The desperation of the candidates who are trying to beat Mitt Romney in South Carolina was palpable tonight. Gov. Romney knew it was coming and was well prepared. What did you think? Please leave a comment and let us know.
Hugh Hewitt gives the night to Mitt.
Mitt did a great job with Hannity after the debate:
UPDATE by Jayde:
“Mitt Romney came out ahead in tonight’s debate because he again showed that he is the best candidate to both take on President Obama and fix our economy. President Obama spent his life outside the private sector and it shows. Mitt Romney spent his life outside of politics, working in the real economy. In order to create private sector jobs in this tough economic environment, we need a president who worked in the private sector.” ~ former SC GOP Chairman Barry Wynn
“Tonight, Mitt Romney once again displayed his vision, leadership, and grace under fire. He showed why he is without question the right man to end the chaos in Washington, D.C. and put America back to work. Neither our state nor our nation can afford four more years of President Obama, and it is critical that we nominate someone with Mitt Romney’s history of results. We need a president who has a record of not just talk, but of actually getting things done, and Governor Romney is that man.” ~ SC Gov Nikki Haley
Finally, watch the debate in its entirety below the fold.
mitt won the so. carolina debate by far
I think Mitt did well staving off the attacks for the most part. I thought Ron Paul wasn’t well prepared but that may have just been from boredom caused by the first half of the debate. Newt was undeniably really great tonight. Perry and Santorum didn’t really seem to know exactly where to go or what to do. I think the best part of the night is that it will split the state up enough in order for Romney to stay in the lead.
Mitt did well looking Presidential & acting like an adult by scorched earth candidates & Fox “rigged”audience who booed him during his speech–unfair and not balanced because they wanted their man Newt & Santorum to look good…in hoping Gov Romney’s polls will come down. I considered this very calculating & obviously their desperation move.
I just don’t get how people are not fed up with these constant unsubstantiated and unimportant aspect that these attacks are coming from. These pathetic jabs from newt, santi, and Perry and “pious bologna”. Do these candidates want to see Romney’s taxes to see how much more successful his then them? did one of his streamlining investments from Bain lay off a nephew of Perry’s? GMR is by far more qualified than any of these other candidates and it makes me sick to my stomach that some people actually buy into some of these cow pie’s that are being thrown. His education, his life experience in business, his faith, his stewardship in all en devours, his pure spirit of service tells me that his true passions are true and his values are incorruptibly. this political display of desperation is nauseating and I fear for the candidates for the day that Mitt decides that he is sick of it and unleashes his distain like he did against Kennedy. Find the fire and unleash it. GO MITT!!!!
They failed ot take him down. Newt looked childish on super pacs and bain. He did well on foriegn policy. Santorum was weak on pacs as well and was whining and costantly interuppted mitt which is rude.
Mitt seemed a little more nervous tonight, but he did well. I’m supporting Mitt. Gingrich has a lot of people fooled, but I don’t know if they’ll vote for him. I’m pretty versed on the remaining candidates, & although Santorum remains my second choice it looks like he may be losing some support. Gingrich says what people want to hear, I’ve seen him do that for over 20 years. Mitt does his best usually. I think he’s getting sick of it already but he’ll make it all right.lol. I’d vote for anyone on that stage before I’d vote for Gingrich. He’a professional politician, & it shows.
The debate was more balanced than the ABC or NBC versions.
However, a firing sqaud would have been more balanced in those forums.
The audience seemed fair, but generally angry with Obama.
Gov. Romney did well defending his position, and kept the Romney Express on the rails,
which let’s face it, is the only real news that will come out of this debate.
Mitt stood firm without having to apologize to half the world.
Desperation is now setting in for the other candidates, Romney is kicking butt and taking names. The tactics Gingrich and Perry are using is making them appear childish and comical, far from presidential.
Without question Mitt won this debate. He had a lot of loaded opposition thrown at him and he handled it great turning the attacks into positive responses concerning his record at Bain. I was also supper impressed with his plans for medicare and social security. I was also very impressed with his unyielding stance on a strong military second to none. I think Mitt is having the face time now to really warm up to people and show them who he is. Way to go! Keep this momentum going Mitt. I’m really proud to be a supporter of Mitt right now.
I already made up my mind, it is Mitt Romney. I didn’t watch these show and tell. Most of these debate are for the media to earn money.
If we had Mitt instead of Obama as our President in the last election, we wouldn’t be in this deep hole. Now we have to fight back to correct everything that this President messed up. I am tired of arrogant Newt and these so-called conservatives keep looking for someone else instead of uniting behind a good candidate to get the country back on track. Newt will do any thing to undermine other who is cable of being better than him.
I watched the FOX coverage and it was shameless. They were basically acting as if they had delivered the greatest show on Earth. They are trying to bring Romney down because they love these shows and they don’t want the race to end and the debates to be a foregone conclusion. They went as far as saying that debates matter more than actual in-person campaigning, and mostly agreed that Newt was the winner. We of course know better. If debates mattered most, and as they say Newt is the best debater, then he would be leading. Enough nonsense. What REALLY matters is what people want, and most people want Mitt. End of story.
That bar chart exercise at the end of the debate was a joke. Every one of the bars showed Romney in the negative. Talk about rigged. Any half-whit could see that it was controlled by the Ron Paul people who knew that Twitter could be manipulated. Right from the first bar chart, Romney was showing deeply red and Ron Paul was the highest green or blue or whatever color.
@Vic Lundquist
Agreed, they overdid the Paul yays, and gave Mitt all the nays.
Fox spun it anyway, because it took a bite out of the frontrunner.
The Hannity interviews were nauseating, he grilled Mitt, and fawned all over Newt
Nothing but Newt soundbites,
Pitiful objectivity there. Hannity just won’t live down his endorsement.
I agree with you all. These SC debates were bound to be a firing squad for Mitt .. it’s the last gasp of breath for the other candidates that have run out of $$ & is basically free airtime for them. After SC, it’s all over as the others don’t have the funds to compete in FL or Super Tuesday. It’s now or never for them. The media only get ratings as long as there is a horserace, so it benefits THEM to bring Mitt down a notch or two & elevate the others .. and since the others, particularly Newt, pander to the basist, partisan emotions in the form of sound byte-prepared lines .. the debate is their greatest forum. Unfortunately the soundbytes are Obama’s greatest ammunition for the general & would kill those candidates .. but all that doesn’t matter to any of those people – the candidates, the media .. it’s all for the show of today and NOT the country’s survival tomorrow.
Bot-bot-bot…Red for Mitt; Green for all others, ESPECIALLY Paul. If these kids would find a job or spend more time on their studies they wouldn’t have time to tap away furiously on their keyboards on a Monday night…but aah, it’s the magic of the internet! Mitt’s win will be just that much sweeter!
Also… Wynn, you have nailed it. The manner of debate, and what people see and hear on their TV screens, is much more of a factor than you can imagine. Get Mitt a speaking coach. We all know he is a true and intelligent person, but a red power tie, a relaxed stance, and looking forward instead of at whoever is speaking at the moment are just small starting tweaks that would put him completely out of reach!
I agree that FOX NEWS was not favoring Romney. I just wonder if FOX news let Santorum and Gingrich know days before the debate, what the questions were going to be. It seemed to me that Santorum and Gingrich were too well rehersed and very different this time. I watched the mood of the FOX NEWS pannel after the debate, they looked as they had defeated the devil himself. I think that CNN is more honest and fair towards Romney than Fox. I knew if FOX NEWS was involved in the debate, it would NOT be in Mitts favor. This is about Religion and I feel they do not like Mormons. They would cut Romney off and let the others talk on for as long as they needed. I have quit watching FOX. THEY ARE UNFAIR AND UNBALANCED. I am proud of Mitt and his bravery. I am proud that he continues to keep going and hang in there around certain fellow runners who are not very nice. Santorum and Gingrich have the nerve to scold Romney for his super pack adds when they run them too!! Fox needs to report the news and stay out of politics.
Would someone please tell Ron Paul to go home. Why is he still in this race? Mitt Romney all the way to the Whitehouse.
Mitt Romney won the debate last night, considering he was being attacked all around. He was calm and cool and collected, he did an outstanding job as always! Go Mitt Romney!
@Barbara Terry
I agree with you wholeheartedly a couple of times Santy gave answers without thinking about it.
Greetings to all …
Although I’m behind Mitt four-square, and believe he’ll most likely carry the SC primary rather handily, I have to say that last night’s debate was not his best showing. Too much stammering, too rapid-fire of a delivery, and too much equivocation, especially on smaller, even incidental issues (e.g., release of income-tax info)–resulting, at least for me, in something less than the normally self-confident and surefooted Mitt we’ve come to expect.
Thus, I’d have to say, regrettably enough, that Newt had a better night, on balance. The good news, however, today’s polls reveal that he hasn’t made any discernible inroads in terms of Mitt’s lead in SC, FL or, certainly, NV.
Hence, I’m no less eager to tune into what I hope will be the final 2012 Republican nomination debate of any consequence. For I expect that Newt’s charcaterization of the SC primary as (his and RP’s) “Armageddon” will be fulfilled.
Just hoping helpful comments like the ones imbedded in this blog get back to Mitt. There are some very valid observations above … the entire purpose of which is to make Romney speak as absolutely clearly and distinctly as possible, with no distractions…while presenting a Presidential image!
Somebody needs to explain libertarianism to all these kids who just are all over the net given the false impression that Ron Paul has a chance. I worked for a libertarian Newspaper in California, and I know the ins and outs of their philosophy. It’s just NOT practical, not viable in today’s world. Of course kids are attracted to the supposed idea of Government staying out of all wars abroad and allowing the smoking of pot at home, but there is more to it than that.
There would be no limit to the power of corporations within their property limits. If you own the land and you own the facility you can throw Paul’s beloved constitution out the window and use your corporate by-laws to do whatever you want to your employees, who are bound to obey or loose their job and starve. Nice future, uh? Right out of Science fiction. No wonder net geeks like it!
I’m also amazed at libertarian Mormons. Libertarianism allows for legal drugs, legal prostitution, legal pornography of every kind, legal same sex marriage, legal gambling, legal abortion, legal hate speech (including religious hate)… how “conservative” is that?
I am for Mitt. We need his practical business background. Did you read the piece about a lot of money being paid in Massachusetts to shelters for the homeless when they were full–the homeless who came to full shelters were being put up in hotels. It was really costing a lot of money. The word got around to try to go to full shelters in order to get a hotel room. Mitt made a rule that when a shelter was full and a homeless person needed a place to stay for a night or two, that the person who had been at the shelter the longest got to be placed in the hotel! It saved a lot of money, lol. This is the kind of common sense leading that comes from Mitt’s kind of savvy background.
It’s funny to see newt talking out of his (you know what). People were applauding him last night for using inappropriate retorhic against Obama. Whatever. However I can never picture a future POTUS using words like “dumb, stupid, baloney” during debates and calling another candidate “a lier”. Just doesn’t seem very presidential to me. What I saw last night was a bunch of desperate guys trying to take Romney down. Whether these attacks affect him or not, Romney will still win SC and be the nominee.
Right Barbara…I remember this! Thanks for posting the facts. It is the kind of explanation many people need to hear…something Mitt did at the grass-roots level instead of the philosophical banter that Sant. and Ging. throw around (and Mitt sometimes). Without the practical and easily-understood, some folks will vote for whoever has the neatest tie and who throws barbs without a stutter…the last voice heard or whose name is on the sign being held up in the background of the post-debate interviews. Or whoever types the most positive comments on Twitter….
@F. Ybarra
Think it was President George Bush who said in his book when being criticized for running for office in Texas, “…Yes, I was born in New England because I needed to be close to my Mother at that particular time.” Same thing for these “liberal Mormons” you point out! Just because you exhibit liberal traits, it doesn’t make you a particularly a good or bad Church member or even an actual participating member. (Ref: Harry Reid) But those who practice what you have outlined rarely claim Church membership. They would be too embarrassed and know in their hearts they will need special attention by the Lord when their duties on earth are finished.
In my opinion, Gov Romney did o.k this time. I’ll give him B. A number of times he sounds like he’s unsure, uncertain in his answer. I would say Gingrich was fantastic minus his usual “Reagan conservative” crap.
PLEASE, PLEASE… tell Gov Romney to stop bringing his campaign speechs to these debates. It makes him so un-original.
Romney/Candi Rice ticket!!!
I don’t mind the candidates questioning each other and commenting on each other’s policies but I thought the way Santorum spoke to Mitt was very rude. Answer my question first – he demanded. Very rude! They should be respectful of each other. Gov. Romney is always respectful. He hears the question out, lets the other person speak and then answers.
Also Perry – is he going to understand what is in the tax return? What is he expecting to see in the tax return that will “fire” Romney??
I am so tired of listening to Gingrich ride on the coat tails of Ronnald Reagan. In my opinion he is a Reagan wanna be—- what a name dropper! I did some research about Gingrich and his history. I would never vote for a vindictive cry baby who throws temper tatrums if someone doesn’t give him his way or upsets his large fragile ego. HE is a bitter vindictive old man with alot of baggage!! Just read about the tiff he had with Clinton. I am also tired of Santorums big errogant and egotistical grin. He seems to be on cloud nine now that he has the 152 Pastors who met on a ranch in Texas and decided to back Santorum. He was just brrimming with confidence. I do not want to vote for a errogant and egotistical Pastor in Chief. I want to vote for someone who can fix the great economic problems which face our country. ROMNEY NUMBER ONE!! Rick Perry should bow out of the race—-he is a trouble maker and seems to have a evangelical axe to grind because he may dislike Romneys faith. At this next debate Mitt should fight and fight hard –not allowing Santorum and Gingrich to tell him what he should be doing. Don’t let them lead-you lead them. I will always stand behind Mitt until the very end—he is the best candidate and Romney will be the next President of this great country which I love!!
Mitt did what he needed to do, stay calm while under assault and avoid making any major mistakes. He did both, therefore he was the winner. He did not have to create chatter for talking heads, he simply had to stay above the fray. Newt was Newt, he was bombastic and some in the crown were definitely looking for the outrageous. Newt provided it, but it wasn’t necessarily a good sign. In fact, they cheered loudly when he made some of his most controversial statements, this was unfortunate. I am still wondering how sounding and being obnoxious wins the debate. Santorum was good in rare instances, but when attacking others, he appeared more childish than presidential, talking over people never works in my opinion. Ron Paul seemed out of touch, he appeared tired and out of his environment more than normal, his worst debate. Rick Perry did alright, he made no major gaffes, but I wouldn’t call it noteworthy to the extent he has saved his campaign, not even close. In summary, Newt may have won this battle according to several pundits, but he certainly isn’t going to win the war. In the end that distinction will go to Mitt Romney.
@jon
Thanks for the comment. I wasn’t talking about “liberals” but libertarians.
Stupid FOX reporters did a report asking why young voters like old Ron Paul so much.
Well, he would not send them to war, ever, plus he would give them legal pot, legal whores, legal internet porn, legal gambling, gay marriage, etc, etc. and they wonder why they like him??? Duh!