For the 2012 Republican hopefuls, Wednesday night is the first Fall Classic.
Eight candidates are slated to take the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for the POLITICO/NBC News debate — the first face-off as the campaign kicks into high gear.
It’s also the first debate that will include Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the new front-runner who has shaken up the slow-forming presidential contest and shifted the landscape for Mitt Romney, who’d been sitting atop the field for months.
This may be the most interesting of the debates, as a number of the candidates far down the list of favorites must make come-from-behind moves or risk remaining mired in the back of the pack. For Michelle Bachman, running far behind after winning the Iowa straw poll, it's now or never.
The real debate is between Romney and Perry, everyone else will just be a side show. I predict Huntsman will go on a rampage against the front runners.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
Fox News reported this morning that Huntsman has laryngitis. Wonder if he will use this as an excuse to skip the debate and eventually end his campaign.
It will be interesting to hear from Gov. Perry tonight. You have to imagine there will be a big target on his chest, both Paul and Bachman have already launched attack ads against him.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
SS109 wrote: Fox News reported this morning that Huntsman has laryngitis. Wonder if he will use this as an excuse to skip the debate and eventually end his campaign.
It will be interesting to hear from Gov. Perry tonight. You have to imagine there will be a big target on his chest, both Paul and Bachman have already launched attack ads against him.
They will only give Obama good tv commercials against Perry but there is no way Bachman and others will remain relevant after the debate imo. Perry has the right message, experience, and results that the others don't have.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
So the Texas conservative congressman does not have much use for his governor:
One of the more interesting -- and potentially, in debate context, entertaining -- rivalries of the 2012 race is the emerging tension between Ron Paul and Rick Perry. The two Texans have sniped at each other a bit in recent days and in a memo this morning, Paul adviser Jesse Benton suggests that the zingers against Perry's conservative bona fides are a preview of more to come:
Governor Perry, let me be clear: It is not that you supported Al Gore that worries us.
It is that you supported Hillary Clinton's health care plan.
You pushed for federal bailout and stimulus funds.
You support welfare for illegal immigrants.
You tried to forcibly vaccinate12-year-old girls against sexually transmitted diseases by executive order.
You raised taxes twice.
And, state debt has more than doubled in your tenure as governor, pushing Texas to the brink of our constitutional debt limit.
It's that you supported ALL of these bad ideas that are inconsistent with how most Republicans understand conservatism, yet you now try to swagger your way into the Tea Party.
Won't it be scary if whomever the reps nominate is a neutered RINO and we have to choose between one of the most inept presidents in years (who has no idea how to fix the economy) and this un-named RINO.
I still don't know all that much about Perry...who knows what he would do. Right now, it really doesn't matter. Obama is clueless. Might as well get fresh blood in there. He can't do worse than doing nothing like we are now.
Too bad future generations aren't here to see all the great things we are spending their $$ on!!
I'll admit that I haven't spent any time looking but I've heard a lot about this upcoming debate... all EXCEPT what time the debate is scheduled for. Will it be televised? I'm assuming so but haven't heard that either....
It would be nice to be able to watch it myself and form my own opinions but they don't seem to be making it important to share the information I'd need to do so.
Martin Ent Inc wrote: Ron Paul's new commercials bash Perry on his spending..
And therein lies the problem........trashing and
bashing INSTEAD of exchanging real debate topics AND SOLUTIONS that are critical to this nation's future. The Mud-Slinging will be the
norm and the debates will be USELESS......JMO
