Debate Rundown

Tonight was a Fox News GOP Debate. My thoughts on the candidates:

Fred Thompson sounded like he normally does, slow and bored. It’s no surprise his numbers have been tanking since he entered the race. Nobody wants a president who sounds like he’d rather be somewhere else.

John McCain looked and sounded tired. He’s been a great public servant for decades but I think he’s done. There’s so way he can make a surge without a lot more energy. He did however deliver the best quip of the night, railing against Hillary for supporting a one million dollar Woodstock Museum, saying he was sure it was a great event, but that he was tied up at the time.

There’s only one word I can use to describe Mitt Romney, plastic. It’s like all these Ivy League politicians are cut out of the same mold. I have this strange desire to try and rip a mask off his face to see what he really is. It’s possible he could be a great president. It’s possible he could be a terrible one. I really don’t know, because he seems so fake to me.

Rudy Giuliani did pretty well. I think Rudy would probably be a good president in the realm of national security and foreign policy. My problem is his social agenda, or lack of one. In particular if we end up with Rudy as president with a Democrat controlled congress, I’m afraid he won’t stand up to them on social issues, or even use them as bargaining chips in order to get his foreign policy though. He can say a thousand times how he hates abortion, but if he’s not willing to stand up to it, then what’s the point?

Ron Paul stands for what he believes and doesn’t hedge, and I can respect that. Unfortunately he stands for a lot of wrong things. He got a mixture of boos and cheers tonight. He’s doing much better than I anticipated in the polls, but he must know that a libertarian will never get the Republican nomination.

I always forget where Tommy Tancredo stands on illegal immigration, so….

Duncan Hunter? Meh.

Finally, Mike Huckabee. I thought Mike’s answers were great tonight, but like normal he just had too few of them. It took 22 minutes to get his first question, after the supposed “First Tier” got lots of camera time. Never mind that Mike is leading McCain in Iowa and tied with Fred. While the two big dogs of the “First Tier” are at each other’s throats, Mike made a great statement about not wanting to be part of the dogfight. That’s something I noticed about Huckabee a while back. He doesn’t launch vitriolic attacks against his comrades, and no one can find anything to say against him. He reminds me of Daniel, being above reproach. While Romney tries to explain his flip-flops and Giuliani talks about hating something but not being against it, Mike’s position on the issues that matter the most to me have always been clear.

It’s a shame that the evangelicals don’t unite behind this guy. I know why they don’t, they say he has no name recognition and can’t win against Hillary. But what are they going to do? The Republican field isn’t going to get any bigger, and they don’t want to support Mitt or Rudy. Moreover throwing all their weight behind a 3rd party candidate will put a Clinton back in the White House. Huckabee has a perfect record, plenty of experience, and a great disposition. He’s the man that is needed for this time in our nation. If they would just support him, he’d get his name recognition. There’s no reason to dawdle anymore. Perhaps the religious right needs to go back and read a story in 1 Samuel 17, or perhaps they need to read my post below, they may have forgotten just how big their God is.