#econ debate

[justinspoliticalcorner]

If you could find Bloomberg TV on your dial, you may have caught Newt Gingrich's attacks on Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. In his warped version of reality, the global financial meltdown wasn't about stock speculators, fraudulent rating agencies actions, corruption of the mortgage industry, CDO's and the AIG Asset Management insurance scheme that and the rest of the crooks that collapsed the markets. Nope, in the last GOP presidential debate on Oct 11, he blames all their problems on two guys named Dodd and Frank and their usual meme about government regulations, :

"If you want to put people in jail, you ought to start with Barney Frank, Chris Dodd," Gingrich said, responding to a questioning about why Wall Street executives weren't arrested after the financial crisis.

Barney released a quote after the debate:

"As to the facts, the Republicans -- part of the time under Newt Gingrich -- ran Congress from 1995 until 2006, the period during which the financial crisis began and then rose to disastrous proportions. Chris Dodd and I were in the minority during that time, and in fact no remedial action was taken by Congress until we became chairmen of our respective committees in 2007 and 2008." "Apparently, Newt Gingrich -- who considers himself one of the intellectual leaders of the free world -- is so embarrassed by the fact that he is running behind Michele Bachmann in Republican polls that it has increased his already well-developed propensity to utter outlandish things."

Barney joined Chris Matthews and eviscerated Newt for almost ten straight minutes in response to Mr. Tiffany's pompous remarks with both barrels blazing.

h/t: John Amato at Crooks and Liars

[jvbrewer]

Mitt Romney remains the front-runner. No surprises there.

I think Herman Cain is a flash in the pan--he was confident and remained on message all night, but pretty soon that message is going to sound flat and one-dimensional.

Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum both had strong points, but neither of them are very likely to gain much ground after tonight's performance. I think both of them sense that they can beat Romney on the substance, but tonight's format didn't present much opportunity for either candidate to directly engage him for any sustained period of time.

Rick Perry continues to disappoint. He appears increasingly out of his depth.

With the exception of his answers about the Federal Reserve, Ron Paul was barely noticeable.

Michele Bachmann was even more unmemorable, though she did rip on Herman Cain's "9-9-9 Plan" (“When you take the 9-9-9 plan and turn it upside down, I think the devil is in the details.”). 

And I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Newt Gingrich doesn't really want to be President. He just wants to regain some level of cultural importance. 

[shortformblog]

I'm absolutely devoted to making America the strongest country in the world, and if that's not your objective, don't vote for me. We already have a President who doesn't have that objective.

Mitt Romney, closing out the debate.

[shortformblog]

When asked whether soaring levels of income disparity in America are acceptible, Rick Perry steamed right past and stuck with an anti-Obama message, saying that the President is the number one impediment to getting the economy back on track. Rick Santorum chimed in subsequently, talking about the "breakdown" of the family (he actually slipped gay marriage into it, too), but in terms of specifics on the question, it's clear income disparity wasn't something either man much wanted to discuss in moral terms.

[shortformblog]

i don't think the federal government should be involved in that type of investment, period.

Rick Perry, speaking on Solyndra, the solar technology company which received a government loan guarantee of over $500 million before filing for bankruptcy. He explained that he doesn't have a problem with states leveraging its funds to try to spark innovation and hiring, however, and that's a good thing — Perry has been proactive in pushing for certain industry subsidies within Texas.

[shortformblog]

No, Alan Greenspan was a disaster.

Ron Paul, rebutting Herman Cain's statement that of the Federal Reserve Chairmans of the last forty years, he thought Greenspan was the best. This was a curious choice, and not a politically convenient one due to Greenspan's proximity to many of America's financial flaws over the last decade — which means, we reckon, that it was an honest answer. So hats off to that!

Be sure to check out more coverage over at DC Decoder!

[shortformblog]

I'm gonna ask the United States Congress to include a 2/3rds majority vote before they can raise the 9-9-9 tax.

Herman Cain, answering Rick Santorum's challenge as to how he'd prevent the rates in his tax plan from being raised over time; he also promised to protect the rates with the veto pen while in office.

Be sure to check out more coverage over at DC Decoder!

[shortformblog]

The reason for giving a tax break to middle income Americans is that middle income Americans have been most hurt by the Obama economy.

Mitt Romney, responding to Newt Gingrich's criticism that his economic plan sets a lower income threshold for a capital gains tax cut than President Obama supports. This response is indicative of the long-view game Romney has played in the last couple debates; in seeing a stable position as the GOP frontrunner, Romney realizes he can dabble in middle-class rhetoric to try to stay viable as a general election candidate.