You Tube Debate: Mismanaged and Unproductive

Democrats run away from a Fox News hosted debate because of "bias" but Republicans participate in a CNN You-Debate hosted by none other than Anderson Cooper in which proponents of Hillary, Barack and John Edwards are chosen to ask questions of the Republicans. Does this sound right to you? Why aren't republican voters chosen as question-askers? It is the republican primary the candidates are campaigning for after all.

Oh, and then you have Anderson Cooper and CNN not doing the slightest bit of research on the questioners... Major Garrett reported on Fox this morning that a simple Google search tells you that the democratic questioners are supporting the respective candidates. Hmm.




And then there's the fist-fight that almost broke out.

Did anyone else notice that when Huckabee wanted to respond to Romney's accusations and ask Romney to allow him a chance to respond, Romney let him. But when it Romney's turn to respond, Huckabee wouldn't let him finish. Interesting.

And as for those of you who think Romney just says what will get him elected or that he doesn't answer the questions... let me remind you of this:

1. Huckabee constantly refers to his Christianity
2. Rudy's answers always come back to:
"George Will said I ran the most conservative government" (too bad the American Conservative Union endorsed Romney)
"I cut taxes 23 times"
"crime went down"
and "9/11."
3. Fred Thompson's wife is really the one running
4. Duncan Hunter only talks about the fence he built
5. Tom Tancredo focuses on immigration
6. McCain relies on his military service
7. Ron Paul is all about pulling the troops out of Iraq

Oh, and when Romney responded to the ad by Thompson, Romney at least gave a humble answer: "I was wrong." And he expanded to say that when it came time to make executive decisions about matters of life, that was when he sided with life. Not when he decided to run for president.

Anyway, the candidates have to say what they want to say during the short amount of time they have to say it because there are too many people running. Half of the candidates on the stage (Thompson, Hunter, Tancredo, McCain) shouldn't be wasting our time. If there were less people participating in the debates, there would be more time for substantive answers to the question at hand.

Oh, and why were Giuliani and Thompson placed in the middle? Does CNN not know that Huckabee, Giuliani and Romney are the 3 leaders?

Welcome!

Well, this is my first venture in to the "blogosphere," but hopefully this project will turn out okay.


So, the first topic:

Tonight's Republican Presidential Debate in NH.

a few of thoughts...
1. On the issue of immigration, the candidates agree that illegal immigration is a problem, but they all seemed to have different ideas as to how to go about fixing the problem. I found this refreshing, especially because of all of the back-patting that many of the candidates did with regard to John McCain and his position on the war and his experience in the military. However, I wish there was more discussion and academic debate amongst the candidates as opposed to finger-pointing and opponent bashing. Many of them had strong ideas, but in order for anyone's idea to come to fruition, the idea needs to be fully thought through and all options should be studied. I'm not saying that any one candidate hasn't done his research, but it seemed that most of them were anxious to attack instead of being open to other insights.

2. Although Fred Thompson chose not to be a part of the debate, a statement of his regarding crime in NYC was brought up. Giuliani responded by saying that Thompson would be "safer in NYC that in Boston," a blatant attack on Romney... but why? Every answer Giuliani gives, whether it is regarding crime or not, somehow strays to how he reduced crime in "the most dangerous city." So why did he find this to be an opportunity to attack one of his opponents? It seemed to me that Rudy did a lot of attacking, and I suppose as the "national front runner" he may need to from time to time. But I found it interesting that the people he attacked the most were his closest competitors. He kissed up to John McCain, even going so far as to say that he himself would support McCain if he (the self proclaimed best candidate)were not in the race. But McCain's ship is sinking... he can't raise money, he's falling behind in the polls and one of his most steadfast supporters in Florida has even moved on to other candidates (including Rudy and Fred.)

3. How interesting was it when people in that restaurant asked questions to the candidates? This opportunity allowed NH primary voters to show their support, or lack thereof, of particular candidates and also to ask questions that they, the voters, want answered. This situation could have also given a unique insight into the minds of voters, other than what the media outlets tell us is on the voters' minds. However, I have to wonder if the questions were screened? One NH police officer let Romney know that he and his wife were highly offended by Romney's comparison of his sons working for his campaign to those who serve in the military. However, Romney had already apologized for this misstatement. I'm sure that the man and his wife were offended, but why was he put on camera? The same goes for the Poly Sci student who questioned Rudy's family life and said that Rudy's family was not of the same quality or standard as Mitt's. Why this question? Is the media actually in tune with the voters, or are the voters' minds conformed by what the media tells them they should be concerned about?

On a closing note, I leave you with this:

The course of the 2008 election will most definitely be amended because of new media (blogs, youtube, cameraphones...) For example, a huge disappointment for Senator Brownback (and his few supporters) was unveiled to the public via internet... but would as many people know of this event if it were not for www.drudgereport.com? I think not.

Link to the Brownback picture: http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070904/480/5ca0cf5624ad4cb59c18a7e2ebe0f469

Questions, Comments, Concerns welcome.


Until next time...