POST-DEBATE SPIN ROOM

Posted on | January 7, 2012 | 30 Comments

MANCHESTER, N.H.
The Triumphant Victory of Rick Santorum™ was not acknowledged here at RINOCon — as I’ve dubbed the National Review Romney GroupHugFest — and that’s OK. We don’t expect these elite snobs to recognize such things.

Think about this: Santorum is the hot new “Not Romney” candidate and yet he was not attacked during the debate, except by Ron Paul. I expected Rick Perry to attack Santorum, and he didn’t. So I think not losing was a victory. But here at RINOCon — where the NR guys have gone totally squish — the failure to win was counted as a defeat.

Hey, I’ve seen the surge. Exactly how far that surge can go, I don’t know. But for the NR guys to declare pre-emptively that it is futile, and that we must therefore all cheerfully roll over for Romney, strikes me as the opposite of wisdom and the opposite of courage.

But that’s just me, and I’m feeling kind of cranky tonight. What the hell was this, the Big Gay Debate starring “Phil from Virginia”? Why are we letting George and Diane moderate a Republican debate? How drunk was Diane Sawyer tonight, huh?

Anyway, Donald Douglas at American Power has video and links. More at Fire Andrea Mitchell. Go ahead and add your opinion in the comments.

Category: Debates, Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in New Hampshire, New Hampshire

Comments

30 Responses to “POST-DEBATE SPIN ROOM”

Bob Belvedere
January 7th, 2012 @ 11:54 pm

I want me some of what Diane’s taking.
richard mcenroe
January 7th, 2012 @ 11:55 pm

Red Bull and Nyquil!
Anonymous
January 7th, 2012 @ 11:56 pm

A word of advice to Gov. Huntsman: Answer in English, not Mandarin.
Anonymous
January 7th, 2012 @ 11:57 pm

She definitely seems to be well lubed.

I have to say I enjoyed Mitt slapping George around.
richard mcenroe
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:03 am

Santorum did well tonight, especially with that wretched little Chuckie doll chewing on his ankle. Loved the microphone line, fast and perfect. Perry was better than I’ve seen him, and suggests that the big-deal Texas Governor may actually be in there somewhere. I’d find a Santorum/Perry ticket real interesting.

Mitt, well, the whole night was about keeping everybody off Mitt and the moderators did their best. They were more successful at that than they were at keeping the candidates off topics unfavorable to Obama, and it was about time they did some more stepping on the moderators.

Newt — well I twitted Newt on his first couple weasel words and evasions, then it got old, as did Newt. In true Gingrich fashion he played the macher all night and then slapped himself with the sports blunder. Kinda metaphorical for his Speakership, actually.

Huntsman, well… I actually felt a rare bit of sympathy for him the last couple of days, what with strange cracker journalists hanging around his daughters, but… what is the point, exactly. If the others are the not-Mitts he seems to be trying to be the MORE-Mitt.

Paul, well… Paul’s a crapweasel, a humunculus, a Chuckie doll with funding. Compared to him, Newt is a Calvin Coolidge of probity. Scroom.
Donald Douglas
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:05 am

Thanks Smitty! And I’ve got a new post: ‘Candidates Reject Gay Marriage at GOP Debate in New Hampshire’.
Who Won Tonight’s ABC New Hampshire GOP Debate?
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:12 am

[…] The Other McCain […]
Mike G.
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:19 am

Excuse my french, but this was the worst f@$king example of a debate I’ve ever seen. Diane Sawyer looked and acted like she swallowed a couple of Quaaludes and chased them down with a bottle of cheap Vodka
Anonymous
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:32 am

Mitt the Tepid. Or The Milquetoast Man. Not sure which at this point. He wouldn’t have stood out at all without Newt giving the answers first.

Paul: Where ideology never meets reality.

Perry: How Right is this Party? Not Right enough. He’s so hawkishly Right he’ll needs wings to keep from falling off the platform.

Huntsman: Canned polish with a side of Mandarin.

Gingrich: Fundamentally untested idea machine running at redline.

Santorum: Social conservatism that, actually, did not overwhelm.

Winner: Santorum (and I’m not a fan)
Placer: Gingrich (Patina of expertise hiding actual answers)
Shower: Mitt (Saying little risks little since he’s anointed)
Adjoran
January 8th, 2012 @ 1:00 am

Agreed. I’ve never seen her better!
Anonymous
January 8th, 2012 @ 1:11 am

George needs a sit down on the birds and the bees…
Adjoran
January 8th, 2012 @ 1:31 am

Except for Huntsman and Paul, this debate wasn’t about New Hampshire – a better showing than expected for Santorum could help him, but is less critical – it was about South Carolina, where we may end up with “the” Not-Romney candidate. So I was surprised that Perry didn’t ding Santorum (Newt’s doing a number on himself), or at least try. Still a pretty good performance for Perry, though, without memorable errors.

But Santorum was definitely helped by the favor, as he is the one potential challenger on the rise. Romney also did what he needs to do, if only the minimum, which is defend himself but try to let the others sidetrack themselves (with the help of the panel).

Newt is just not likable, which suits those of us who don’t consider him conservative, although too many have fallen for the brochure. He will drop like a stone just from the couple of days of good ol’ mean, nasty, self-important Newt with the temper of a moccasin we got to see last week.

At the rate he’s going, Paul will be institutionalized before the last primaries.

Huntsman probably has a 10% ceiling in New Hampshire, and about 1% everywhere else. Nice kids, though. All of the candidates’ kids have presented well this time, with the possible exception of Paul’s.
Adjoran
January 8th, 2012 @ 1:35 am

This debate was one more shining example of why we should permit each network to host ONE – and only one – debate, and have our own rules for the rest, with no panel and only a timekeeper.

Our candidates are vying for the most important job in the world. If they can’t conduct a debate without the aid of a panel of hacks without the slightest expertise or qualification, how could they be President?

The media – including Fox – have only gotten in the way of meaningful discussion of issues. Without these panels searching for the “gotcha,” we would mainly be talking about the real problems our country faces from the abject failure of the Obama Administration.
Ui2
January 8th, 2012 @ 3:09 am

Santorum was clearly the intended target of the Gay-Per-View portion of the debate. The moderators thought they were going to get a big gotcha-moment on that subject, and they thought Santorum would serve it up. Gingrich did everyone a huge favor by calling them out. They set up Newt in a similar way in the pre-Iowa debate, by asking every candidate about the importance of marital fidelity, and then ending with Newt (their way of putting the “B” in “subtle”).

The truth is, none of these candidates spend their summers on the beach in Provincetown. None of them wrestle with whether they should say “LGBT” or “GLBT.” To the media, they will always sound tone-deaf on gay issues. So the one-and-only reason for that line of questioning is to manufacture ammo for the left.

I read one post-mortem on the debate that said that Romney looked like the nomination was already in-hand. But in fact, it’s the media that is already way past the primaries, shilling for Obama in these Republican debates.
Datechguy's Blog » Blog Archive » Meet the Most important person in the bar » Datechguy's Blog
January 8th, 2012 @ 4:16 am

[…] Stacy, Mike from Granite Grok and I, joined by a gentleman named Peter who we were debating the issues with, went to the Bar to have a bite and talk more. […]
smitty
January 8th, 2012 @ 9:07 am

Loved the microphone line, fast and perfect.

So, was Ron Paul sandbagged by ABC? Should ABC’s TLA be WTF?
Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup » Pirate's Cove
January 8th, 2012 @ 9:42 am

[…] The Other McCain has the post debate spin room […]
Pathfinder's wife
January 8th, 2012 @ 9:49 am

That microphone line was a pretty good slam; I was impressed.
Pathfinder's wife
January 8th, 2012 @ 10:11 am

But if he were to choose the other Rick as his running mate, then he’d be making a disasterous mistake. Just no, really, no.
George Stephanopoulos Is A Political Hack After All - The POH Diaries
January 8th, 2012 @ 10:16 am

[…] of the more ridiculous moments of the GOP debate in New Hampshire was when Stephanopoulos asked Mitt Romney if state’s should be allowed to ban contraception. […]
Mike G.
January 8th, 2012 @ 10:34 am

The only way she could have been “better” would have been if she had dropped a hit of Purple Haze and smoked a bowl of Opium.
Anonymous
January 8th, 2012 @ 10:39 am

If it wasn’t with a chair WWF style it wasn’t nearly hard enough…
Anonymous
January 8th, 2012 @ 11:25 am

At the very least, these types of questions let the media and the Dems “run out the clock” on letting
the Republicans actually discuss more important matters that might resonate with the public and cause problems for their nominee. At best, it creates a negative narrative about a candidate or party – even creates a flameout. So it’s win-win for them.

You never saw anything like this during the Dem debates 4 or 8 years ago. Every single one was presented as a serious, sober public servant and the questions themselves were designed to minimize their
differences, were focused on letting each candidate highlight their positives, and create a positive narrative for the party as a whole.
» Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:01 pm

[…] The Other McCain has the post debate spin room […]
Why? Because They Are Power-Crazed, Self-Aggrandizing, Self-Destructive, Self-Deluding Poltroons | Daily Pundit
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:30 pm

[…] POST-DEBATE SPIN ROOM : The Other McCain But that’s just me, and I’m feeling kind of cranky tonight. What the hell was this, the Big Gay Debate starring “Phil from Virginia”? Why are we letting George and Diane moderate a Republican debate? […]
Pathfinder's wife
January 8th, 2012 @ 12:46 pm

That comment about going back into Iraq was completely unmemorable and not a significant blunder at all.
richard mcenroe
January 8th, 2012 @ 2:41 pm

Whoever get the nomination is going to face the same problem. Our candidate list is pretty heavily larded up with East Coasters (and the two from planet Mongo). Granted, PA ain’t MA, but the VP is going to have to be someone from the heartland/Southwest or you risk alienating a big part of the country.
Tennwriter
January 8th, 2012 @ 3:39 pm

Its a good point. Of course, we already have Texas The First State in the Union ™ now that Cali has flushed itself down the drain.

The NEastern liberals ought to be happy. We’re at least giving them a guy from their neck of the woods, even if he is a conservative.
Anonymous
January 8th, 2012 @ 4:12 pm

And I’ve got a new post referencing/linking Donald’s post: “The Exact Instant the Santorum ‘Surge’ Ended …”
Daily scoreboard: Debates and football « Don Surber
January 8th, 2012 @ 5:01 pm

[…] 18. From Robert Stacy McCain: […]