substantial GOP presidential debate is within the books and there seems to become close to consensus about who came off well (Michele Bachmann) and who did not (Tim Pawlenty). On Monday, we posed ten concerns that we hoped the debate would answer. For your most element, they were. Here's a search in the final results:
1. Can Mitt Romney explain away Romneycare?
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In possibly the debate's greatest surprise, Romney didn't truly need to. If this debate is remembered at all, it will be the Sergio Leone-tinged episode when Tim Pawlenty was straight challenged to slam Romney making use of the sobriquet "Obamneycare" and backed down. All that was missing was the close-up on Pawlenty's nervous eyes.
Romney then supplied his now-standard response that the strategy worked for his state and not for America--and essentially got a absolutely free pass from then on.
Romney's association with all the Democratic healthcare bill will come up again--and again--but a big opportunity was missed clean.
Photographs: Possible 2012 GOP candidates
two. Can Tim Pawlenty quicken anyone’s pulse?
Properly, he did, but not in the way the former Minnesota governor needed. You may make the argument that nobody came out worse Monday evening than the man they call "T-Paw." On Twitter, comparisons were made to LeBron James wilting in the NBA Finals, for heaven's sake.
The bottom line: Pawlenty was offered a possibility to dent his most significant rival and at the very same time define himself as a fierce competitor within the procedure. To borrow language from the just-completed playoffs, it had been an Alpha Dog moment.
Pawlenty seemed off his game the whole night. Soon after Romney pandered to the crowd by announcing the score from the Stanley Cup game, Pawlenty tried the identical tactic later. Romney, a new Englander, could only barely get away with something so shameless; Pawlenty, a hockey fan, had no such luck.
Can he recover? Certainly. It really is early. But Pawlenty, who has had difficulty discovering traction in national polls, has been counting on the goodwill of advocates within the Beltway and elsewhere to help propel his campaign. If a few of those backers commence jumping ship, then the climb grows that a great deal steeper.
3. Can Michele Bachmann seem presidential?
Bachmann surprised everyone by all of a sudden declaring her candidacy for your White Home inside the early minutes in the debate, but in retrospect, it looks like a canny move. In an evening that offered tiny when it comes to drama, Bachmann's largely symbolic announcement became important news.
The Minnesota congresswoman's overall performance general came as no surprise to those who have observed her win over crowds at conservative events. And although she nevertheless came off as maybe under polished at times, her energy compensated. Most critically, she displayed an capacity to weave private narrative (raised inside a broken house, mother to foster youngsters) with policy pronouncements (unapologetically anti-abortion). And even though she has been inside the House of Representatives for only four years, she telegraphed her encounter like a veteran, specifically in answering a question about the Libyan conflict.
Fair or not, Bachmann, almost overnight, will now be viewed as a severe threat to win the Iowa caucuses. Her profile is blossoming--and at this stage in the game, buzz could possibly be the single very best currency to have.
4. Can Newt Gingrich rise from the dead?
Properly, he was there. The former Residence speaker, reeling from the defection of crucial aides, pressed onward. Gingrich was in full Professor Newt mode, at one particular point interrupting Pawlenty and browbeating/lecturing moderator John King about his position on the space system. Gingrich is a smart man who can't aid notifying all of us within the space of that fact--something that inside a debate format can come off as pedantic.
Gingrich once again attempted to explain away his criticism of the Paul Ryan Medicare plan along with the result was yet one more iteration of the now-infamous "Meet the Press" interview, a single exactly where Gingrich now says he was quoted "out of context." (That produced eye rolls.) Yet pretty much inside the similar breath, he repeated his original assertion that House leaders had been reckless in moving forward with the Ryan strategy as swiftly because it did, a fair point that runs counter towards the present GOP orthodoxy.
If Gingrich features a track to hew inside the race because it moves forward, it might effectively be locating the courage to become the candidate inside the space who breaks with an establishment that, for all intents and purposes, has abandoned him already.
5. Can Ron Paul search like something a lot more than a fringe candidate?
If there exists a word to describe the Texas libertarian Monday evening, it was, nicely, cranky. Paul had a cantankerous answer for pretty much each question put to him, from America's military involvement overseas (he's against it) for the government's function in certifying legal marriage (he's against it).
Paul was who he is. He isn't going to alter. And he showed nevertheless once more that he isn't going to varnish his brand of truth-telling in a bid to chase supporters. If he should be to carry out very well in primaries, the voters may have to come to him, not the other way around.
6. CanRick Santorum get noticed?
The ex-Pennsylvania senator largely avoided employing his brand of razor-wired rhetoric--except for contending that the president has "turned his back on American allies and he has embraced our enemies"--in favor of a warmer strategy built about conservative values and national exceptionalism. But at the end of the day, it didn't appear to make a lot distinction. Along with the boyish-looking Santorum came off as edgy, as under relaxed, especially when moderator King asked him whether he favored Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien. "I do not watch either," he stammered.
Like Pawlenty, he was offered a possibility to slam Romney and punted. King brought up a treasured Santorum topic, abortion, and asked no matter whether Romney had flip-flopped on the topic. Santorum offered a discursive on a candidate's "authenticity" but avoided invoking Romney straight.
7. Is Hermanentum for actual?
Those expecting an electrifying overall performance from the former conservative talk-radio host came away disappointed. Herman Cain looked ill at ease and unprepared and--as usually would be the case with fringe candidates--came off as smaller than the event. At times he seemed out of his element, especially when asked about foreign affairs, mixing homespun wisdom with fact-based assertions in a manner that came out, at occasions, incoherent.
Asked about the U.S. function in Libya, for instance, Cain responded: "If it really is not within the essential interest of America, to paraphrase my grandmother, together with the predicament in Libya and lots of of these other situations, they are not straightforward conditions. It is a mess. It really is just an absolute mess."
Should Bachmann surge in conservative circles, one particular major loser may very well be the ex-Godfather's Pizza chief executive's outsider candidacy.
eight. Will Jon Huntsman see an opening?
The former Utah governor's camp could have viewed the evening two distinct approaches: Either the debate illustrated just how difficult it will be for any candidate to displace the polished Romney as the front-runner, or it uncovered a space, possibly somewhere in between Romney and Bachmann, where a new face could alter the dynamic.
Here's suggesting that they'll see it because the latter--and that if Huntsman had any doubts about finding in just before Monday, lots of of them were erased.
9. Will everyone else?
See earlier question. Are Rick Perry's boots created for operating? We might find out quickly.
ten. Will Sarah Palin be there in spirit?
The attainable candidate was talked about only the moment, in a softball question to Pawlenty about regardless of whether she created a greater vice presidential choose than Joe Biden. Pawlenty had tiny to lose in praising Palin in that context. But if Palin is contemplating jumping inside the race, Bachmann's performance Monday may have to offer her some pause.
