GOP 2012 CBS Debate Team - image CBSnews.com
The CBS/National Journal debate held last night at Wolford College, in Spartanburg, SC, was a showcase of the eight GOP Presidential Contenders knowledge of foreign policy. CBS News ran the first hour of the debate live on broadcast television, opting for reruns of a popular series rather than run the last thirty minutes on air – instead they moved to an online streaming format, which was choppy, at best. Apparently, they (CBS) did not anticipate the numbers of interested parties trying to watch the last half hour – National Journal’s website temporarily crashed, and it was, to be blunt, torture to watch. The compete video, via Ron Paul's You Tube channel, is shown below.
Newt Gingrich dominated the foreign policy aspect of the debate, he came across as steady and commanding – and, as usual, let the moderator have it when asked about a statement he had made about Romney the day before on a talk show – which had nothing to do with the debate. This “natural Newt Gingrich” is gaining ground, knowledgeable, forthright and taking no prisoners when it comes to the media. This was as expected.
Romney also did well, specifically when it came to speaking about American Exceptionalism and the economy as it relates to national defense.
Herman Cain, was perhaps one of the biggest surprises, he not only held his own, but gave reasonable answers to each question, previewing the quest in with an overview of the topic at hand, then outlining steps he would take. Although the media is calling this weak, the fact that Cain would assemble a top notch team, then look at all the options for a specific issue, makes one comfortable with the fact that he would not go “rogue” and blindly make a decision that would affect the nation. Cain also would “hire” the best and the brightest, those who have actual experience on the job. He more than mastered this portion of the debate and one can bet the house, will be studying foreign policy and those who are experts in the field prior to the next debate.
Rick Perry gave an amazing performance – so much so one had to at first wonder if he sent in a “stunt” double – not one gaffe, strong and commanding, with perhaps the best option regarding foreign aid – proposing that nations all start at zero, and then the U.S. would decide how much to give, depending upon the benefit to the U.S. He apparently has more than recovered from the gaffe made and discussed in the video below from CBS – where he showed an outstanding sense of humor and the ability to switch from jokester to serious politic in a matter of seconds. It remains to be seen if Perry will benefit from the performance in the polls, but one would hazard to guess, the field will now contain 4 top contenders: Cain, Gingrich, Perry and Romney.
The balance of the candidates, Bachmann, Santorum, Paul and Huntsman were also on their game, and at one point, one of the candidates noted that any one of the individuals on the state would make a better president vis a vis foreign policy that the current occupant of the white house (seriously paraphrased). The winners of the debate noted above were based on technical aspects as well as the ability to hold their own in this arena, and keep to the format.
The next two debates will be held as follows:
November 19th (online only) – from Des Moine Iowa, Thanksgiving Family Forum - the family leader.com Moderator is pollster, Frank Luntz. The only candidate not confirmed for this debate is Mitt Romney; John Huntsman is also not listed. The time 5 pm Eastern.
November 22 – CNN with The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. The Debate, on National Security will be broadcast on CNN, CNN en Español, and worldwide on CNN International, CNN Radio and CNN.com and begin at 8 PM EST.
One can bet the house that CNN will not cut the debate short, and go to a rerun.
Best line of the night: Rick Perry to CBS News Anchor Scott Pelley (Truncated by CBS News):
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