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From reading the reaction to last night’s 20th, and probably last, Republican presidential candidate debate, it appears no one is anxious for a sequel.
Roger Simon had the most succinct description: “One word sums it up: desultory. Which Google tells us means “’lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm.’”
It did, however, probably have an effect. Like every desultory event in this contest, it probably helped the great Default Candidate, Mitt Romney.
I decided to consult National Review’s debate coverage, if only because that was a venue relatively friendly to Rick Santorum. Its panel was unanimous: Santorum lost by letting himself get dragged into long, defensive, technical-sounding defenses of his congressional record.
About the only thing that went right for Santorum is that he managed to more or less get away with blaming the news media for the negative attention his cultural-reactionary persona has gotten in recent days, as though this has not been the central thrust of his campaign from day one.
Beyond that, though, his defenders in the right-wing commentariat were pretty much reduced to cheerleading for the occasional attacks the candidates launched on Obama. Their favorite was clearly Newt Gingrich’s revival of the old chesnut about Obama’s support for infanticide.
Larry Sabato may have had the best summary of the evening:
After 20 debates, I have a hard time saying anything new — so I can only imagine how the candidates feel. This shopworn quartet has been through a lot, and except for Paul, they’ve all had big election nights over the past two months. But judging by the reaction I saw in the crowd and on Twitter, something’s clearly missing: electricity. Maybe it was the format or the questions or the rote responses. Or maybe it’s just that this campaign has run out of gas. The only big idea emerging from it is “get rid of Obama.” That’s enough for the GOP base but not for the much broader electorate required to actually get a new president.
It’s clearer every day: GOPers’ hopes in November depend almost entirely on bad economic developments. The only thing that could have enlivened last night’s debates would have been if one of the candidates had just come out and admitted that.
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Skip on February 23, 2012 8:55 AM:
Deep down, even the candidates have to be fricking tired of repeating the same ole garbage and listening to the same triggered responses from a superfluous audience; with the exception of Mitt of course, who seems to love to hear himself talk regardless of topic or previous stance on said topic.
stormskies on February 23, 2012 9:15 AM:
One thing that we should never forget in the nature of people who attended them. Last night these Americans booed contraception every time is what brought up. Contraception. Booed.
And it's the nature of these types of Americans who vote and elect creatures like Michelle Bachman, Louie Gomert, and all the rest of the clowns just like them. Those clowns are currently in the majority in U.S. Congress.
And look how that has turned out. And of course all the Repiglcian governors like Scott Walker, and all the states in which the Repiglicans control the houses and senates in those states. Look how that has turned out. These clowns have been elected into office.
So exactly what does this tell us about a vast amount of our fellow citizens ? These clowns are but a symptom of a cause and that cause in the nature of a vast amount of our fellow citizens. I guess this must be one of the great examples of 'american exceptionalism'.
Hedda Peraz on February 23, 2012 9:20 AM:
A tip of the hat to whoever borrowed the desks from some third grade classroom!
Demeaning is just another word for "running for elected office".
Steve P on February 23, 2012 9:25 AM:
"The only big idea emerging from it is “get rid of Obama.”
So . . . Obama resigns, Biden takes office and appoints Obama his chief of staff. Can we skip an election?
T2 on February 23, 2012 9:36 AM:
its been clear for at least two years that the one and only plan the GOP has for unseating Mr. Obama is to keep the economy on the skids. They've opposed any and all attempts by the Obama Administration to get things going, but, alas, things are going.
And as long as it keeps going, Obama isn't losing.
Look for concerted effort for the next six months to blame Obama for high gasoline prices "ruining" the exonomy (pun). When the GOP is reduced to saying "Vote for our crappy candidate because Obama is making you pay fifty cents a gallon more"...that's not much of a slogan.
Th on February 23, 2012 9:59 AM:
Newt should be thankful Obama hasn't yet used his drones for blowhardicide.
Diane Rodriguez on February 23, 2012 10:26 AM:
The GOP thought defeating Obama was going to be a walk in the park. Their calculation was that well over 50% of the population never wanted a black man as President. When the dog whistles about race became foghorns and that didn't appear to be turning the tide, they turned to governance of women via their genitals. Hmmm. big loser it's the 21st century. Somebody finally stuck Governor McD in the eye with his vaginal probe. Now, wouldn’t you know, the economic picture is slightly better. The chief mistake of the GOP is calculating that the majority of the country is as racist, ignorant, craven and misogynistic as them, when it's probably only about a 1/3 of the country.
SYSPROG on February 23, 2012 10:54 AM:
They are all so pathetic. Jon Stewart NAILED it last night...in 2008 it was 'if you elect Obama THIS will happen...' It didn't so they are using the same old canards now...'if you RE-elect Obama...' yeah the long con. And then when all else fails blame the media...Newt was ridiculous. I was screaming at the TV when he blamed the President for voting for 'infanticide' to pick ME to answer the question (?)...during THAT vote (which by the way is the LAW OF THE LAND) we didn't have a bunch of right wing nutcase GOVERNORS trying to insert themselves in a women's vagina so it wasn't a national conversation AND they only had THREE debates instead of 20 hate-fests.
biggerbox on February 23, 2012 10:55 AM:
You do have to thank them for spending so much time convincing people who might not have been enthusiastic about voting for Obama again that there really is no alternative if they want to keep the country out of the hands of crazy ideologues. I have to think GOP prospects would have been better if they hadn't had debates at all, much less making them into a 20 episode clown show.
Nobody's waiting to see when the next season of this show airs. Most just want it to go away.
Mimikatz on February 23, 2012 11:13 AM:
The really appalling thing is that after Super Tuesday, which may give us some resolution, there will still be EIGHT MONTHS until the election. Eight months of GOP sanctimony and idiocy. What a ridiculous system, and a pox on those states who moved it up and added another month to the debacle. That's why I don't want Santorum to be the nominee--8 months of his hatefulness and sanctimony is just unbearable.
People are going to turn this thing off in the summer. All the promised GOP SuperPAC attack slime will have as little effect as Meg Whitman's nasty ads and Carly Fiorina's demon sheep. The law of diminishing returns will trump the effectiveness of negative ads. Well over a majority will prefer keeping Obama to Mitt's uncomfortable chuckling and it will mercifully be over in November. Hopefully the GOP will disgrace itself sufficiently for the Dem to retake the House and pick up a Senate seat or two.
Francesco Sinibaldi on February 23, 2012 12:26 PM:
In the flower.
In this way,
and with a
delicate song,
there's a flower
where a fine
day appears
in the novel
seaside.
Francesco Sinibaldi