Playing it Safe
The GOP debate could have used a bit more combat
Maybe Fred Thompson should have stayed in after all. His droll one-liners might have enlivened what was one of the flattest performances yet from a group of GOP candidates who have done battle on the debate stage 18 times before. Familiarity is breeding contempt—not among the combatants but perhaps among members of the viewing audience.
As the Democratic field has narrowed to a two-candidate contest, the back-and-forth has grown more intense, as evidenced by the sharp sticks Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama poked in each others' eyes last Monday, during a Martin Luther King Day smackdown in South Carolina. But the GOP field has remained a bit more fluid. Florida's crucial Republican primary looms on Jan. 29—a vote which may well determine whether Rudy Giuliani can stay in the race, whether John McCain builds on his past victories to establish a serious head of steam heading into Super Tuesday, whether Mitt Romney can muster Southern appeal and whether Mike Huckabee has a prayer. But instead of taking sharp aim at one another, the leading Republican candidates seemed more interested in getting their licks in against Clinton, too.
If you somehow missed the first 75 minutes of the debate, broadcast on MSNBC from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., thank your lucky stars. Did anyone try to stand out? Not really. In spite of an attempt at serious questions about what to do about the struggling economy, the candidates stuck to their usual talking points, extolling the virtues of tax cuts, endorsing stimulus plans and cutting spending. Giuliani talked up his time as mayor of New York City, again; in a guaranteed applause line, McCain trashed Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere"—four times to be exact. It felt like the film "Groundhog Day"—except for the few mentions of Florida-centric issues like the National Catastrophic Fund, which Giuliani supports and the other candidates are slightly iffy on. (Guess what's going to be the top story in Friday's Florida papers?)
The most exciting moment in the first half hour? A shot of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist sitting in the audience. On TV, he was so tan he looked like an Oompa Loompa.
Moderators Brian Williams and Tim Russert tried their best to shake things up, but the candidates stubbornly stayed on point. Russert tried to nail McCain on his admission to reporters on his bus last week that he was more skilled in military and foreign affairs than economic issues. But the Arizona senator steered clear, touting his experience at cutting spending. Romney dodged a question about President Bush's economic record, preferring instead to plump his record in the Massachusetts Statehouse and his efforts to turn around the 2002 Olympics.
Hopes rose in the second segment, as the format shifted to a round of candidates grilling each other. Yet the segment fizzled. Romney asked Giuliani a rambling question about policy toward China. McCain lobbed something of a softball question to Mike Huckabee, allowing him to explain his support for a flat tax. Ron Paul asked McCain if he'd support some obscure financial-policy group that advises the White House. Giuliani, meanwhile, used the opportunity to remind Floridians of his support for the catastrophe fund by asking Romney if he supported it. He dinged McCain in the process—one of the few times he spoke negatively of the Arizona senator—by mentioning that the Straight Talker does not support the plan as is. "Who's answering this question?" McCain interrupted.
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Member Comments
Posted By: Gina in San Diego @ 03/26/2008 12:27:29 AM
Comment: Disgraceful article. Ron Paul is mentioned ONCE, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay at the end, and HIS name is not in searchable blue type!1
Newsweek, you suck as bad as the rest.
Glad to see that finally (March 25, 2008) you gave the man some serious coverage.
I for one will WRITE-IN RON PAUL's NAME on my ballot in November.
He is the only one with any principles or any real courage. The rest are wannabe moviestars.
Posted By: estebanpina @ 01/30/2008 7:10:28 PM
Comment: After all the toro poop I believe a small amount of levity is in order. While watching political candidates on television, my eight year old grandson asked for an explanation. My first reaction was to go into mechanics of politics but after seeing his innocent semblance, decided an analogy was in order. Hoping to circumvent his attention span I chose the circus. I purposely used words alien to him in order to augment his curiosity. The text however lacks form of speech and pauses considered necessary when attempting to communicate with a third-grader. The discourse was as follows.
Think of it as a circus that comes to town every four years, a spectacle anxiously awaited by citizens of every state, city and town in the United States of America.
The circus is unusual in the sense it displays two animals, an elephant, a donkey and a unique troupe anxious to entertain the masses. The animals are icons for the clique or party each group represents. The show begins when the ringmaster, known as the media, announces the names of participants, be they Republican elephants or Democratic donkeys.
Although lacking high wire stunts and normal apparatus seen in a standard circus, the performers, known as candidates, give the impression they???re doing a balancing act with statements sometimes difficult to comprehend. There are no clowns with costumes or painted faces only candidates performing with expensive garb and makeup designed to thwart something called High Definition. Another interesting presentation is the debates between performers. The verbal interaction is sometimes comical. As the campaign ensues the rhetoric becomes more intense, a truly impressive event to witness.
To add further excitement, a woman and an Afro-American became part of the main attraction. Another event worth mentioning is when members of each group turn against each other. The traditional spectacle is necessary to select the best person to lead each clique. The circus travels throughout the U.S. with elephants and donkeys seeking acceptance from the public. Most get discouraged and drop out. After this the elephant and donkey groups meet in separate enclosures where they convene to select combatants for the main event. The grand and final spectacle occurs when everyone gets together to vote in November. After the votes are counted the media gets to announce the next President of the United States.
What???s that grandson, what animal do I prefer to ride? A donkey of course, elephants tend to weave from left to right and confuse people.
Posted By: bigbrewhaha @ 01/28/2008 1:02:10 PM
Comment: sarcasm bryce...., huckabee is a joke.