NOTE: Be sure to tune in to The O’Reilly Factor on FOX News tonight at 8 and 11 p.m. eastern time to see Mitt Romney.
Fresh off his solid, successful performance at the CNN/Tea Party presidential debate last night, Mitt Romney appeared on The O’Reilly Factor (FOX News), O’Reilly asked Romney about the debate, National Security, healthcare, and more.
Before Gov. Romney was interviewed, Bill O’Reilly asked Monica Crowley (republican) and Alan Colmes (democrat) who they thought won the debate and they both chose Gov. Romney. Gov. Romney appeared just after the middle of the program. After Gov. Romney’s appearance, Bill asked Charles Krauthammer about Gov. Romney. As soon as the videos become available, we’ll post them here.
Bill O’Reilly also reported that in the latest Rasmussen Report, Gov. Romney is beating President Obama head-to-head 43-40%. Even better for Mitt — he leads with independents by 13%.
Watch Tim Pawlenty break down the Tea Party debate and explain his support of Mitt Romney below the fold.
O’Reilly and Krauthammer are among the few remaining reasonably unbiased people at Fox News these days. Even though I don’t agree with everything they say, they are basically fair.
O’Reilly felt sorry for Perry, being “picked on” at the debate, but every person he asked (Colmes, Crowley, Romney and Krauthammer) agreed that it was reasonable, and that Perry was fair game. If Perry can’t take the heat on the debate stage, how can we expect him to handle the attacks any president is sure to receive?
yes, Noelle, what is it with all these people that feel sorry for Perry getting asked a lot of questions & getting “beat up”? You only get beat up if your answers are substandard. Everyone else on that stage is craving for more time to express themselves & their views. Rush was justifying Perry’s poor performance by saying that all the questions tired him out(!) Really? And people were concerned about Bachmann’s physical competency because of migraines? If Perry can’t handle fellow Republicans wanting justification for actions he has taken as governor, then he has no business asking for our vote to go up against Obama & the Chicago machine. Krauthammer is right & Americans as well as Perry need to learn that “charm” won’t win the election .. but it especially will not turn this economy around. This isn’t a beauty pageant, Governor Perry.
T-Paw is a scholar and a gentleman. I have much respect for him and his decision to stand behind our next POTUS–a very wise decision.
I saw some flaws in O’Reilly’s interview overall. I thought the questions regarding the supposed animosity between Romney and Perry wasted valuable time. If Perry was ticked because Romney hired someone Perry didn’t like, irrelevant to today’s race. If Perry was ticked because the Boy Scouts were not allowed to volunteer at the Olympics because they were under 18, irrelevant. I would have preferred O’Reilly to find out more about Romney’s positions in today’s race.
The questions on foreign policy were valid, but I thought O’Reilly interrupted too much. No surprise. Interrupting is O’Reilly’s modus operandi, but it hurt the interview, I think.
I wish O’Reilly had asked about Romney’s jobs plan. That plan is so impressive it needs to get more air time.
It is quite apparent that GOP TV does not like Mitt Romney and that they were carrying water for their chosen one, Rick Perry. Personally, I think it’s because Mitt is not part of that Good Old White Guy coalition out of Texas. Mitt is not part of it because he hasn’t been corrupted and I hope he stays that way, not one of the Good Old Guys. It’s funny, he’s establishment, but he’s the outsider now.
I heard a comment today regarding the Boeing NLRB complaint that has changed my mind on the subject. The comment was, “This admin supports shipping jobs to China, but does not support bringing jobs to South Carolina.” Romney should use that line often.
Some things I wish someone would say:
1) Sure Romney took apart some companies, removing some jobs, but he put them back together and stronger. A company that fails might save a few jobs in the short term but they can’t hire. A company that looses a few jobs in the short term can hire for the next 30+ years! Find and give some numbers. I bet they are staggering.
2) I don’t think Romney and Perry are that far apart when it comes to SS but when Perry uses rhetoric like “Ponzi scheme,” “unconstitutional,” and “monstrous lie” he gives all of us, including seniors, the impression that he wants to completely dismantle SS and place all those involved in jail. Romney’s is a more optimistic account — there is much good that SS has been able to do but it simple needs to be reformed not destroyed. Perry is trying to “pivot” (i.e. flip flop) his radical language into a reasonable (i.e. Romney’s) position.
3) All you who get angry at any mandates are disengenuous. Of course states can issues mandates. They have been for years. You’ve likely voted for many. As Ron Paul said all laws are mandates. The fact is that in Mass. we passed a mandate to offset the mandate the ERs have to provide care on the taxpayers’ dime. We mandated personal responsibility. Do you support that mandate? (Perry’s mandate included an opt-out, as I understand Romney’s did too but it got vetoed. Is this correct.) Conservatives did. The only reason it is an issue now is because the intellectually challenged lack the ability to make a real, practical, and principled case against Obamacare instead of just throwing out the baby and the bathwater.
4) Perry’s campaign is based on sound bites and sensationalism. Romney’s is based on substance.