So it turns out the candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination
don’t like Barack Obama, his health care reforms, government bailouts, unions or abortion rights. Who knew? But it seems they do like tax cuts, states’ rights and… each other.
The beleaguered Newt Gingrich didn’t even wait for the first question in last night’s debate to commence the Obama-bashing. “We need a new President to end the Obama depression”, he opened. And the others soon piled on. Mitt Romney said that “This President has failed” on jobs and the economy. They attacked “Obamacare”, his “oppressive regulations”, his fiscal stimulus, his repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, his intervention in Libya and even his Vice President. Michele Bachmann thrilled the crowd by proclaiming “President Obama is a one-term President”.
Of course, none of that was particularly surprising. With 50 per cent of Republican voters saying that they would chose the candidate with the best chance of beating Obama over the candidate they most agree with, the contenders were keen to prove that they could mount the strongest attacks. What was surprising, though, was that when it came to attacking each other, the gloves were firmly back on.
Tim Pawlenty was presented with a chance to strike a blow on one of his rivals, when moderator John King asked him about a phrase he used at the weekend to link Obama’s health care plan with the one Romney passed when Governor of Massachusetts: “Obamneycare”. Instead of repeating the attack, however, Pawlenty seemed to backtrack a little: “I just cited President Obama’s own words that he looked to Massachusetts as a blueprint”. He did say: “In order to prosecute the case against President Obama, you’ve got to be able to show you’ve got a different and better plan”, but that was a much weaker line of attack than Romney must have been expecting. In fact, Pawlenty’s weakness actually allowed Romney a moment of strength: “I can’t wait to take on Obama,” he said.
At the end, the debate got even softer and turned into a real love-in between the candidates. Herman Cain said that “the people who know most about the people up here don’t see this as a weak field, and neither do I”. Ron Paul said that all of the others could serve in his administration, although he’d have to do “some more quizzing. I don’t even know what they think about the Federal Reserve yet.”
There was even a bit of love for one potential candidate not at the debate, from Tim Pawlenty. “I think Governor Palin’s a remarkable leader. I think she’s qualified to be President of the United States”.
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