The GOP Debate From Myrtle Beach

My first reaction upon tuning into the GOP debate tonight in South Carolina was: "Why is Ron Paul even on the stage?" Certainly his utter collapse in the New Hampshire primary shoveled the last few mounds of dirt on his sinking pine box of a campaign, right?

I guess not. Paul was good for a laugh or two (Brit Hume hammered him on his "WW III over Iran" gaffe), which worked to simply confirm one more time his utterly whacked reputation.

Who won the debate?

Ask backers of each of the candidates and they'll say their man won. To the Fred Thompson supporters I'll say right away that old Fred had some zippy one-liners, but for the life of me, his note-reading is a spontaneity-killer. As any first-year college professor knows: Never read your notes! I guess being an actor gets one a free pass on the cue-card gravy train.

In any case, Mitt Romney started out strong, but it seemed the dynamism shifted away from him as soon as Huckabee got the microphone, giving a detailed response on the economy that brought the former Massachusetts governor's jaw dropping to the floor!

John McCain provided the standard rock-like performance expected of him, and I've got to say, Brit Hume's question on now he would have handled the naval skirmish in the Strait of Hormuz had to be gift-wrapped. No one's going to touch McCain on military operations - I guess FOX is hopping on the McCain bandwagon!

Rudy Giuliani's lost the momentum and it showed - he was subdued, easily overshadowed by the new frontrunners.

Katherine Seelye live-blogged the debate at NYT, and here's her summary:

This debate was a bit of a hard slog, mostly a repetition of talking points with a few sharp elbows thrown in.

Mr. Romney and Mr. Giuliani didn’t do themselves any favors tonight, at least not in South Carolina, which they both seem to be ceding. They’ve got other fish to fry, Mr. Romney in Michigan, Mr. Giuliani in Florida.

Mr. Thompson had an 11th-hour burst of life. Will it be enough to give him a decent showing in South Carolina? His flat-out assault on Mr. Huckabee was one of the most detailed of this long-running debate series.

Mr. Huckabee is expecting to revive his Iowa win with this state’s Christian conservatives, who were absent from New Hampshire. But what a curious response to the question about wives submitting to their husbands. It probably won’t deter his values voters, but it may mystify many others.

Mr. McCain generally kept his head down.

Here's the take over at USA Today:

John McCain, seeking to maintain momentum from his New Hampshire win this week, pledged to "stop out-of-control spending" by the federal government. "I'm called the sheriff by my friends in the Senate who are the appropriators," he added.

Mike Huckabee, winner of the Iowa caucuses, said the party needs to focus more on "middle-class, working-class Republicans."

Mitt Romney, who won the Wyoming caucuses, stressed his business background and said more tax cuts would help the nation head off a potential recession.
Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani, who are looking for their first victories in the nominating contests, also promoted tax cuts at the debate Thursday night sponsored by Fox News Channel and the South Carolina Republican Party. Ron Paul also participated.

In the past, the South Carolina GOP primary has been something of a good-luck charm for the winner: Since 1980, each has gone on to claim the party's presidential nomination.

George W. Bush won a bitterly fought primary in 2000 over McCain, whose campaign then had a hard time recovering.

The results could prove different this time. Hours before the debate, two new polls showed McCain leading Huckabee in South Carolina. Romney was in third.

McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, stumped across the state before the debate and reminded voters of his support for the Iraq war. Thursday was the one-year anniversary of President Bush's announcement that he would temporarily boost U.S. troop levels in Iraq.

McCain reminded audiences he took a lot of heat then for supporting Bush but said today "the surge is working…We will succeed in Iraq if we don't lose our resolve."

Over at the Washington Post, Chris Cillizza thought McCain benefitted from the forum:

The six Republican presidential candidates disagreed repeatedly but politely in a debate tonight in Myrtle Beach, S.C., a dynamic that affirmed Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as the frontrunner for his party's nomination heading into votes in Michigan and South Carolina over the next nine days.

McCain entered tonight's festivities with the biggest target on his back following his win in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary and a new South Carolina poll that showed he had leapt into the lead there.

But, two things worked in McCain's favor: the content of the questions asked by the the Fox News Channel moderators and the unwillingness of anyone other than former governor Mitt Romney (Mass.) to take a shot at McCain.

For 85 of the 90 minutes of the debate, the topics -- the troubled economy, spending, foreign policy, conservative credentials -- played to McCain's strengths as he recited his campaign's message: That he alone of the field has the experience in and out of elected office to lead the country in treacherous times.

Even the five minutes (or so) spent discussing illegal immigration -- a weak spot for McCain -- ended as well as possible for the Arizona senator. McCain was the first one to respond to the question about curtailing illegal immigration, a primacy that allowed him to preempt potential attacks from his rivals. "We will reward no one," McCain said of illegal immigrants living in this country. "They will have to get at the end of the line."

Romney tried to score points on the issue, arguing that he and McCain differ on what to do with the 12 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. "I believe others who have come here illegally should stand in line with all of the others who want to come to this country," he said.

It was the second time in the debate that Romney had tried to draw a clear line in the sand between himself and McCain. In the opening moments of the debate, he condemned McCain's pessimistic statement that there were jobs leaving Michigan that would never come back. McCain had a ready response: "One of the reasons why I won in New Hampshire is because I went there and told them the truth. . . Sometimes you have to tell people things they don't want to hear."

And, unfortunately for Romney, none of the other men on stage were willing to take up his cause against McCain.

That does it then: Nothing shattering...just a chance for the candidates to demonstrate their continued relevance. I get the feeling the momentum's shifted irrevocably.

Photo Credit: New York Times

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UPDATE: This morning's New York Times gives Fred Thompson high marks for his debate performance last night:

The performance by Mr. Thompson, which including several pointed one-liners, capped a debate that showed the altered terrain of the Republican field as it moved beyond contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Mitt Romney took on Senator John McCain, the victor in New Hampshire, over economic issues in an effort to sway voters in Michigan before its primary on Tuesday. Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Thompson tussled over South Carolina voters. And Rudolph W. Giuliani took a muted swipe at Mr. McCain in an effort to win over security-minded voters before the Jan. 29 Florida primary.

But it was Mr. Thompson’s performance, in which he shook off the laid-back style that has defined his candidacy, that provided some of the liveliest moments of the debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C..

“This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and its future,” said Mr. Thompson, who has staked his run on a strong showing in South Carolina. The primary there is Jan. 19.

“On the one hand,” he said, “you have the Reagan revolution, you have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. And the other hand, you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies.”

Mr. Thompson then lit into Mr. Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher and Arkansas governor who won the Iowa caucus, for wanting to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, for supporting what he called “taxpayer-funded programs for illegals” and for wanting to sign a law restricting smoking.

“That’s not the model of the Reagan coalition, that’s the model of the Democratic Party,” he said.