Radio shows

by David Jeffers

If ever there was a more boring debate than tonight in my 32 years of following them, memory does not serve me well. Perhaps the after effects? And to quote a tweeter, the applause communism rule made the debate boring, which was meant to help Romney.

I think I’m going to watch reruns of the 1960 Kennedy – Nixon Debate and throw in Nixon’s classic Checkers speech just to rediscover my love for politics.

That being said here’s my take on what one Floridian saw. And for full disclosure I endorsed Newt Gingrich right before the New Year.

Newt Gingrich: Newt shrewdly played the frontrunner under the relentless and ridiculous barrage of attacks from Mitt Romney. Newt played the elder statesman and let Romney flail away in the air missing Newt’s chin by a good two feet. I know that I am a Newt supporter, but was anyone actually impressed with Romney’s attacks? You wouldn’t have to know Newt’s record to tell Romney was lying, just like you don’t have to have the evidence when you know your child is lying to you. You just know.

Newt proves his intellectual prowess in his answers on foreign affairs. This will play well in the Tampa, Jacksonville, and Panhandle areas, which have large active and retired military populations. I have not met one active duty or retired military person who favors Barack Obama’s/Ron Paul’s foreign policy, and I work with them every day.

Illegal immigration is a big issue here in Florida and any candidate who tries to placate to the Tom Tancredo crowd will lose the all-important Hispanic vote. However, “hispandering” will not work because most Hispanic conservatives I’ve talked with want a realistic but comprehensive approach to solving the issue. They are all in favor of securing the borders, enforcing the current laws, especially when it comes to illegal hiring, but they also want a compassionate approach to dealing with those families who came here illegally but have resided here for a long time. Only Newt has a realistic plan, which he alluded to a bit tonight on his answer about the Dream Act, and it will please the important Hispanic vote.

Newt showed his intellectual superiority by turning the liberally-biased question of “why didn’t the Bush tax cuts work” and gave a lesson on economic realities that we as a nation must face. That will make the many fiscal conservatives I know comfortable.

Overall Newt’s performance was subdued yet strong for a front-runner. I give him a weak A-.

Mitt Romney: Thankfully for Willard he had NBC to triage his campaign after the sucking chest wound he suffered in South Carolina. I can tell you my circle of influence were stunned by the margin and depth of Newt’s victory. Once solid Romney people are getting weak-kneed.

As I stated earlier, Mitt’s attacks were not only pathetic, most of them were lies of which Mitt will suffer for later this week, especially with the conservative Panhandle and large military population in Florida. Integrity is a must for us and Mitt’s lies will surely find him out.

Mitt’s “Bill Clinton ‘I feel your pain’ pandering” might play with some Floridians, but most of those are not registered Republicans so they can’t vote for Mitt in the primary. The only thing missing was Mitt biting his lower lip. I’d be surprised if that played well at all with conservatives.

I think Mitt Romney actually hurt himself more with Florida voters than most of the pundits’ initial reactions. I still give him second, but this was one of his worse debate performances. Note to Romney’s handlers: you not dealing with Governor Rick Perry now; you’re dealing with one of the smartest men alive today on Planet Earth. So to borrow a phrase from the good Governor of Texas, if you’re gonna go after Newt, you better bring it!

The most stunning moment for me was Romney’s insistence that people look at his conservative record as Governor. He might want to rethink that but hey, I’m here to help. Read it here.

I would give Romney’s overall performance a shaky B. Had he not anemically attacked Newt I would have given him a strong B+.

Rick Santorum: I asked this question a couple of times on my twitter feed and I am still wondering. Did Rick Santorum look physically ill to you tonight? He did to me; his face seemed flush and puffed up, and he began the debate almost lifeless. For those Floridians seeing him for the first time on television many were probably wondering what the fuss was all about. He came across as much ado about nothing.

Senator Santorum has got to learn to stay away from the policy minutiae; it kills Joe and Jane Sixpack to the point of their eyes rolling back in their head. The difference between Rick and Newt talking economic issues is because of Newt’s intellectual superiority he can explain it clearer and in fewer words than Santorum. The comparison is stunning.

Santorum was solid as usual on foreign policy, especially tying present-day Cuba to Venezuela and Islamic terrorism. That played very well up here in the Panhandle and around military bases in Florida, but mostly so in South Florida. I’d give him 2 RBI’s on that answer.

Where he struck out with the bases-loaded was his insistence on having the only conservative bona fides. Obviously he’s not read Steve’s devastating article today, Santorum’s Choice. I’ll be sure as many Florida voters I know do in the next few days.

As Steve wrote, Santorum “may never have as much leverage on the national stage than he does right now” and after tonight’s performance that leverage slipped a view PSI’s. I think Rick Santorum would make a great Vice-President and a Newt/Santorum ticket and administration would be formidable in the lawmaking and policy enforcement ability. They could definitely count on Florida’s all-important 29 electoral votes.

I give Santorum a B- on his performance tonight, instead of a C+ because I still believe he was not feeling well tonight.

Ron Paul: All tonight did was move Paul further into irrelevance, particularly with the Florida Republican undecideds. He said nothing to earn any of those votes, but surely said plenty to lose them. Of course his answers on fiscal matters will play well with fiscal conservatives here in the Sunshine State, but he gained very few converts.

In a military rich state like Florida, his cockamamie foreign policy no doubt stunned those hearing it for the first time. And for those who may have heard he’d become a stronger candidate, his views on Iran made many in uniform and those who have retired their uniforms shake their head in disbelief. I predict Ron Paul will be lucky to pull 15% in the Florida primary.

There were a couple of “love” moments between Newt and the good doctor and I think Ron Paul as Treasury Secretary in the Gingrich Administration would be a good fit.

Paul get’s a solid C for tonight’s performance.

Overall prediction: Newt gains 2 or 3 points; Romney lose 2 or 3 points; Santorum gained very little if any undecideds, and Paul lost any chance he had of finishing a strong third place.

Dave Jeffers is the Founder and President of Aletheia Group L.L.C and author of “Understanding Evangelicals: A Guide to Jesusland”