THE SPIN ROOM IS OPEN!

Posted on | August 11, 2011 | 52 Comments

AMES, Iowa
This is where everybody weighs in with their opinion of tonight’s debate. I’ve got photos, video, etc., but please feel free to cram the comments with your own views.

The view from here? T-Paw was the big loser. He looked weak, and I’m not the only one here who thought so.

UPDATE: Here’s my video intro to the spin room:

UPDATE II: Guess who I found in the spin room? Chuck Grassley!

UPDATE III: Herman Cain in a post-debate interview:

UPDATE IV: They closed down the spin room at midnight here, and I had to go find someplace to finish my Friday column for The American Spectator.

The National Affairs Desk, at Buffalo Wild Wings on Duff Avenue.

And a weird thing just happened. After I hit my deadline, I went outside to smoke a cigarette and phone my editor, and while I wandered around in the parking lot talking on the phone, I saw a familiar face: Rick Santorum’s daughter. The entire Santorum campaign — including Rick Santorum himself — was out on the patio having a late dinner and watching the replay of the debate on Fox News.

Dumb luck? An omen? I dunno. But if Santorum does better than expected in Saturday’s straw poll . . . well, that’s a hypothetical.

For now, the certainty is that it’s nearly 1 a.m. and I’ve got to be up early in the morning. Good night from Ames!

Category: Debates, Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Iowa

Comments

52 Responses to “THE SPIN ROOM IS OPEN!”

William
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:02 am

Sorry, he threw spiderman into his closing comments, I’d say he wins.
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:04 am

I think Rick Santorum did very well, when they actually let him speak! He SPANKED Ron Paul! Of course the tv talking heads are all about Romney and Newt. I doubt anyone on TV will mention Rick Santorum at all, even though he won the debate.
Dave C
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:10 am

Pawlenty is toast..

I think Newt did a good job with the messaging, but flawed messenger..
Dave C
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:14 am

And Rick Santorum layed out a pretty good case for War with Iran..
Frank
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:20 am

This was the vice presidential debate.
The President has already been selected by the American people.
She is touring on her bus.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:30 am

“T-Paw was the big loser. He looked weak”

Deja SC.
John Klepper
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:33 am

Being ignorant, I haven’t confirmed it, but I sense the five NFL games might have had an impact on the amount of the consequentialism, or lack therof, of this “debate” you are blogging about.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:41 am

Winner-Newt
2nd-Santorum
3rd-Cain
4th-Romney
5th-Bachmann
6th-Pawlenty
7th-Huntsman
8th-Paul
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:43 am

i liked cain’s business approach to solving america’s debt problems. but pawlenty was right about the abortion issue though. still voting Cain ’12
tigerinexile
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:46 am

Romney maintains his lead, and finally sounded reasonable with his 10th amendment answer.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:52 am

The tenth amendment has been his excuse for Romneycare for a good while now.
PhilipJames
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:54 am

Thank Goodness Perry and Bachmann Got Re-Elected Last Year, Right?

Can you imagine either of those two running for president if they hadn’t just been re-elected to their current jobs, aided in part by Gov. Palin, who made personal appearances in their states drawing between 8,000 and 11,000 people and raising hundreds of thousands for their re-election coffers?

Me neither.

And just for kicks, shall we just take a little trip back down memory lane — to last year — as Kay Bailey Hutchison threatened Perry in Texas and Nancy Pelosi made Bachmann enemy #1 in Minnesota? Shall we?

April 2010

More than ten thousand conservatives flocked to the Minneapolis convention center Wednesday afternoon for a rally on behalf of Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was joined by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, two heroes of the Tea Party movement. Though the rally was for Bachmann’s reelection campaign, the controversial Minnesota lawmaker was the warm up act for Palin …

July 2010

Rep. Michele Bachmann pulled in a whopping $1.7 million for her campaign in the second quarter of this year … Bachmann was the second-best fundraiser in the House during the first quarter. Her second quarter more than doubled it.

[T]oday, Bachmann penned a piece in Politico demonstrating that she knows exactly who’s responsible for the avalanche of cash into her coffers:

It is important to recognize Palin’s effect on our fundraising numbers. Our successful fundraising is due, in part, to the fact that she dedicated her time and efforts to come to Minnesota in April to help my reelection campaign. … As to my campaign’s fundraising, I know House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has a very different plan for my life — something other than serving in the House. Pelosi is no small threat.

This is why Palin graciously agreed to make me one of the first 2010 candidates for whom she campaigned.

Just to be clear, the Pelosi plan for Bachmann not serving in the house, is different than the Bachmann plan for not serving in the house. Two different plans for not serving in the house. I hope that clears up any confusion.

But let’s hear from the other Palin endorsee, Perry, shall we?

Feb. 2010

“I have a lot of faith in the Lord. I hope he’s gonna let me live for four years and if he does I’m gonna serve out my governorship,” Perry promised in a debate with Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

Whoops! That was the wrong out-take! Forget you saw that! Because Perry certainly did.

Feb. 2010

On Super Bowl Sunday, Rick Perry handed the ball to star runner Sarah Palin, who joined the governor’s team in bashing big-spending Washington.

She urged the crowd to stick with Perry as someone whose conservative policies are succeeding, but she also received a huge cheer from the crowd of about 8,000 when she said she’d heard some mention of Texas seceding.

The Berry Center outside of Houston was filled with an enthusiastic crowd – most supportive of Perry, but ecstatic for Palin.

Faye Roberson of Friendswood said she wouldn’t stand in line for 90 minutes in the cold weather on Super Bowl Sunday for just anyone. And that includes Perry, whom she hopes wins, but, “Most of us wouldn’t be here just for him.”

Perry did try to warm up the crowd by yelling and gesturing with high-amp energy. His speech was almost a complete berating of Washington-style government.
[…]

But it was Palin who brought the crowd to its feet. Her speech was filled with comparisons between her home state and Texas.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:55 am

He did good, but the one that really kicked ass was Newt.
Deetz
August 12th, 2011 @ 4:16 am

Stacy,

Self-deprecation has it’s privileges.

tD
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 4:49 am

And it still doesn’t pass the smell test. If a state can make you buy health insurance it can take your guns and restrict your speech.
Charles
August 12th, 2011 @ 5:21 am

That was true before the 14th Amendment.
Joe Detweiler
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:43 am

I’m only posting here to see if I can remember who I am on this site. There are far too many Login options for feeble minded folks like myself.
Joe Detweiler
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:44 am

OK….that wasn’t too hard. One of these days I’m gonna buy some memory.
BillF
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:47 am

I wonder if I can get me one of those little pictures….
BillF
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:49 am

Damn it. Now I’ve changed my name again. I guess I’m a sock now.
Joe Detweiler
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:52 am

Sorry…I’m really not trying to be obnoxious….
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 8:11 am

Just checking…..
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 10:04 am

Keep it coming Stacy, linked at RR

Gipper vs Flipper: Mitt Romney and ‘The Most Dangerous Myth’
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 10:18 am

Newt did kick some ass up there, but I don’t want to like him.
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 10:37 am

Stacy, I think it is a good “sign” that you ran into the Santorum family afterward. I think he’s going to do a lot better going forward than most people could even guess. Thank you so much for writing about him both here & at AmSpec, so few pay him any mind and they will come to regret it. You, as always, are ahead of the curve.
Datechguy was right in his Conservatory piece the other day, you are invaluable, we are so blessed to have you on OUR side!
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 10:41 am

I had several DISQUS profiles for a while, all with versions of my current username & the same photo, it was confusing when I got logged out of places. Then one day while I was in my DISQUS dashboard to moderate comments to my blog, the thing asked me if I’d like to merge my DISQUS accounts! There should be a way that you can consolidate yours too. This link should get you to the dashboard where you can tinker with your profiles:
http://disqus.com/dashboard/
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 10:41 am

I had several DISQUS profiles for a while, all with versions of my current username & the same photo, it was confusing when I got logged out of places. Then one day while I was in my DISQUS dashboard to moderate comments to my blog, the thing asked me if I’d like to merge my DISQUS accounts! There should be a way that you can consolidate yours too. This link should get you to the dashboard where you can tinker with your profiles:
http://disqus.com/dashboard/
postaldog
August 12th, 2011 @ 11:29 am

I don’t know why people are so easily seduced by Newt. He’s the definition of a Washington insider. It doesn’t matter that he articulates intelligent positions, he’s a go along to get along polititician. He’ll be deal making and selling out all over the place just to claim political victory if he’s President. He makes a better advisor.
I thought Santorum came off way better than I expected. His hard line approach on abortion will stop him from getting the candidacy — most pro-life people believe in some exceptions. But you have to give him points for having the guts to speak publicly about his stance without equivicating.
Mittens was still Mittens, Ron Paul is still a freekin’ nut bag, Bachman did well but didn’t jump out, T-Paw & Huntsman – meh.
» No, I did not watch that stupid Republican debate
August 12th, 2011 @ 8:01 am

[…] and have been able to read; the debate was quite lively. HotAir has good coverage, as does The Other McCain, with a blow by blow of the Debate itself. Oh yeah, Romney the Mormon Moron ™ screamed at […]
postaldog
August 12th, 2011 @ 12:18 pm

Oops, forgot to mention Cain. He’s a lot of fun, but he shot himself in the foot with the comment about not knowing about some foreign policy thing initially but he knows more about it now. The left and plenty on the right went after Sarah Palin for supposedly being uninformed about foreign affairs. They’ll bury Cain for openly admitting he’s on a learning curve outside of anything business related. It’ll be the “no time for on the job training” meme all over again.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 12:27 pm

Whereas given The One’s three+ years of on-the-job training, it will be only abother 2-3 years before The One will be ready to trade in his training pants for a potty seat. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of such on-the-job training.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 12:42 pm

People say that, but in reality I don’t think it was ever intended for states to have that power. The most they could do was register and keep records of gun owners (which back then would have been practically everybody so there would have actually been little need for that at the time) and arguably to conduct training exercises on a strictly voluntary basis. “Well-regulated militia” means, basically, “well-armed militia” which infers a need for citizens to have their weapons ready for use at a moments notice. Meaning in their homes and places of business. I doubt that the founders envisioned allowing states to disarm their own citizens in the face of the perils of that or any other day.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 12:50 pm

No chance: Gingrich, Ron Paul.

Longshots: Santorum, Huntsman.

Going down together: Pawlenty, Bachman.

Wildcards: Cain, Palin.

Alpha dogs: now, even more so than two weeks ago, the odds of either Romney or Perry are looking quite short; however, Perry could easily flame out, as per RSM’s analysis, which improve Cain’s chances, or . . .

Any chance that there’s an arrangement between Perry and Palin? Perry sticks his toe in the water, Phantom Menace style; they run some numbers; if the numbers are not encouraging, Perry gives way to Palin?
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 12:58 pm

You’re probably right about Newt. I said myself he won the debate, but I didn’t mean to infer from that he should be the nominee. Having said that, if he did somehow manage to win the nomination I would have zero problem voting for him.

I agree with you about Santorum too, he should loosen up and agree there should be exceptions for abortions. A good rule of thumb along those lines is, you shouldn’t be allowed to get an abortion except in the following cases-

1. Life of the mother or the potential for her long-term serious disability

2. Provable rape and/or incest

3. The mother in question is a liberal Democrat or other leftist. Green Party members and socialists/communist/Nazis should actually be forced to get abortions, but since that would probably be unconstitutional, we could offer them incentives. Or we could take a more moderate stance and simply snatch their kids from them.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

As far as I’m concerned the only thing a candidate needs to learn to be an adequate commander-in-chief is how many nukes it would take to wipe out any given country and the ability to say the words “Do it”.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 1:21 pm

One good reason to have Cain on the ticket-guess which state has among the highest percent approval rating for Obama. Answer-Georgia. He’s pulling around 47-48 percent approval rating there, believe it or not. If it was to all come down to Georgia, and Obama won that state, and thus re-election, that would just be wrong.
postaldog
August 12th, 2011 @ 1:24 pm

Yeah, short of Republicans putting an axe-murdering Muslim extremist as the nominee, I’d do like last election and hold my nose and vote for whomever they nominate. Because it’s sort of an “anyone but Obama” moment in history right now. But for all Newt’s bravado last night, if he went to repeal Sarbanes/Oxley and Harry Reid threw him some bone on something else to stop him, Newt would agree to sell out his position, then be on television quoting some obscure historical reference to show he was still being true to core conservative positions, yada, yada…
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 1:33 pm

Come to think of it, that’s a good reason to have Santorum on the ticket too. How about a Cain-Santorum ticket. Cain would assure Georgia, and Santorum would probably get us Pennsylvania. I’d want Cain on the top of the ticket though. We need somebody with executive experience, while Santorum would provide that legislative and other congressional experience Cain would be lacking for balance.

Even better would be Palin with, hell, anybody, but I’m starting to resign myself to the idea that’s probably not going to happen.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 2:00 pm

Reid would have to throw one hell of a bone before Newt would back off either Sarbannes-Oxley or Dodd-Frank. It would have to be something of equal or greater value, because he obviously hates those two bills. In fact, he’s the only one that ever talks about them on any kind of a consistent, regular basis.
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 2:03 pm

Hell yeah.
Thus Spake Russ » My take on last night’s GOP debaters, as if the debate had in fact been a Thanksgiving dinner.
August 12th, 2011 @ 10:07 am

[…] night on the TV, but I kept the volume turned down so I could focus on routers. I get most of my coverage from the web, […]
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 2:12 pm

I like it, but reversed, of course, Santorum/Cain because NOBODY else has the knowledge needed to return America to it’s rightful position as the leader of the free world. Cain is painfully weak on foreign issues and he DID recently have a dhimmi moment. Rick Santorum is far more knowledgeable and well versed than any other existing candidate on foreign policy, sharia/islam/jihad, borders, and national security. The only person who MIGHT be equal to or better than Rick Santorum on these critically important issues is Allen West, but he refuses to run.
America cannot survive another islamocoddler in the Oval office (like Clinton, Bush and of course the worst of them all, Obama).
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:00 pm

Newt made some good points last night but he always good points.

Then he betrays them. The man has little character and what character he has is bad.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:02 pm

Romney may have had a legal justification but a healthcare plan that raises costs while providing less actual healthcare, as Romneycare does, and requires Medicaid money from 41 other states to pay for it, is not a sign of a smart leader.
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 3:14 pm

Exactly. Which is why I don’t want to like him.

I like Rick Santorum.

Rick Santorum means what he says & says what he means.

He doesn’t waiver, he doesn’t waffle, he does no flip flops.
Even if people don’t agree with his stand on social issues (I’m not a big social issues person, I’m all about National Security/Defense & recognizing the dangers of islam/jihad/sharia and CRIMINAL ALINE INVADERS), there will never be any lack of clarity on where Rick Santorum stands. You can’t say that about very many candidates – people who base their positions on the issues depending on polls or who is asking the question and change their positions depending on which way the wind appears to be blowing.
Daily Pundit » Focused On Pygmies
August 12th, 2011 @ 12:03 pm

[…] THE SPIN ROOM IS OPEN! : The Other McCain The view from here? T-Paw was the big loser. He looked weak, and I’m not the only one here who thought so. […]
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:21 pm

Zilla-I don’t care whether or not we are the leader of the “free world”. As long as we ourselves are free, that makes us the leader of the “free world” by definition. All I care about is having somebody that will make it plain as day that fucking with us is not a good idea. Fucking with us will, in fact, very possibly result in your country being turned into a nuclear wasteland. Outside of that, let these monkeys do what they want as long as they understand that basic fact. Just don’t fuck with us.

I’m old school when it comes to foreign relations. I mean OLD, old school. Think Rome versus Carthage.
ThePaganTemple
August 12th, 2011 @ 7:31 pm

And by the way, just to be clear. I don’t mind having bi-lateral trade or even bi-lateral defense agreements with any foreign country, even ones that I hate, which is at least ninety percent of them. Its obvious that we need some allies. But this idea that we have to be the great-granddaddy of a wide coalition of allegedly free states is a lot of horseshit. Look at these chimps. I’m serious, where is this “freedom”? They’re all ruled-yes, ruled, not governed-by leftist assholes. Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France. This shit is not my idea of freedom. As far I’m concerned there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them and China. Even Israel is ruled by a leftist clique. I just cut them some slack because they are treated so unfairly by all the others in the face of such unwarranted hatred. But at the end of the day they’re really not much different from any other leftist government.

Let’s see them adopt some real democratic republican reforms, such as actual free speech rights, real rights of self-defense, including but not limited to the right to own firearms, a willingness to pony up for their own damn defense, and a bunch of other things, and I’ll possibly consider them worthwhile for consideration as worth our time. Otherwise, sorry, they don’t have no trouble leading themselves into the messes they are in now in regards their own finance problems and immigration of Muslims, and all their politically correct bullshit. So they can lead themselves out of the pit they’ve dug for themselves. We shouldn’t spend another fucking dime on these leftist asshats.
Zilla of the Resistance
August 12th, 2011 @ 8:07 pm

It’s what I want too, but we can’t have that if we don’t have a leader with the kind of knowledge needed to do it right, and Rick Santorum is the best qualified in the field in that area. You won’t find Rick Santorum hanging out with or making excuses for the Muslim Brotherhood, bowing to despots or apologizing for America being better than everyone else (and yes, we ARE, no matter what the handwringing dickbags like Obama say).

If ONE candidate answered a question about how they handle an attack by another country with “blow them off the fucking map”, I would do everything in my power to help their campaign. The enemy of America is THE ENEMY and no amount of asskissing will change it or mitigate the threat, but bombing the enemy to oblivion damned sure would make it harder for them to hurt us.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2011 @ 9:34 pm

No doubt about it they did not.

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The Other McCain

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