Just done watching the Republican presidential forum on Fox News Channel http://FoxNews.com and here are some observations.
Firstly, it is great that Fox finally said enough is enough and said no to the Art Bell candidate, congressman Ron Paul of Texas. Because of that, we heard a lot from the serious candidates for president in the Republican party.
The format was even closer as each candidate sat next to each other as if they were at a sporting event, a movie, or a concert. It worked well and I do not know how the seating arrangements came about, but who ever put Sen. John "F--- You" McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney next to each other must have a sick sense of humor.
Another thing was that there was no audience to get in the way. Just Fox News anchor Chris Wallace asking the questions and the five candidates, Sen. "F--- You" McCain, Mr. Romney, former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson, The Rev. Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The forum itself was great.
Sen. "F--- You" McCain was on his best behavior, but still unable to weasel out of his support and pushing the so-called "comprehensive immigration reform" bill-scam. Also, could not justify why one of the most inside Washingtonians as he is would be the best agent of change within the Republican presidential field. Saying that he changed the course in the Iraq theatre in the War Against Islamofascist Terror is not enough.
Fred Thompson may not be electrifying, but he is the one candidate who says what he means, explains his positions in simple English and basically lets it all out there. But, it may not be enough in this tough field. I wish he had gotten in earlier.
Rudy Giuliani has some good points to make, but kind of sort of falls short when the subject of middle-class angst came up.
And, one of the correct points the Rev. Mike does bring up is that there is anxiety among many in the middle class. The problem with the Rev. Mike, is solutions would add not just more to their anxiety, but possibly to their being put on an unemployment line. Again, in the overall, the Rev. Mike is just out of his league. He even looked hostile when Mitt Romney was giving an answer. It is never good to fold your arms and look like you are ready for a rumble, and the Rev. Mike did just that at one point.
And Mr. Romney?
He hit it out of the park and looked, sounded and acted presidential. Mr. Romney had command of facts and even turned the discussion on "attack" ads to his advantage. A winner tonight.
And, if you think that I am just shilling for Mr. Romney, a Frank Luntz focus group of 30 undecided Republican voters more or less agreed and it appeared that Mr. Romney changed some people's mind towards his direction.
So, I think Mr. Romney gave a great performance and may have staved off defeat from Sen. "F--- You" McCain. Mr. Thompson was a good second, but the Luntz focus group did not agree. When you sound like you would rather be somewhere else, I think it shows and no matter how much sense you make, people just do not gravitate towards you. I think that was Mr. Thompson's problem tonight. Mayor Rudy was alright and actually had a good point about the whole discussion of change. He said it depends on what kind of change. That is an excellent point. As noted, Sen. "F--- You" McCain was on his best behavior, but he just does not understand that he is talking to the Republican electorate. And the Rev. Mike? Well, he had a couple of lousy nights and I think that once the results come in on Tuesday evening, we will see that halo drop from the Rev. Mike's head.
And, here is another fearless prediction. It will be Mr. Romney winning the Republican primary and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) winning the Democrat primary on Tuesday.
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