Reuters writes that Saturday night's ABC/Yahoo GOP debate "was the most-watched of the 2012 campaign as an average of 7.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the presidential candidates take on such hot topics as unemployment and immigration." I barely had the tv on this weekend, much less anything news related, HA! However, I did catch the replay last night, and once getting through it all, including Diane Sawyer's moderation, I had a few moments that stuck out the most.
After everyone's opening statements, fireworks inevitably began between Romney and Gengrich, with Mitt attempting to explain numerous differences between he and Newt, then the rebuttal began...
But while those two sparred over their differences, Bachmann took the opportunity to point out the similarities in 'Mitt Romney' (also pointing out that she is the proven conservative)...
(Here's a lengthier clip that includes the entire chronology, including my next point...)
The gaffe of the night goes to...Romney?! Yep, with that ridiculous wager...
As Ed Morrissey of HotAir described, "When Perry attacked Romney over statements in his book regarding health care, Romney tried to intimidate Perry by challenging him to bet $10,000 over the issue. If Romney wanted to make himself look rich, arrogant, and clueless, he could hardly have done a better job."
Another interesting moment with 'Mitt Romney' was the issue of Israel and an honest statement that Gengrich made concerning the history of the Palestinians (whether you like him or not, he had the guts to speak the truth on this matter)...
Bachmann sided more with the frankness of Gengrich, while Santorum took the hesitant route with Romney. While there were apparent differences over what Newt should or shouldn't have said, Perry set the debate back on the focus of Obama's foreign policy, "This President is the problem, not something Newt Gengrich said."
And I can't go without pointing out a particularly poignant position made by Santorum earlier in the debate. He hit the nail on the head with his excellent accessment of Obama's payroll tax extension and the effects that is having on social security contributions, as I posted about with Levin's discussion last week.
I believe this topic alone speaks volumes as to whom the consistent conservatives are, as CNSNews pointed out, "Santorum, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry all oppose extending the payroll tax cut. The other three candidates taking part in Saturday night's debate on ABC – Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul -- support an extension of the payroll tax cut."
I'd also give kudos to Perry for his great accessment of his tax policy and the problems with Washington.
All in all, a fairly good debate as the race narrows towards the first primaries. Here's a link to the entire debate, if you missed it (like I initially did!).
ADDENDUM: Since I started with Reuters, let's end with a clip from them. Here's the GOP debate 'in one minute' with the scorcher at the end. Enjoy!
