Speaking of “timetables” ... (J/K)
I won’t get into a rant about the fact that we shouldn’t need any discussion of that word if we hadn’t hastily invaded and destroyed the infrastructure of a country that we had no business pre-emptively attacking in the first place ...
Could it have gotten any more petty last night? I am NO fan of any candidate that was on the stage last night, but I’m not so sure that John McCain scored many positive points in the category of ‘looking Presidential’ last night. I’ve seen words like “caustic”, “snide”, “rude”, etc. in the articles I’ve been looking at today.
And as for ‘time equity’ among the candidates, that didn’t exist almost from the start. And I’m afraid that once again, none other than moderator Anderson Cooper is getting the lion’s share of any ‘blame’ being passed around. When, in fact, the two panelists, Jim VandeHei (Politico.com) and Janet Hook (LA Times) were part of the problem as well, focusing their questions towards McCain & Romney.
And about the questions – why are alleged ‘intelligent’ panelists allowed to ask questions that obviously ‘bait’ candidates into the petty scuffling about irrelevant topics during an abbreviated (yet crucial) political debate that we saw last night? What purpose was there for Janet Hook to ask Governor Romney a question about his comments regarding Iraq withdrawal timetables phrased with the preface of “Senator McCain stated ...” – unless she was determined to instigate an aggravating waste of time? I guess the assumption is that the majority of people who watch these debates want ‘political blood’ and those of us who want to learn about policy positions and problem solving details are in the vast minority. But with that said, I already anticipate that this debate’s relative civility will far outweigh whatever slugfest we will have to suffer through tonight with the Democratic Debate.
Below are a few of the article that might be interesting to review – giving various ‘takes’ on the analysis of last night’s debate:
Debate transcript – from CNN.com
Live Blogging the Republican Debate – courtesy of USA Today
McCain, Romney spar before Super Tuesday
Front-runners John McCain and Mitt Romney attacked each other's conservative credentials as they fought for their party's top spot during the final showdown before the Super Tuesday contests.
Accusations fly at Republican Debate
The field narrowed, and McCain and Romney traded angry charges in the last GOP face-off before Super Tuesday.
Romney falls into McCain trap on Iraq
But there was little focus on the nation’s economic uncertainty or the hot-button topics that make some conservatives doubt McCain’s pureness of heart.
McCain practices the role of front-runner (not a pro-McCain article, BTW)
John McCain may be getting the hang of this front-runner thing. You say whatever you want to say, you keep repeating it, and you don’t worry about the details. Straight talk? That was earlier in the campaign.
Four thoughts on Wednesday’s Republican Debate – from Newsweek.com
The Dynamic, the Personalities, the Petulance – and Ron Paul ...
And some pictures from last night’s event – even though I never particularly cared for Nancy Reagan as First Lady, it’s nice to see that she was treated with appropriate dignity and respect:
The next two shots are courtesy of Brian Vander Brug and Robert Gauthier from the LA Times:
The next two are credited to E.M. Pio-Roda and copyright is noted: E.M. Pio-Roda ©2008 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
And the last two are from the broadcast itself – one at the height of the McCain-Romney jabfest, and of course, one (more) of the modest moderator:
Thanks for visiting - updates posted as needed - I think I'll comment about the AC 360° debate analysis from both evenings in one past - either this evening or tomorrow ...
And as Jack Cafferty just suggested to Wolf Blitzer on TSR - let's hope that WB has enough Kevlar with him to withstand whatever will be 'lobbed' onstage tonight ...
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