2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe big loser last night.. Rick Santorum
from Amy Walter, ABC news blog..
Whatever momentum Santorum had came to a screeching halt in tonights debate. Romney lured Santorum time and again into defending his record in Washington. And, Santorum took the bait responding to his attacks with process arguments and Washington gobbleygook speak.
Example: Romney attacks Santorum for his record on earmarks and Congress voracious appetite for spending. Santorums response: What happened the the 12 years I was in the United States Senate, we went from the debt to GDP ratio, which is now over 100 percent. When I came to the Senate it was 68 percent of GDP. When I left the Senate it was 64 percent of GDP.
Instead of turning Romneys attacks into an opportunity to get on the offense and back on message, Santorum spent his time explaining and explaining and explaining.
Santorum has spent the last couple of weeks portraying himself as an outsider. He undid all of that work in tonights debate.
more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/winners-and-losers-from-final-gop-debate/
TPM also has an article titled "Five Ways Rick Santorum Blew It in Arizona"..
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/five-ways-rick-santorum-blew-it-in-arizona.php
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I agree with this analysis. I didnt watch all of it.. couldnt handle it... however it was clear from what I saw that Mittens and Ron Paul were on a tag team to put the screws to Rickie and I think they succeeded.
gateley
(62,683 posts)DCBob
(24,689 posts)I think the crowd was too pro-Romney for Gingrich to get any traction.
JI7
(89,289 posts)the florida debate was the same and i noticed a lot of debates seemed to be full of pro romney people.
i hope the Obama people make sure this doesn't happen in a GE.
That's the only way Rmoney knows how to get things done.
squicked
(18 posts)poll numbers. So who is going to be the flavor of the week after this debate?
DCBob
(24,689 posts)Newt to rise again maybe?? I doubt it. Ron Paul.. no way. I think Romney has survived the gauntlet and will likely limp through to the nomination.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)but we have less than a week to figure out if it did any damage. I figured Santorum would probably lose Arizona, but a win, any win, in Michigan would give him a claim of victory next week. Mitt does well where there are Mormons and/or well-off people who vote Republicon, but he has yet to prove that he can decisively win an election that doesn't have sizable quantities of either or both.
At some point, he has to break that 50% mark in a real primary where all remaining challengers are on the ballot. That usually happens to an eventual nominee by this point in the season. I say he doesn't accomplish that in Arizona, his only real shot is Massachusetts. Since that's one of his half-dozen "home" states, it won't mean too much.
PRETZEL
(3,245 posts)he's been rising too fast for everyone's liking. As for the Paul/Rmoney tag team, that was a no brainer. Of course it was going to be a tag team and with Newt starying out of the fray as much as possible, he knew that those who are strong supporters will more than likely come his way as lil Ricky's 15 minutes of fame fade.
As for Newt, John King and him must have an arrangement going that whenever the hot button social topic that has to be given at least lip service to, the question goes to Newt so he can feign his outrage over such a question (i.e. last nite's birth control and the SC debate) get the rowdies' all fired up and use it to blame the President. I watched about 3/4 of the debate and Newt was an afterthought until that question.
WI_DEM
(33,497 posts)as there is a general dislike for him. Santorum isn't getting out anytime soon--and unless Newt loses Georgia, he probably is staying in for a while, too. As for Ron Paul it has become clear that he is working in cahoots with Romney, so the hell with him.
DCBob
(24,689 posts)and the Obama campaign has really begun to attack him yet.