The Dems are going to have their work cut out for them. It's not going to be an easy win, for any Dem nominee.
ON THE ISSUES
Couldn't vote for McCain because of his long, continual, visible support of DADT (among other things). His reliance on commanders, like Petreaus, to make his point, is sickening. Why not pick commanders who have different views?
Romney is close to tapping into the Republican myth of "one America" that reached rhetorical heights unknown under Reagan's superior verbal hypnotism. Of course, they all believe that the "states should decide" on most issues, which is like saying that there really isn't "one America", afterall, in the Republican vision.
In the right hands, the "no new taxes" pledge might come back to haunt the GOP in the general election. Romney, for instance, wants to debt-spend to greatly expand the military ... AND call it "strengthening America".
It's very clear that immigration has a high likelihood of becoming a key dividing line. The Dems need to come up with something far more emotive than "comprehensive immigration reform". "Earned citizenship" sounds about right or "Tancredo-inspired deportation plans that put the prosperity at risk by kicking out millions of law-abiding workers".
THE LONG TAIL OF THE RADICAL CONSERVATIVE MEDIA ON TORTURE
I cannot fathom why Giuliani got a pass on the waterboarding question that Romney failed. We don't give up anything by saying that waterboarding is not permissible. Apart from the morality of the issue, the idea is to get people to surrender, either directly on the battlefield because they do not fear capture or indirectly through skillful interrogation. You don't need torture or waterboarding, in either case. The G.O.P. should get its ass handed to it on this issue, but it probably won't, given how much the passions against an enemy so evil that we need evil ourselves to combat it have been stirred up by conservative media and politicians.
WINNING OR NOT
Giuliani is extremely competent on stage. Hillary could handle him, but I'm really, really not sure about Obama. "Not sure" means just don't know, not doubting based on some evidence. What will Obama say to Giuliani's law-and-order routine, when he might agree with him? Does he know enough to counter the way Biden did in the last Dem debate on the issue?
Why they call these things "debates" is a weird Americanism, maybe. It's more like 30-second Q then 90 second A. In fact, in all the places where something like a debate starts up, the "moderator" invariably jumps in to get back to .... script.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
GOP Debate Showcase
