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Townhall...
The
Fox/Google Debate
by Rich Galen
9/23/2011
Debate
night - UH-gain. This time
co-sponsored by Fox News and Google - unlikely partners who make the
case about
strange bedfellows UH-gain.
The
stock market is in free fall: The
Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 675 points or almost nine percent
of its
value in the past two days alone, so it is likely the economy will be a
big
part of the debate. The execution of Troy Davis in Georgia Wednesday
night will
doubtless be a subject of discussion as well. On foreign policy, the
Israel/Palestine issue is at the top of the stack; and funding FEMA -
UH-gain -
will probably be dealt with.
Here’s
the pre-game analysis.
Gov.
Rick Perry - This is his third
debate so he loses the advantage of amateur status. He has to perform
as well
as the others on the stage meaning he has to do better than he did in
the
September 12th debate. That means crisper answers on Social Security,
HPV, and
the death penalty; as well as a broader understanding of the issues
concerning
the Middle East and China.
The
Perry rocket has stopped rising
after a spectacular launch, and it will be up to him tonight to
reignite the
second stage.
RealClearPolitics.com
Average among
GOP Voters: 28.4%
Gov.
Mitt Romney - Romney has gotten
the chance to catch his breath with just about everyone turning their
attention
to Perry in the last two debates. Romney appears to be closing the gap
against
Perry and leading in polls released over the past few days in New
Hampshire and
Florida.
While
the National Association of
Political Pundits believe RomneyCare is a deal-killer, I think the
Romney
campaign’s decision to speak to moderate Republicans, Independents, and
Conservative Democrats is strategically smart because the
“electability” issue
will turn on whether that group trusts Perry or Romney.
Look
for Romney’s language and manner
to be just-this-side of stiff so he looks Presidential.
RCP
Average: 20.6%
Rep.
Ron Paul - Paul just won’t go
away. He has a deep, deep well of supporters who keep sending him money
so he
keeps plugging away. The campaign has done a great job of making the
National
Association of Political Reporters (not Pundits) take a look at their
pieces to
make certain they’ve included Paul in their coverage.
It
is not clear that Paul’s
state-by-state numbers match his national support, so he will have to
keep
nipping at fellow-Texan Rick Perry’s heels and will continue to get to
make his
case during these debates.
RCP
Average: 8.9%
Read
the rest of the column at
Townhall
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