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Live Blogging During GOP Debate by Rick Klein

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January 30, 2008 4:31 PM

9:44 pm: That's it for tonight -- thanks for reading. We'll be back for another blog during the Democratic debate tomorrow night, and check back tomorrow morning, as always, for latest edition of The Note.

9:42 pm: So that's it -- all that's left now is voting (and five days of campaigning). Winners and losers? Nobody had a huge night. McCain probably wins by virtue of the fact that he had a lead going in -- the pressure was on others to knock him down a peg, and that didn't happen. I do think though he raises some questions about his forthrightness -- his immigration answer, saying he'd vote against his own bill, and some squishiness on what he's said in the past on taxes. Still, a solid night for the solid frontrunner.

Huckabee is unlikely to have made himself a factor in the race. He's still trying to recapture his Iowa magic.

Romney needed something dramatic. He didn't quite get it with the only heated exchange of the evening, about what he's said on Iraq. He's been far more aggressive in other forums. He may have planted something tonight, in taking down McCain's image as a "straight talker." But there isn't much time for it to grow.

9:35 pm: ABC's Karen Travers: Huck crushes the Reagan question. Not using it as a chance to squabble with a rival - totally stays above that.

9:31 pm: Finally, at the end, Romney gets to make his real argument against McCain, and he does it forcefully, with fluidity and eloquence, by channeling Reagan (if he does seem to know a bit much about what Reagan would do in 2008. McCain again just can't resist the attack: "Ronald Reagan would not approve of someone who changes their positions depending on what the year is."

9:28 pm: Huckabee sounds like a candidate for president -- not vice president -- for tonight at least. He hasn't played the McCain protector I assumed he would, or would have to. Mostly, probably, because of the docile tone, but for people tuning in late -- hey, this Huckabee guy can be really good.

9:24 pm: Romney counts not having served in the military as one of his "great regrets in life." You know -- he had ample opportunity. He was the right age during Vietnam, if he'd been interested. And yet another McCain tweak -- talking about people losing their jobs when Romney bought and sold companies. Is it just me, or is he again looking for a fight? It does seem to be getting to Romney.

9:22 pm: ABC's Bret Hovell: McCain is once again talking about Ronald Reagan. On the plane today he joked that he thought that he and his rivals would be breaking the record they set at the last debate in Simi Valley of number of times they mentioned the Gipper. "I know I'm going to try," McCain said.

9:21 pm: Romney wants to own the economy as an issue again. When Romney talks resume, it's about as good as it gets in a debate -- and makes you wonder why we didn't hear more from this Romney for all those many months.

9:19 pm: Sometimes it really does look like McCain is spoiling for a fight. He's said for months and months that he led a squadron "for patriotism, not profit" -- but that's such a dig at private-sector Mitt Romney, why drop it in here? Romney shakes his head no.

9:11 pm: Ron Paul makes sense when he says this is a silly argument of "who said what, when."

9:08 pm: I truly do not know how to judge this whole extended exchange on Romney's old quote. Romney and his people do think this line of attack really hurt him in Florida. Now though it's letting Romney make this part of his anti-Washington rhetoric: it's "Washington-style old politics." OOh, he got the word "old" in there two -- that's two attacks in four words.

McCain asking Huckabee for some help -- pointing out that Romney "set the tone" with his attack ads.

9:04 pm: Romney is sensing an opportunity, and seems genuinely upset that McCain is twisting his words: "How is it that you're the expert on my position?" "Senator, if you had a question on this -- if you had a question on this, you could have asked it."

This whole debate is in the weeds, so to speak. But McCain's smile is priceless -- he's in danger of overreaching on this. He doesn't need to do himself any damage.

9:02 pm: Romney's sharpest line of the night, on McCain's characterization of Romney's position on Iraq: "Raising it a few days before the Florida primary . . . sort of falls in the kind of dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible."

9:01 pm: Romney swings hard at the suggestion that he favors a timetable for troop withdrawals. (He also coins a word: "unequivocably.")

8:55 pm: ABC's Bret Hovell, who covers McCain, picked up this detail in McCain's response: This is the first time he said he wouldn't vote for his immigration bill. He dodged it when he was asked last week at the Boca debate, and he dodged it when Anderson Cooper tried to follow up just now. But I heard him say (when asked whether he'd vote for it): "No I would not, because we know what the people want."

This could be seen as McCain doing exactly what he blames Romney for. "Now we know what the people want" is not part of the "McCain" persona.

8:50 pm: I like this question about O'Connor. And it elicits another revealing answer about how McCain has gotten to the point that he's the frontrunner -- he's moved himself into position to get his party's embrace.

8:48 pm: Huckabee makes a joke out of not answering the question about Sandra Day O'Connor. Granted, it's tough with Nancy Reagan sitting in the front row...

8:45 pm: Wow- McCain is seriously, seriously ducking the immigration issue. Won't even entertain a question about whether he'd vote for the bill that bears his name! This is one dirty little secret about how he got back in the game this campaign. He has -- maybe not even with subtlety -- changed at least the emphasis, and perhaps the meaty substance -- of his position on immigration reform.

8:39 pm: Romney now takes on entitlements. This is a treadmill of an issue -- who ever gets anywhere on this?

8:36 pm: That's twice that McCain has said he wants to make the tax cuts permanent. Yup, the tax cuts he voted against. Another opening for Mitt.... And moderator Janet Hook asks the right question -- McCain's explanations for the votes have changed.

8:32 pm: Why did Mitt Romney bring up the Big Dig in the context of infrastructure projects that are good for the economy? He says it cost way too much, and of course it did, but why even go there?

8:31 pm: I've got to think that the Romney team made a decision not to come out throwing haymakers. Maybe they knew the dynamics wouldn't favor their man. Maybe Romney's tired. And maybe it's letting John McCain have a fantastic night, one-fourth of the way into the debate.

8:28 pm: The "gashouse"! Ron Paul nails it.

8:25 pm: Romney says that fossil fuels are "probably" bad for the environment? Is that as far as he's willing to go? One of many reasons Arnold went with the guy on his right.

8:23 pm: So far, the debate strikes me as an argument for having stopped these debates a few weeks ago. An amazingly placid affair, 20 minutes in.

8:21 pm: A presidential debate is now turning on how much a state should charge to remove oil tanks from bankyards? Not the soaring discussion Mitt Romney wanted. But he does sound good -- and in a conservative way -- when he's talking about this healthcare plan. That portion of his record gave him trouble early in the campaign, but no longer.

8:18 pm: Huckabee says it's not a two-man race. Yeah, OK, but . . . it is.

8:17 pm: I'm surprised so far by how serene Romney is. No sense of desperation (that's good) but little agression either (that's less good).

8:16 pm: From ABC's David Chalian: Hey -- wait a minute -- didn't his latest supporter, Gov. Schwarzenegger, also push for a "big government mandated healthcare system"?

8:15 pm: McCain is actually going stronger at Romney, at least early, than Romney is going after McCain. He is attacking his record in biting terms (and seeming to enjoy it more than a little bit -- and yes, we saw that smile on the face of Politico's Jim VandeHei while it was ongoing).

8:11 pm: Romney: "He's a good Republican." And then he asks McCain to correct him if he's misstaking his record! Then he gets to the meet -- tax cuts, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Lieberman. Still, he's taking a high road, a substantive road, when it comes to attacks.

8:09 pm: ABC's Jennifer Parker: "Having trouble figuring out where Romney is coming from. He's trying to argue he's the candidate of change, then touts Bush's tax cuts, then in another breath talks about middle class economic squeeze. Hard to try to run to the right of McCain, and then try to sympathize with the middle class...especially when we know he's a millionnaire."

8:08 pm: Huckabee at least shoots straight on the question: "I don't think we are." He was the one GOP candidate who was acknowledging economic hardships back before it was cool.

8:06 pm: McCain answers the question both ways. And it seems like he's sprinkling in a whole bunch of economic stuff to show he knows what he's talking about. And McCain puts the Bush tax cuts out there first -- dangling some bait for Romney to take...

8:04 pm: Romney gets another lead-off question on the economy, but he ducks what could have been an interesting response -- are we better off than we were eight years ago? It's a tricky one for a candidate of economic optimism. He dances and then falls back on stump stuff -- not helping his reputation for slickness with this response.

8:02 pm: ABC is confirming that Gov. Schwarzenegger will endorse McCain tomorrow.

8:01 pm: This debate is happening in one of the coolest rooms for a debate that exists. It oozes presidentialness (if that's a word).

7:52 pm: A story just crossed the wires, from the AP's David Espo, saying that Romney has not committed to placing ads in Feb. 5 states. This is mind-boggling, race-altering stuff. If Romney (or his wife) has decided to cut off the $$ spigot, he's giving up perhaps his biggest advantage against McCain. He will NOT be able to simply out-campaign him, not McCain, not with the head of steam he's built up.

If this decision is not reversed, Mitt Romney will lose. It's pretty much that simple.

7:47 pm: The DNC is having some fun with the Rudy endorsement. The snarky Michael Gehrke (again on debate oppo duty) sends this missive: "Maybe Giuliani's track record will give him pause.  According to the Hotline’s 2006 election scorecard, of the 36 candidates Rudy Giuliani endorsed, just 8 won, and six of these were already incumbents, including the hotly competitive Dennis Hastert race.  When you include the race he just lost, Rudy's endorsement average barely clears baseball's Mendoza line (.215 vs .216)." (He also defines Mendoza line, but as a baseball fan, I'm going to insist that you google it to find out what that means.)

7:36 pm ET: So the deed is done -- Rudy's out, and supporting McCain (and it looks like Gov. Arnold will be right behind him tomorrow). Not exactly the Republican establishment, but it helps establish McCain as the firm frontrunner in the race. AND -- for our purposes tonight, it raises the stakes for Mitt Romney, who needs something to shake up the race in the next six days.

But he's going to suffer from the same dynamic that shaped ABC's debate in New Hampshire about four weeks ago -- he's not going to have any friends on the stage. If he attacks McCain, Mike Huckabee (maybe auditioning for the vice presidency) could come to McCain's defense. Romney is happy Ron Paul will be on the stage -- his responses will give Mitt a chance to breathe, and a chance to agree with McCain and Huckabee (by not agreeing with what Paul says).

Rick Klein from ABC's The Note here. I'll be live-blogging during tonight's Republican presidential debate, starting at 8 pm ET. Watch on CNN and follow all the action here at ABCNews.com. It will be a cozy stage -- only four Republican candidates left, with John McCain set to receive Rudy Giuliani's endorsement shortly before the debate starts at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Who will be the first to break Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican"?

January 30, 2008 in Vote 2008: Republicans | Permalink | User Comments (36)

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Cane Rudy off the stage

Posted by: Mary | Jan 30, 2008 6:15:09 PM

"Who will be the first to break Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment: 'Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican'?"

Romney. I say the over/under is at the 15:00 mark.

Posted by: Jake | Jan 30, 2008 6:50:13 PM

One thing that may be overlooked by McCain and the media is the strong Mormon demographic in California, and in the entire Western US. Many Latinos in California are LDS, and many conservative upper class whites are LDS as well. Few people know that there are more Mormons in California than there are in Utah. Super Tuesday may not go as well as McCain would like in the West. Just like the evangelicals gave the Huckster and boost in IA, the Mormon vote in the West may give Romney some momentum. It's not over yet!

Posted by: CherryTree | Jan 30, 2008 7:20:15 PM

CherryTree, thanks for the information. I had no idea.

Posted by: MM | Jan 30, 2008 7:44:43 PM

Huckabee just stated that he was for goverment statying out of our lives. But then he also stated that he wanted to amend the constitution to add marriage. Talk about a contradiction.

Posted by: Angel | Jan 30, 2008 8:23:27 PM

boring....

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 30, 2008 8:25:05 PM

Yeap, Romney needs to keep pressing on McCain's rediculous Z visa suggestionof some illegal immigrant paying $3000 and getting to stay for life, infront of everyone who waited in line.

If McCain wins I will vote for Obama, but if Hillary, well then I'm afraid it's McCain or "ABC!"

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 30, 2008 8:48:10 PM

Talk about FLIP FLOP--
McCain on his very own Immigration bill. Ugh.

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 30, 2008 8:49:53 PM

They won't let Ron paul say a single word.

Posted by: Matthew | Jan 30, 2008 8:58:32 PM

Go Romney. No wonder McCain and Hillary love eachother. Both twists other's records. Romeny cdlearly answered the context of the timetables comment.

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 30, 2008 9:04:03 PM

This is the most awful debate yet. There is no organization and there is absolutely no equal time. I cannot stand the BS. Between MSNBC, CNN and FOX, this is terrible.

Posted by: Matt | Jan 30, 2008 9:09:46 PM

ABC and ACM-anyone but McCain. Hillary adn McCain--two peas in a pod.

Thank you Ron Paul for bringing up the crucial issues.

Posted by: sammy | Jan 30, 2008 9:12:26 PM

Yeah Matt. You are so right.

Posted by: sammy | Jan 30, 2008 9:13:04 PM

Enough of the wind bag McCain. Ron Paul makes the most sense. McCain looks so smug up there. McCain is turning me off.

Posted by: Lena | Jan 30, 2008 9:15:35 PM

Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee actually got to squeeze in a few words!!! Let's shoot fireworks!!

Posted by: Matthew | Jan 30, 2008 9:16:12 PM

Anderson needs to do a better job of taking control of this so called debate. It looks like a free for all. They are all liars but Ron Paul. The establishment really wants to keep him down.

Posted by: Lena | Jan 30, 2008 9:18:37 PM

People are delusional if they don't see this as being at complete odds with democracy! It is sad that our megamedia companies are not a true reflection of our true ideals (historically) as Americans. Sad.

Posted by: Matt | Jan 30, 2008 9:20:49 PM

These guys are so out of it. Have they not read papers or read polls. We doo not want the war, we want a better economy, resolutions to the immigration problems. These guys are a bunch of jokers.

Posted by: lena | Jan 30, 2008 9:24:56 PM

McCain reminded me why I don't like him--he has a definite mean streak. He and Hillary should run on the same ticket.

I've never really liked Romeny but in comparison he's sounding pretty good. Ron Paul is probably the most frank--refreshingly so.

Huckabee's "let me play" is getting annoying. Face it Huck, you're a good man, but you will never be able to win over the entire country--tehre is too much anti-religious bigotry now and you ran 4th in Florida. Time to pack your bags.

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 30, 2008 9:25:17 PM

You are right Dennis, McCain has a mean streak just like Hillary and is trying his best to keep it in check. You can see him chomping at the bit. Hillary is better at controlling her feelings to the public.

Huckabee is window dressing, really. No chance for Gomer Pyle

Posted by: lena | Jan 30, 2008 9:29:06 PM

Lena, they aren't so much out of touch --they recognize that America is against this war but they aren't being swayed by polls but by policy, right or wrong as we might see it. Personally, I think we will embolden the enemy if we leave and give the jihadists fighting us a propaganda "win" swoop which we will leave to regret. But the fact is, this is why the Repubs will lose the election (unless Hillary wins and we squeek by with the anti-Haillary vote, our nly 'hope'). Obama is perhaps my man--if McCain wins, he is more in line with the wishes of this country as it stands, and is refreshingly honest and moral for a Democrat--one in character that Repubs can actually embrace.

Ron Paul's gold standard comment from Reagan--hmm, a provocative point.

Posted by: Dennis | Jan 30, 2008 9:39:30 PM

I was starting to lean towards Ron Paul until he got going on the gold standard thing.

Posted by: lionsfan2008 | Jan 30, 2008 9:53:05 PM

I just watched the debate, and as usual the frontrunners were bickering and saying nothing that will affect my life and the country's well being. I'm glad Ron Paul called it just for what it is "silly". I wish Ron Paul would win, but I don't think the repub base has a clue. In the general election, I will probably vote democratic and go with Obama. At least he wants to talk to our enemies instead of bombing them.

Posted by: Ben Straub | Jan 30, 2008 9:53:29 PM

As usual, the debate was skewed by the media. The questioning was directed to enhance who the media thinks are the leaders without the benefit of a majority vote. A couple of states means nothing it is again, the medias method of controlling our politics. I wonder when we will ever get reporters again. A total hour after the debate is devoted to the media's interpretations. I, for one, represent three voters who watched it and none of us is interested in the media's opinion. Facts would be great tho. McCain is so full of his own self importance you might as well call him Bush. Romney is capable of understanding and giving someone the chance to explain a different point of view. An open minded president. Scary after 7 years of a closed mind. Huckabee is also a reasonable person, and not full of himself, but his continual references to religion and the fact that he has stated he plans to alter the Constitution to include his version of God, is unacceptable. Ron Paul, while very competent about being fiscally responsible, will never be able to get people to hear or understand him until we are, as we are close to, being destitute. When we slip into the depression that we are sliding into, I do not see any of these candidates being able to rally us out of it. We are financially overextended and the middle class is about done for. All the candidates, excluding Ron Paul refuse to acknowledge this small fact. Each one believes that giving more breaks to the rich will pull us out of this. It's not going to happen. The rich are there because of the middle class and this group is strangling with the present policies and will die with those presented tonight.

Posted by: Susan Crossen | Jan 30, 2008 10:04:33 PM

This debate was garbage. But CNN's last one sucked too. Was there a moderator tonight, cause I sure didn't see one. This is supposed to "inform" the voters of California... What a CROCK!!! They wouldn't even talk to Huckabee, and I thought they liked him more than Paul. The treatment of Paul was disgraceful four questions in an hour, three shortened answers, one cutoff, and ANOTHER withdrawn question to hear more bickering from McCain, and Romney. Looks like I'm going 3rd party this year. The Republican party is DEAD! They're giving Hilliary and Obama all the help they need. The Republican party has become a wasteland, and is irrelivant to the priorites and will of the American people. Disgraceful. They deserve to lose.

Posted by: fraud '08 | Jan 30, 2008 10:29:17 PM

McCain is a lying piece of trash. The only reason he brings up the "timetable" is because that's he's trying to bring all the emphasis back to the Iraq War, which is clearly his ONLY strong experience. McCain needs to strengthen his position on economics and immigration.

Posted by: marie | Jan 30, 2008 10:41:27 PM

John McCain is so full of it. I can't stand his arrogance. Why does he think that just because he's served in the military (which is respectable of course)its is the only thing he needs to have experience in to be commander and chief of America? He has a bad temper and leaves me feeling sick with his ignorance and condescending attitude toward the things that Mitt Romney has had success in.

Posted by: tinker | Jan 30, 2008 10:45:42 PM

Terrrible "debate", if I heard McCain call himself a foot soldier for Reagan one more time...he drooned on and on and Anderson Cooper never cut him off.
Romney, repeated over and over his record as governor,same old schmucks.
Where were the issues? I don't care what who said when.
Ron Paul has a plan people, cut taxes on
SS, cut taxes on tips, just to start..get us out of this ridiculous conflicts overseas,spend our money here.

Posted by: judarama | Jan 30, 2008 10:47:52 PM

McCain sounds alot like Bush doesn't he? Just what we need, another president who makes error after error in judgement and uses the media to cover it up for him. He's just practicing his Bush/Clinton double-speak.

Posted by: Susan Crossen | Jan 30, 2008 10:49:10 PM

The Republicans and Democrats all have one thing in common: they all believe in the initiation of force to accomplish their goals, whether economic, social, or military. The only possible exception is Ron Paul, and even he fails the non-initiation of force test when it comes to his fairly coercive (i.e. conservative) positions on immigration, abortion, and marriage. It's time for everyone to start looking at the only party that has an internally consistent philosophy of non-initiation of force: the Libertarian Party (and their front runner, Steve Kubby).

Posted by: Darren | Jan 30, 2008 10:59:22 PM

I like McCain.

Posted by: H. O | Jan 30, 2008 11:00:54 PM

Barack H. Obama Way funny BHO

Posted by: Susan Crossen | Jan 30, 2008 11:04:13 PM

Arney is still working on getting that Constitution thingy altered. Bush did it, why can't he?

Posted by: Susan Crossen | Jan 30, 2008 11:13:48 PM

Romney answered all of the tough questions clearly and intelligently. He clearly showed that he has what it takes to be President of the US. I was never a McCain hater, but he honestly made me sick tonight with his childish jabbing and obvious distortions..He is not a straight shooter!!!

Posted by: Will | Jan 31, 2008 12:03:47 AM

So where did the Reagan Library come up with an Air Force One 747? Was that a going away present to RR on leaving office? Did he forget to return it?
Seems rather ostentacious. Let's ask Oliver North, he always tells the truth.

Posted by: Bob | Jan 31, 2008 12:38:50 AM

you have LEARNED to be helpless and believe that your path to Freedom is through war - a strategy we ALL know is destined to fail. You are too stuck in your own fears to face the collective reality that we ALL allowed to occur. Ron Paul speaks the truth, and deep inside you ALL know it - and you are too afraid to accept it, so you IGNORE - hoping it will go away. But meanwhile the pot is nearly "boiling" and you're still CHOOSING to be ignorant. You WILL wake up, eventually. Dr. Paul is the real deal, and he's telling us like it IS - we need to be CONSCIOUS HUMANS and acknowledge our challenges, remember our true purposes and principles (US Constitution) and right our path. Please please please wake up.

Posted by: Martin | Jan 31, 2008 2:08:42 AM

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