their share of cheers, but also had some negative moments when their positions were compared to the current President's policies. When Gingrich was asked about healthcare mandates – a position he had flirted with – the former history professor quickly voiced his opposition to mandated government healthcare.Tim Pawlenty, meanwhile, was asked whether he agreed with Congressman Paul about ceasing the bombings on Yemen, or if he sided with the President and his policy of continuing the bombings. Although not referencing Dr. Paul or President Obama, Pawlenty answered by mentioning the September 11th attacks and that if there were targets in Yemen then we should continue the attacks.Although Rick Santorum espoused support for Medicare Plan D – one of the largest expansions of government under the Bush administration – this was not his greatest folly. The former Senator from Pennsylvania simply failed to make any kind of noticeable impact at all. He was truly the forgotten man of this debate, and will surely pay for it in the polls.Congressman Ron Paul may not have been flashy, but his answers had substance, he never contradicted himself, nor did he say anything that might have scared away an entire demographic of voters. This couldn't be said about Herman Cain who acknowledged that he would be uncomfortable appointing a Muslim to his cabinet for fear that they might be the kind of Muslims that want to kill us.Not only did the congressman perform well at the debate, but his ideas have begun to gain more traction among an electorate who are fed up with what they're getting from both parties. He received one of the louder ovations of the night for his comment on two of the wars we're fighting in the Middle East.div class="mce_image_container" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; float: left; width: 272px; background-image: url(Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during the first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday, June 13, 2011. (Image: Associated Press) 