Here are some of the highlights and lowlights that struck me in the Republican Presidential debate which concluded a few minutes ago in Michigan. It was on CNBC, and will be repeated tonight at 9pm on MSNBC:
Fred Thompson: started out almost comatose, and then settled in. But he's fuzzy on most of the issues, and looks like Dwight David Eisenhower on a bad day. His best moment was responding to a pretty good crack by Romney, about the Republican debates being like Law and Order - a big cast, goes on forever, and Fred Thompson comes in at the end. Thompson smiled and said, not bad, and I thought I was going to be the best actor up here.
Mitt Romney: his response to whether the President needs to consult Congress before going to war - Romney said he'd leave that to the attorneys - was one of the lowest points, not only in this debate, but in American history, period. (See Ron Paul's response to this, below.)
Rudy Giuliani: his response about whether the Internet required FCC-like cultural policing was troubling, to say the least. He's not in favor of creating new government agencies, but he might look into it, if the problem doesn't subside. But, what's the problem? No one disputes the need of police to go after predators, on and off line. The question was about the "cultural" problems of the Internet (porn?) and what should be done about that. A better answer would have been: "The FCC is unconstitutional even as a regulator of broadcasters. The last thing I would do is extend its violation of the First Amendment to the Internet." Too bad Ron Paul didn't get a chance to answer that question. Fortunately, Ron Paul did get a chance to respond about the President going to war...
Ron Paul: his finest moment was his outrage over Romney's gibberish about consulting attorneys. Read the Constitution, Ron Paul said - it clearly says that Congress, not the President, has the power to declare war.
You don't need to be a lawyer to understand that. You need to be just minimally literate.
Also admirable was Ron Paul's unwillingness to blindly support whoever gets the Republican nomination - that nominee would need to stop following Bush's disastrous and unconstitutional foreign policy.
It's rare indeed to hear a political candidate in either party speak such plain truth to the American people, and to the world.
Fred Thompson: started out almost comatose, and then settled in. But he's fuzzy on most of the issues, and looks like Dwight David Eisenhower on a bad day. His best moment was responding to a pretty good crack by Romney, about the Republican debates being like Law and Order - a big cast, goes on forever, and Fred Thompson comes in at the end. Thompson smiled and said, not bad, and I thought I was going to be the best actor up here.
Mitt Romney: his response to whether the President needs to consult Congress before going to war - Romney said he'd leave that to the attorneys - was one of the lowest points, not only in this debate, but in American history, period. (See Ron Paul's response to this, below.)
Rudy Giuliani: his response about whether the Internet required FCC-like cultural policing was troubling, to say the least. He's not in favor of creating new government agencies, but he might look into it, if the problem doesn't subside. But, what's the problem? No one disputes the need of police to go after predators, on and off line. The question was about the "cultural" problems of the Internet (porn?) and what should be done about that. A better answer would have been: "The FCC is unconstitutional even as a regulator of broadcasters. The last thing I would do is extend its violation of the First Amendment to the Internet." Too bad Ron Paul didn't get a chance to answer that question. Fortunately, Ron Paul did get a chance to respond about the President going to war...
Ron Paul: his finest moment was his outrage over Romney's gibberish about consulting attorneys. Read the Constitution, Ron Paul said - it clearly says that Congress, not the President, has the power to declare war.
You don't need to be a lawyer to understand that. You need to be just minimally literate.
Also admirable was Ron Paul's unwillingness to blindly support whoever gets the Republican nomination - that nominee would need to stop following Bush's disastrous and unconstitutional foreign policy.
It's rare indeed to hear a political candidate in either party speak such plain truth to the American people, and to the world.
5 comments:
Prof Levinson, thank you for your work in ensuring accurate access to information in the democratic process. We must expose censorship and media bias wherever it exists.
I just read that the CNBC poll, which had Ron Paul leading by 75%, was pulled down.
I watched your classroom lecture and feel as you regarding the media's treatment of potential candidates. I also think they treat Duncan Hunter unfair, as well as Kucinich and Gravel. Apparently Huckabee they don't fear so he's a darling.
Anyhow, I'm not a student just a concerned citizen.
That information was updated and I missed it. I apologize for the misinformation it was unintended.
The link to the poll is here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21209617
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/015997.html
I was a little disappointed they didn't ask more questions of Ron Paul. Guiliani got to talk for hours it seemed. I thought near the end of the lightning round, after most of them got 3 questions, ROn Paul said something like 'Do I get a question?' It was off camera, so I'm not sure if it was him or not. That was a good crack by Romney. Other than that nothing really impressed me. Guiliani used an oft used political tactic of talking over Ron Paul when he was trying to defend his stance about it wasn't a Country that attacked us. He drowned him out, and it seemed to work for him. He's very arrogant. He actually has some decent ideas, and others that are completely irresponsible. He's a huge enigma. Everyone to the right of Rudy, especially Tancredo, are completely insane. Granted, I have no basis for that other than all the guy talked about was stopping immigration. That will solve the world's problems. One other thing, if John McCain was 10 years younger, he'd have a chance. I think when/if Ron Paul doesn't get the nomination, he could run as an independent and make some big waves. That's my 2 cents.
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