February 01, 2008
Hotline After Dark -- Not Quite Fight Night
The Dem debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was the big news of the evening. Here are the immediate pundit reax:
CNN's Crowley: "They both decided going into this that the arguing and the bickering, which really reached a high intensity level prior to coming here, was not going to help either one of them going into Super Tuesday" ("AC 360," 1/31).
Carl Bernstein: "I thought it was a chess game. I thought Hillary Clinton did what she wanted to do, which was to slow the hemorrhage that has been occurring since South Carolina" ("AC 360," CNN, 1/31).
CNN's Blitzer: "The thing that surprised me is that they seemed to have, at least in terms of the body language that I saw up close, a lot better relationship than they have when they're speaking to their various supporters out there on the campaign trail, a respect. I don't know if it's an admiration or what. But, in the end, when I asked them about a Clinton-Obama or an Obama-Clinton ticket, you could see that it was something that was not necessarily all that farfetched than if either one of them thought that that would help ensure their election" ("AC 360," 1/31).
Bill Bennett: "I don't think he really challenged her. ... That's going to be a problem. I think it's a victory for Hillary Clinton" ("AC 360," CNN, 1/31).
CQ's Crawford: "I think a lot of Democrats watching this debate tonight ... are probably thinking, 'That's not a bad team.' There might be some arguing over who's on top and who's the running mate. But I think a lot of Democrats really don't want to make this choice. They'd love it if somebody just said, 'OK. They're going to run together and will be happy with that'" ("Live with Dan Abrams," MSNBC, 1/31).
Newsweek's Wolffe: "I actually think this debate went well for both of these senators, because at heart, they're both really policy wonks. They don't actually deliver the punches that well. They come off maybe as too sharp or too soft. But here in this format, they can talk endless details about health care plans. And both came off actually pretty well-informed and knowledgeable and pretty engaging on the subject" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 1/31).
(EMILY GOODIN)
READY TO MEET MCCAIN
Mitt Romney was on "Hannity & Colmes":
Asked if Huckabee staying in the race takes votes from him: "He has every right to stay in the race just as I do. I'd never suggest he not stay in the race, but I think at this stage, given the success of the campaign to date, it's pretty clear that he's not been able to garner the support that he'd hoped to get. Look at a place like Florida. It's a southern state. Senator McCain and I were number one and number two. He beat me there, but not by a lot. But Mike Huckabee was number four. He's going to keep going. There's no question but that his voters are voters that in large measure that would come to me. That's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm not going to cry about that and wish him well. But I think most people recognize that a vote for Mike Huckabee is a vote for John McCain, and if they want John McCain as their nominee, why, that's exactly what that vote would do."
Asked if McCain is a conservative: "On some issues, yes, on other issues, no. And on some of the most important issues that our nation faces right now, he's not a conservative. And perhaps, more importantly, on many issues relating to the economy, he's really not somebody terribly well steeped in the economy."
Asked how "peeved" he is at McCain: "Well, it's sort of Washington politics at its normal level, which is attack the other party at the very last minute; after having had 15 debates, drop something in Florida that's absolutely untrue. ... He knows he's not telling the truth, but it scored him some points. It's the old Nixonian kind of approach, which I think is unfair."
FNC's Hannity: "I understand that Tim Russert on 'Meet The Press' offered an opportunity this Sunday for both you and Senator McCain to go head to head in a debate. You've accepted, and is it true that Senator McCain rejected it?"
Romney: "Yes, it is. And there's actually more to the story because when Senator McCain was on 'Meet the Press' with Tim Russert the week before, Senator McCain said that he wanted to debate me on the economy and that he'd be willing to debate me on the economy. So, when Tim Russert followed up and said great, senator, we'll do that on my show, I said, I'm happy to debate John McCain on the economy" (FNC, 1/31).
RIGHT ON TARGET?
There continued to be talk of John McCain's problems with the conservative base and one conservative came out vocally against him:
Ann Coulter: "I'm a Hillary girl now. She lies less than John McCain. She's smarter than John McCain, so that when she's caught shamelessly lying, at least the Clintons know they've been caught lying. McCain is so stupid, he doesn't even know he's been caught" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 1/31).
Newt Gingrich: "In the Democratic debate, Senator Clinton was citing the work she's done on electronic health records with Senator Bill Frist and with me, and now Ann Coulter has endorsed Hillary Clinton. I can't imagine a more bizarre evening in the Democratic Party."
More Gingrich: "I think there are a lot of good reasons for conservatives to be unhappy with Senator McCain. .... But if I had to choose between a Senator McCain, who would appoint conservative judges, who would have, broadly speaking, while more liberal than I am, nonetheless dramatically more conservative than Senator Clinton, I think there's very little choice for most people who care about those values, if the choice was Senator Clinton or Senator Obama versus Senator McCain. ... The general election is pretty clear-cut" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 1/31).
McCain, meanwhile, appeared on the "Tonight Show" last night:
On the debates: "I think that was our 15th, and I think there was only 14 too many."
Asked if he watched the Dems fighting in their debate and decided not to do that: "No, but you always have to be careful when you're in one of these debates because you're running for president, not the best debater. So you always want to try to appear as thoughtful as you can. People can tune in on any cable show and watch people fight. This is about who they want to be president. I can't tell you the number of times I've run into people and they say, 'You did a great job.' 'Well, what do you like?' 'Well, I can't remember anything in particular, but you did a great job.' So you've got to be careful about that. People don't expect us to disparage each other's character and integrity."
Asked if he'd go on Rush Limbaugh's show if invited: "I would go on most any show."
More: "I think the important thing is to convince our Republican base which is a very conservative that, one, I'm a conservative, and, two, that I'm the best qualified on taking on their major concern, that is, this struggle against radical Islamic extremism, and I think I can -- I've been able to do that pretty successfully. Look, the straight talk is that we're going to have to energize our base and get everybody into our party if we're going to win in November. Straight talk, right now, when you look at Democrat versus Republican, we Republicans got our work cut out for us -- and get back to the principles that made us the majority party."
Mid-way through the interview Rudy Giuliani joined him:
McCain, on Giuliani: "We became good friends from the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Diamondbacks. We went to Phoenix, Arizona, together. They played some games in New York City. And here we're sitting next to each other, 46,000 fans. Rudy Giuliani with a New York Yankees hat on, he shows up on the Jumbotron. 46,000 people stood and cheered and cheered because of what he'd done for America. That really cemented our friendship."
Giuliani, asked if he would VP: "No one runs as a running mate. I was asked that question a number of times when I was a candidate for President, and what I said was, 'You don't make decisions like that until you're the nominee, and then you give it a lot of reflection. Nobody runs for it. The candidate has to have a total, absolutely open choice as to whoever they think is the best'" (NBC, 1/31).
Posted at 09:17 AM
Comments
Romney... are you listening to yourself? A vote for Mike Huckabee is a vote for Mike Huckabee!!!! A vote for McCain is a vote for McCain and a vote for Romney is a vote for Romney.
Stop scaring people into voting for you. You don't care who you walk over to meet your objective... and Americans should recognize that that is how you'll act if elected also. Your character will not change when you take the oath.
Let people vote their conscience. Encourage them to. I'd rather lose with integrity than win because I got someone else's protest vote due to my deceptiveness.
A vote for Huckabee is a vote for Faith, Family & Freedom!
R Demo | 02.01.08 09:57 AM
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Romney is just a little whiner. Who's winning the south? -Mike Huckabee is. Who will have more delegates than Romney next week? -Mike Huckabee and John McCain will. So Romney maybe you should paraphrase the question. A vote for you is a vote for John McCain.
anne | 02.01.08 10:27 AM
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Speaking as someone who has been supporting John Edwards, a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket appeals to me. Each of them brings strengths that complement the other. Whoever gets the most delegates at the convention is the presidential candidate, the other one for vice-president. Makes sense to me. And talk about historic! Oh, and John Edwards for attorney general while we're at it.
DurangoDave | 02.01.08 10:32 AM
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Romney's remarks that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain are arrogant. Romney seems to think that because he's outspent everybody else put together that he should be considered a front runner. Unfortunately for him, the voters decide who matters, not his money. I predict Huckabee will pass Romney in delegate count before this is all over.
Mark in Dallas | 02.01.08 11:34 AM
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Ann Coulter sounds like an IDIOT.
She thinks Hillary Clinton would be better with the War on Terror? What kind of ridiculous and insane delusional crap is that?
Ms. Coulter: do you know what it means to be a Republican? You've wrote books on it...do you know the MERE DEFINITION??
To be a Republican means that you believe in small government. Hillary Clinton believes in a large, influencing government.
To be a Republican mean that you're a federalist. Hillary Clinton wants the federal government to make decisions for the state.
To be a Republican means that you're focused on the security of Americans. Hillary Clinton will kill thousands of American soldiers when she tries to remove them slowly from Iraq. She will also endanger our country when she opens us up to terrorism.
To be a Republican means that you believe in freedom, that you believe Americans are entitled to their own fate. Hillary Clinton wants to make our decisions for us.
To be a Republican means that you believe in lower taxes. Hillary Clinton is going to tax the crap out of us when she implements her big government, mandated health care plan...along with several other initiatives.
I agree, Hillary Clinton is a VERY intelligent woman. If I were a Democrat, I would be excited about her candidacy. But I don't agree with Hillary Clinton. I AM A REPUBLICAN.
Your "my way or the highway" STUPIDITY is what almost endangered the Republican Party before we decided to elect John McCain. Ann Coulter - you are NOT a Republican! You are a WHACK JOB! Go start your own right-wing, neocon, facist party and stop calling yourself a Republican.
Pink Elephant | 02.01.08 04:19 PM
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