October 10, 2007
Hotline After Dark -- Law And Disorder
Fred Thompson joins his first GOP debate and dominates the post-pundit talk:
Newsweek's Fineman: "Overall Rudy did himself the most good. And I think it was interesting that he took on Romney, because Romney is still ahead in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. So Rudy, who has a national lead, is trying to now play local politics, going after him in the two states where Romney is still ahead" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
NBC's Todd: "Romney, you know, he mentioned Michigan. He was very careful. He knew exactly where he was. So he mentioned Michigan and drop of a hat had a Jennifer Granholm joke. So it was like, note M for Michigan" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
FNC's Cameron, on Thompson: "He came to this with an awful high expectation in folks thinking that he really needed to knock it out of the park, perhaps falling short of that. But no major mistakes and with Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani going at it hammer and tongue, Fred Thompson took center stage and gets out unscathed" ("Special Report," 10/9).
Politico's Simon: "I thought it was a lost opportunity for Fred Thompson. I mean, he had a good chance to make a strong first impression, I don't think he made it" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
CNN's J. King, on Thompson: "He seemed a bit rusty ... right at the top. He hasn't debated in more than a dozen years but more and more sure footed as the debate went on" ("Situation Room," 10/9).
Weekly Standard's Hayes: "I don't think people were sitting at home watching Fred Thompson saying, that's definitely my guy. But at the same time, I don't think he did anything that made people -- you know, Republicans or specifically conservatives who would say, meh, he's not the guy, he clearly was out of his league, anything like that. So I think he did fine" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 10/9).
WashingtonPost.com's Cillizza, on Thompson: "He did enough. ... As it went on he got more and more comfortable." More: "With these debates a lot tends to be what you looked like as opposed to what you said and he looked okay. He was conversant on the issues. ... He didn't hit it out of the park but he also didn't swing and miss and swinging and missing was a real danger for him today" ("NewsHour," PBS, 10/9).
FNC's Barnes, on Thompson: "It wasn't a commanding performance. He did get a hook, as some people have called it. I am the consistent conservative, he didn't make that point particularly well, but I thought he did fine, particularly at the end" ("Special Report," 10/9).
NPR's Liasson, on Thompson: "He was the tallest candidate, but he was not the dominant one. And I think, once again, Rudy Giuliani was, has been consistently the best performer in this debate" ("Special Report," FNC, 10/9).
THE CANDIDATES SPEAK
Rudy Giuliani was on CNBC post-debate:
On HRC's economic plan: "Don't be sending money out to be people. This is a George McGovern idea. ... This is going in reverse. ... This is a George McGovern idea of sending out money. This is a Walter Mondale idea of taxing people people.
On arguing with Romney on the line-item veto: "The reality is if you're a strict constructionist and you read the constitution, this would be a major alteration of separation of powers that the framers did not intend. You can't have it both ways of if you're strict constructionist. You can't have the constitution come out the way you want it to come out."
Asked why he won't take the no-taxes pledge: "I take only one pledge -- to uphold the constitution of the United States" (10/9).
John McCain was on CNBC post-debate:
On the line item veto: "My one regret is I wasn't in that discussion because I wanted to get into it. I was one of the prime sponsors of the line item veto. ... We've got to have the line item veto. Ronald Reagan wanted it. ... It's got to be done otherwise we're not going to get rid of these pork barrel projects. ... It is a vital tool" (10/9).
Mitt Romney was on CNBC post-debate:
On the line item veto: "The line item veto is the best tool the president has to rein in spending. ... The real difference between [him and Giuliani] is when it comes to the line item veto is that I'm in favor of it. ... And he went all the way to the Supreme Court to take it away from the president. And it was not about a constitutional issue as he said. It was about getting more money for New York City. That's the very reason the line item veto should be there" (10/9).
Mike Huckabee played "Hardball" post-debate:
On Thompson: "Well, I'm glad he showed up for this one. It was good. And I thought it gave him a chance to play ball with the rest of us. But as far as evaluating his performance, I'm not a good person to do that, I'm sitting there trying to evaluate my own."
Asking if his last name is a problem: "No, it's not a problem. The American people aren't that bigoted where they would discount me because of my name. What they want is a president with ideas, not a last name they like. And you know, I'm proud of my last name. It's not a name that's like Clinton or Bush where we will have 28 years of the same family, it's a name that is different. It's a name that resonates with people that had to work hard for a living and know struggle. And so I'm proud of the kind of with blue collar roots I've got. And if somebody wants to make fun of it, they're making fun of the vast majority of America out there."
More: "Well, you know, there's an old thing that says at first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then they swear you in" (MSNBC, 10/9).
Duncan Hunter played "Hardball" post-debate:
There's only two Republicans on Mount Rushmore, Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln, neither one of them were free traders. And the Republican center has always been with the middle class of this country. Right now you've got China is cheating on trade, my gosh ... they're devaluing their currency by 40 percent below where it should be. That means they move a product into the United States and that product is less than the cost of materials alone for an American manufacturer" (MSNBC, 10/9).
Ron Paul was on CNBC post-debate:
Asked if he meant to sound pessimistic at the debate: "No, not all, because what's existing is very pessimistic but I'm very optimistic" (10/9). [EMILY GOODIN]
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