Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture

The Debate Wrap-Up

Written by Matthew Lee Anderson | Sep 6, 2007 4:31:50 PM

This morning's reading has primarily been about the debate last night.  Here's a sampling:

Hot Air has some of the pertinent videos.

Hugh has the quotes sent out by the Romney and Giuliani camps.

Time dubs McCain the winner, gives Huck a solid B, and says Romney was mediocre.  Reason to not trust the rankings:  they gave Brownback a B+, which should suggest he said something that would elevate our opinions of him.  But he didn't--he was predictably conservative in forgettable fashion. (Ht: WorldMag Blog)

While a lot of people are high on Huck's exchange with Paul (including myself), Mona Charen of NRO thought it was "not helpful."  David Darlington at In the Agora takes the opposite line, claiming their discussion is "the debate the GOP needs to be having."
David Freddoso analyzes the debate with respect to Fred's non-presence and draws this conclusion:

At best, this debate was unmemorable. At worst, it provided a few embarrassing moments that could come back to haunt the eventual Republican nominee. So maybe Thompson is wise to suffer the criticism for not showing up as the lesser of two evils. It allows him to avoid the ignominy of participating.
Republican faith in Thompson has certainly waned since his name was first floated for the nomination this spring. But as Thompson pointed out on Leno early, no one but Beltway insiders and journalists will remember him for starting off a bit late. His campaign will either take off, or it won’t — either way it will not have anything to do with his no-show.

Still, did he have to flaunt it so much?

“For those who talk about that New Hampshire situation, I’m certainly not disrespecting them,” Thompson quipped to Leno. “But it is a lot more difficult to get on The Tonight Show than to appear in a presidential debate.” As he spoke, New Hampshire GOP chairman Cullen was standing next to the large flat-screen with a group of reporters. He said nothing, but grimaced and shook his head.

Paul at Powerline sums up what seems to be a lot of Republicans feelings about the field in general and last night in particular, dubbing it a "frustrating evening."

Finally, Politico's Jonathan Martin has an excellent summary of some of the difficult questions the candidates faced.