The Debate
by Ryan Sager
Thu, 3 May 2007 at 8:00 PM
updated Thu, 3 May 2007 at 8:01 PM
8:00: Chris Matthews is nuts. This should be fun.
8:01: Mitt Romney gets stuck on the far left. Oooo... But Tom Tancredo on the far right makes sense.
8:03: Seconds it took for Rudy Giuliani to tout his record in New York - 1. Seconds it took for him to invoke Ronald Reagan - 5. Awesome.
8: 06: McCain on the Democrats and withdrawal: "What were they cheering? Surrender?"
8:07: Tommy Thompson has a very specific plan for divvying up Iraq's oil: one third to the federal government (the Iraqi one), one third to the states, one third to the people.
8:08: Duncan Hunter says we need to stand up the Iraqi army: "That's the right way to leave Iraq."
8:09: Mitt Romney is asked what to do about the fact that Americans don't believe the Iraq war can be won. Weird phrasing: "If you wanted to have a president that just followed the polls, all we need to do is plug in our TVs and have them run the country." Then: Reagan. "His philosophy was a philosophy of strength."
8:10: Question for Sam Brownback. How do we win the war when every dead terrorist is so easily replaced? He says we need to engage moderate Muslim regimes. "We cannot be weak on this whatsoever."
8:11: Mike Huckabee is asked whether he would have fired Donald Rumsfeld sooner. His answer brings the first full-on attack on President Bush of the night. "I think I would have done that before the election. I certainly wouldn't have said that we are not going to do it and after the election done so. But that's the president's call. Clearly there was a real error in judgment."
8:12: A question for Jim Gilmore. I think the whole nation has a question for Jim Gilmore. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
8:14: Ron Paul is out there calling for good-old-fashioned non-interventionism. He declares Eisenhower, Nixon, and even the Bush of 2000 non-interventionists and says it's good politics.
8:15: Fred Thompson's not in Simi Valley tonight (the elephant not in the room, some might say). But Chris Matthews works him into a question. Fred Thompson says Iran has already committed acts of war, what do you think John McCain?McCain: Iran is exporting IEDs, terrorists attacking Israel, "poses one of the greatest threats to the security of the world. ... we cannot allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons."
8:16: Matthews: What's the tripwire? McCain: "If they acquire these weapons and our intelligence tells us that this is a real threat to the state of Israel, to other states in the region."
8:17: Matthews asks Tancredo whether we help Israel if it strikes Iran's nuclear facilities. Essential answer: yes. He considers a threat to the existence of Israel a threat to the existence of the United States.
8:18: Same question to Giuliani. He says it would depend on our intelligence, but yes.
8:20: Romney is put on the spot about his recent comment that getting Osama bin Laden isn't that important. He backtracks (flip flops?). "Of course we get Osama bin Laden. ... We'll move everything to get him. ... But I don't want to buy into the Democratic pitch that this is all about one person. ... It's more than Osama bin Laden, but he is going to pay, and he will die."
8:21: McCain is asked whether he'd be comfortable with Tom Tancredo as the head of the INS. McCain: "In a word, no." But then Mr. McCain has to get in on that bin Laden talk. "I'll follow him to the gates of hell."
8:22: With Ahnold in the audience, Matthews asks whether we should amend the Constitution to allow people not born here to run for office. Romney goes first. He says with Ahnold there, he'd have to think about it. But he's inclined to say no. Brownback's a no. Gilmore's a no. Huckabee is a yes ("After I've served eight years." -- good line). Hunter is a no. Thompson is a no. McCain: "It depends on whether he endorses me or not." Paul is a no. Giuliani is a yes.
8:24: Giuliani is asked whether he regrets anything about (or learned anything from) his relationship with the African-American community as mayor. He says reducing crime and welfare was a boon to African American neighborhoods as well as to other communities in the city. He credits Tommy Thompson's welfare reform in Wisconsin as a model — easy enough to do with a candidate who isn't a serious threat.
8:25: Romney is asked what he dislikes most about America. What an odd question. He gives the only response possible: "I love America." Panderer!
8:26: Tancredo asked whether he has any plan to solve organ shortage. He seems perplexed. Says the president shouldn't be concerned with this.
8:29: A tough one for Giuliani. Ouch. The candidates go down the line answering the question: Would the day Roe v. Wade was overturned be a good one for America?
Giuliani: "It would be OK."
Matthews: "OK to repeal?"
Giuliani: "It would be OK to repeal. It would be OK also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent. And I think a judge has to make that decision."
Matthews: "Would it be OK if they didn't repeal it?"
Giuliani: "I think the court has to make that decision and then the country can deal with it. We're a federalist system of government, and states can make their own decisions."
The rest of the candidates agreed it would be a good day.
8:31: Romney is asked to clear up his views on abortion. "I've always been personally pro-life." But, he says, he had to struggle with what the law should be.
8:33: Giuliani gets another crack at abortion. He says he supports the Hyde Amendment (prohibiting federal funding of abortion). He says that states should then make their own decisions. Funding abortion was a decision New York City made a while ago, and he supported it there. Other places should come to other decisions.
8:37: Neither Tancredo nor Paul has said anything terribly outlandish or aggressive toward the other candidates yet — is there no Mike Gravel in this debate?
8:38: Romney is asked what he would say to Roman Catholic bishops who would deny communion to public officials who support abortion. He has a terrific response: "I don't say anything to Roman Catholic bishops. They can do whatever the heck they want." Really, pitch perfect. Gets a big laugh from the crowd.
8:44: Giuliani is asked whether the increasing influence of Christian conservatives in the GOP is a good thing. He says sure. But then changes the subject to how important it is to bring in Independents and Democrats. He's right politically, but it probably didn't send a good message to any Christian conservatives watching.
8:49: McCain says the GOP lost the 2006 election by valuing power over principle and spending too much. He runs over his time in a way that's a bit awkward so that he can get in one of his canned lines about vetoing pork and making the congressmen responsible famous.
8:53: Matthews offers Giuliani 30 seconds to clarify his position on abortion. He sounds a lot better than earlier. It's pretty much his usual: He's personally against abortion, he opposes partial-birth abortion, he supports the Hyde Amendment, but otherwise he's pro-choice. It's certainly nothing that would satisfy someone voting only on abortion. But he sounds less bumbling than earlier.
9:00: The issue is stem cells. Pretty much everyone says no to the research. McCain says yes to the research and yes to funding. Giuliani says yes to both, also.
9:01: Romney is asked: Why don't we hear about your health-care plan anymore? "I love it," he says.
9:10: There's a show of hands for who does not believe in evolution. I count at least three hands, by DVR. One is Tancredo. Would need a seating chart to pick out the others. But, wow. Kind of shocking. McCain, at least, gives an unequivocal yes, while adding his usual line that he also see the hand of God in natural wonders like the Grand Canyon.
9:12: Giuliani is asked the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. Luckily, he seems to have studied up. That could have been ugly.
9:24: Schiavo. Romney says Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature were right. But he says Congress should not have gotten involved. McCain says Congress acted too quickly. Giuliani, having given a very confused answer on this case in the past, says the issue should have been left with the courts.
9:25: Another good Romney line. Matthews asked whether it would be bad to have Bill Clinton back in the White House. "You've got to be kidding," he said. What is with some of these questions?
Click here for some post-debate thoughts.
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