Jeff Toobin, CNN: “He’s Lying”January 27th, 2008 | 16 Comments | Posted in 2008, CNN, Florida, John McCain, Kathryn Jean Lopez, McCain, McCain Lie, Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney, National Review, National Review Online
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H/T: K-Lo at National Review’s “The Corner”
Joining Time Magazine and the NYTimes, even the MSM cannot cover up and carry water for McCandidate on this one.
Fox News’ commentary said Mitt had “hit a home run.”
Fox’s Frank Luntz said “With just two days to go, Mitt Romney hit a home run tonight.” Other key quotes about responses from Luntz’s focus group: “Mitt Romney consistently got the best responses throughout the evening…incredibly favorable.” “When Mitt Romney talked about where he stood on immigration, the dials shot through the roof.”
The overwhelming response in blogs is positive. Mitt really helped himself tonight.
From the National Review:
Kathryn Jean Lopez says:
“The fighter is out in him tonight. No one is going to call him a wimp tonight, that’s for sure. He’s taken initiative, from minute one. And he’s turned the tone of his campaign around. He’s letting Romney be Romney — the confident, forward-looking candidate with a conservative temperament he is — it was those qualities that first made me pay attention to him when he was in the statehouse. I think he’s being himself tonight. We saw him be himself during the religion speech. And we’re seeing it tonight. This Mitt is the Mitt we have to see everyday from hereon out. It took a while for him to be unleashed but I don’t think it’s too late by any stretch. Let Mitt be Mitt and Mitt might win.”
From Rich Lowry:
“Politics is a game of adjustments, and Romney adjusted to the debate from last night, realizing that he’d be under constant attack tonight and he’d better gird himself and go on offense. He spoke forcefully and put the case for himself as the reformist businessman in the best possible light. I think he basically dominated the first hour, and fell off a tab after that, but otherwise was truly excellent. His best performance yet, in very high pressure circumstances. His answers on taxes, job creation, and immigration were top notch … [I]f he somehow wins NH, tonight will be a big reason why.”
McCan’ts “Experience” Question; I.e., Why Not McCain?
McCain wants us to believe with 20+ years in Washington, and over the age of 80 at the end of a 2d term, he’d change his stripes and try to improve the system he’s helped construct and has benefited from for 2 1/2 decades. Sorry, but if he was serious about fixing something before he would have done it by now. And because of his age he’s a lame duck president on day 1. A nearly 80 year old with a history of a temper with his finger on the button? Quack quack. Others also noticed the McCain slam on Bush (the remark about governors). This is why McCain is NOT a republican candidate. I’ve heard one Senator say that if a secret poll were taken on the Senate floor, they’d nearly unanimously support Mitt over McCain, which McCain seems to acknowledge in his comment he hasn’t won any congeniality contests in the Senate. And he’s supposed to suddenly “change” and work with these people to get things done? GOP: IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. MCCAIN WILL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT HE’S DONE FOR THE PAST 24 YEARS.
Here’s another quote from Mark Levin tonight at the National Review in that regard:
“[C]ome on John McCain. You’re known in Washington as, well, very temperamental and holding grudges. Let’s not pretend you are Mr. Positive when, in fact, you are not.”
Expect mainstream republicans to reject this man, starting tomorrow in the AM radio shows when they call out his school-yard tactics with cohort Huckabee.
After Wyoming’s sweep by Mitt, McCain’s undignified attacks last night and Mitt’s performance tonight, expect Mitt’s poll numbers in NH to take a bounce upward. With the race being as tight as it is, Mitt’s performance tonight was big.
John McCainJanuary 6th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in 2008, ABC Debate, American Spectator, Andy McCarthy, Chris Cillizza, Dan Riehl, David Brody, John McCain, John McCain, Kathryn Jean Lopez, Michelle Malkin, Mitt Romney, National Review, New Republic, Noam Scheiber, Philip Klein, Washington Post
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“At certain moments it had the effect of making Romney look more sympathetic, at others it made him look like the only adult on stage, and at others it made him look like he must be the front-runner, since people were so determined to take him down a peg. McCain in particular seemed to go too far, looking and sounding downright snide at times.” (Noam Scheiber, “Too Much Romney-Bashing,” The New Republic’s The Stump, http://blogs.tnr.com/, Posted 1/5/08)
Watch Sen. McCain’s Vitriol: www.youtube.com/watch?v
Political Observers Noted Sen. McCain’s Nasty, Personal Attacks During The Manchester Debate:
The American Spectator’s Philip Klein: “Is He Going Too Far?” “All of the animosity that McCain has toward Mitt Romney is coming out tonight. Is he going too far?” (Philip Klein, “McCain: I Agree That Mitt Is Candidate Of Change,” The American Spectator Blog, www.spectator.org, Posted 1/5/08)
The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza: “Disdain.” “A clearly heated McCain, whose disdain for Romney was on full display tonight…” (Chris Cillizza, “The Republican Debate: The Roundup,” The Washington Post’s The Fix, www.washingtonpost.com, Posted 1/5/08)
National Review’s Andy McCarthy: “Cheap Shot.” “Moron Moment for McCain … and why some of us will NEVER support him. Cheap shot at Romney (candidate of change) as a set up for saying what a really fine guy Obama is.” (Andy McCarthy, “Moron Moment For McCain,” National Review’s The Corner, http://corner.nationalreview
The New Republic’s Noam Scheiber: “Downright Snide.” “At certain moments it had the effect of making Romney look more sympathetic, at others it made him look like the only adult on stage, and at others it made him look like he must be the front-runner, since people were so determined to take him down a peg. McCain in particular seemed to go too far, looking and sounding downright snide at times.” (Noam Scheiber, “Too Much Romney-Bashing,” The New Republic’s The Stump, http://blogs.tnr.com/, Posted 1/5/08)
Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “McCain Lobs Another Grenade.” (Jonathan Martin, “McCain Lobs Another Grenade,” Politico, www.politico.com, Posted 1/5/08)
National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez: “Unattractive.” “That McCain follow-on was unattractive from a man who is better than that.” (Kathryn Jean Lopez, “I’ve Lived…Change.” National Review’s The Corner Blog http://corner.nationalreview
Michelle Malkin: “Snidely… Cackles.” “McCain snidely attacks Romney: ‘You are the candidate of change.’ McCain cackles.” (Michelle Malkin, “Saturday Night Jive,” Michelle Malking Blog, http://michellemalkin.com, Posted 1/5/08)
Riehl World View’s Dan Riehl: “Well-Known Temperament Problems.” “If you were looking for substance across the board on issues, I think Romney was the clear winner in tonight’s debate. McCain’s well-known temperament problems lingered barely below the surface much of the evening, especially when someone dared disagree with him. Except of course, for his hugs for Hillary and slaps on the back for Fred. This is a change election and old hands from the Senate will not get it done.” (Dan Riehl, “ABC Debate: It Was Romney’s Night,” Riehl World View Blog, www.riehlworldview.com, Posted 1/5/08)
CBN’s David Brody: “We’ll See If Voters Think McCain’s Attacks Crossed The Line.” “Then McCain tussled with Romney over immigration and told him that Romney could spend his whole fortune calling McCain’s immigration plan amnesty but he’d be wrong. Man, going after him for being rich, that’s a blow. We’ll see if voters think McCain’s attacks crossed the line.” (David Brody, “Brody File Reaction TO Republican Debate,” CBN’s The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 1/5/08)
National Review’s Andy McCarthy: “For Amnesty Before He Was Against It.” “McCain — the guy who was for amnesty before he was against it before acknowledging that it’s the only solution and is not amnesty in the first place except it kinda, sorta is, except that he’d never be for amnesty — says Romney is the ‘candidate of change.’ Change. You’d almost think of a resolutely, died-in-the-wool pro-lifer filing a brief in the Supreme Court to suppress the First Amendment rights of a pro-life group to help pro-abortion incumbents get elected … not that Senator Straight Talk would ever do such a thing …” (Andy McCarthy, “Re: Romney And The Onslaught,” National Review’s The Corner Blog, http://corner.nationalreview
I know that we usually leave the religion-oriented posts to our colleagues at Evangelicals for Mitt, but here are a couple really great columns by Kathryn Jean Lopez (of National Review Online but via Townhall.com) and Steven Stark (of the Boston Phoenix, of whom I was not previously familiar, but a quick peruse of his blog suggests that he should be on our bookmarks).
First, K-Lo’s column is entitled “A Mormon Can Be President.” Full text after the jump, but here are some key excerpts:
Commentators suggest he give a speech on his religion, comparing it to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. However, Romney’s not likely to pull a Kennedy by defensively distancing himself from his religion. As Romney said to a colleague of mine in November, “I know there are some people hoping that I will simply declare in some way that my church is all well and good, but that I don’t really believe it and I don’t try to follow it. That’s not going to happen. I’m proud of my faith. I love my faith. It is the faith of my fathers and mothers. I do my best to live by its teachings. And it in every way would teach me to follow the Constitution and follow the rule of law and recognize that my duty is to my country.”
That is the American answer to the question about whether one’s religion indicates one’s fitness to lead this nation. We have no established religion, and we have no religious tests in our constitutional system. Romney’s religion is a topic for religious conferences, not for talk shows. And it certainly should not keep a man from the White House.
If you are not going to support Republican Mitt Romney for president because you don’t think he is the guy to win the war on terror, that is your call. If you are pro-life and you do not buy his abortion conversion story, it’s a free country. But if you are not going to support Mitt Romney for president because he is Mormon, or because you think he will not be elected president because he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, say your prayers for America.
Next Steve Stark provides a really perceptive and poignant perspective on what all of the controversy over Mitt’s Mormonism says about the rest of the candidates. Again, full text after the jump, but some key excerpts:
But the real question is why another candidate hasn’t stepped forward to defend Romney against the religious bigotry he’s facing – not with an offhand comment or two – but with a major Mormon speech of his own. True, doing so might seem like a risky political maneuver, since it would aid a fellow contender. But it’s the right thing to do — and could even help the campaign of the candidate who rises to Romney’s defense.
It’s understandable why Romney has hesitated to give the speech up to this point. It’s odious that in 21st-century America a candidate has to defend his religion. And Romney’s faced with the difficult task of writing and delivering such a speech without sounding self-pitying. Then there’s the question of timing: should he give the speech now or wait for later in the campaign, when more voters will be paying attention? (For the record, JFK gave his Houston Ministers speech in September of the election year, after he had been nominated.) Of course, Romney will inevitably be compared with Kennedy, and that’s a comparison that’s hard to measure up to.
But none of the other candidates have these excuses — which makes one wonder exactly what kind of people we have seeking the nation’s highest office this year. As potential leaders of the nation, don’t they think religious prejudice is something they ought to confront, especially since the issues of religion and politics are currently so intertwined?
What’s most discouraging, of course, is that we don’t seem to have anyone in the field who views attacking religious prejudice as the proper — or, for that matter, a politically sensible — thing to do. An unfortunate consequence of this lengthy campaign — and its intensive press coverage — is that it’s turned most of the candidates into risk-averse robots, afraid of doing anything unconventional for fear of making a mistake. But great candidates and leaders — whether we’re talking about FDR or Reagan — always rewrite the rule book.
Needless to say, we’re going to need a leader like that in 2009. Too bad that on this key test — and it’s not a difficult one compared with what lies ahead for the eventual winner — the entire field gets a failing grade.
Read the entire articles after the jump…
The Right Romney Record
BOSTON – Last week, local radio talk show host Gregg Jackson penned an op-ed on the “real Mitt Romney.” Unfortunately, it failed to note the many conservative accomplishments Mitt Romney had as Governor of Massachusetts. Here is Governor Romney’s real record of leadership in Massachusetts:
THE RECORD #1: Gov. Romney Provided Strong, Pro-Life Leadership In Massachusetts And Massachusetts Pro-Life Organizations Agree.
THE RECORD #2: Gov. Romney Championed Traditional Marriage In Massachusetts.
THE RECORD #3: Gov. Romney Put Conservative Principles To Work In Health Care.
THE RECORD #4: Gov. Romney Appoint Judges Who Would Be Tough On Crime And Would Not Legislate From The Bench.
THE RECORD #5: Gov. Romney Took Action When Problems Were Found With The Big Dig. He Removed The Head Of The Turnpike Authority And His Quick Response Was Widely Praised.
National Review’s Jim Geraghty: “One of [Romney's] strongest performances…” (Jim Geraghty, “Everybody Was Good,” National Review’s Campaign Spot, National Review’s The Corner, Posted 10/21/07)
Powerline Blog’s Paul Mirengoff: “Romney was solid, as he generally is … Near the end of the debate, he finally launched into an attack on the Clinton administration’s ‘vacation from history’ foreign policy (‘we got the dividend but not the peace’). Attacks like that are guaranteed winners in these kinds of debates, and Romney needs to make them at every opportunity.” (Paul Mirengoff, “A Sleeping Giant Wakes Up,” Powerline Blog, Powerline Blog , Accessed 10/21/07)
· Geraghty: “[Romney had] great jabs at Hillary, and seemed to feed off the crowd’s energy.” (Jim Geraghty, “Everybody Was Good,” National Review’s Campaign Spot, The National Review, Posted 10/21/07)
· Geraghty: “Mitt leads the raucous crowd in rejecting Hillary as a potential commander-in-chief.” (Jim Geraghty, “How Do I Give You The Highlights?” National Review’s Campaign Spot, National Review, Posted 10/21/07)
NBC’s Chuck Todd: Romney was “red hot.” (Chuck Todd, “Quick Post-Debate Thoughts,” MSNBC’s First Read,
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "As the Republicans debated who is more conservative tonight, two voices stood out: Mitt Romney's and Rudy Giuliani's." (Marc Ambinder, "The Republican Debate: First Take," The Atlantic Blog, The Atlantic Break, Posted 10/21/07)
The American Spectator’s Jennifer Rubin: “On marriage Romney gives a strong statement in favor of amendment.” (Jennifer Rubin, “Debate 2,” The American Spectator Blog, American Spectator Blog, Posted 10/21/07)
· Right Wing News’ John Hawkins: “Mitt is right about gay marriage. Activist judges are deliberately distorting the law to implement gay marriage…” (John Hawkins, “Debate Liveblogging,” Right Wing News, Right Wing News, Posted 10/21/07)
· Geraghty: “[Romney] makes a strong case on [gay marriage], citing the Massachusetts and Iowa state constitutions.” (Jim Geraghty, “After The Opening Brawl Among the Top Tier…,” National Review’s Campaign Spot, National Reviews’s Campaign Spot, Posted 10/21/07)
The Atlantic’s Marc Marinder: “[Romney's] best moment may have been when he said that an insurmountable problem like the health care crisis can, indeed, be solved. It wasn’t just a candidate saying he was optimistic; he showed how optimism, will and plod can be potent problem-solving forces.” (Marc Ambinder, “The Republican Debate: First Take,” The Atlantic Blog, The Atlantic Blog, Posted 10/21/07)
· The American Spectator’s John Tabin: “He had a target on his back during the health care section, and ably defended himself.” (John Tabin, “Candidate Scorecard,” AmSpec Blog, American Spectator Blog, Posted 10/21/07)
· Ambinder: “Say what you will about the guy: [Romney] expended political capital, he worked hard, and he did something meaningful to reform the health care system in his state. Very few candidates on either side can say that.” (Marc Ambinder, “It Took Romney Long Enough…” The Atlantic Blog, The Atlantic Blog, Posted 10/21/07)
· Ambinder: “But it stands out as an prime example — perhaps the ultimate example — of conservative governance. Romney worked hard at health care in Massachusetts; he worked with Democrats; he worked with Republicans; he wound up with a novel program that, while not perfect and not transferable to other states, stands out as a real accomplishment. Romney calls himself an executive and a manager; with health care, he executed and managed in real time.” (Marc Ambinder, “The Republican Debate: First Take,” The Atlantic Blog, The Atlantic Blog, Posted 10/21/07)
