WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AT THE SECOND REAGAN
LIBRARY DEBATE
National Review's Jim Geraghty: "When Romney takes his shots at McCain, it's
both strong and fair - he acknowledges that McCain has some areas in which he's
a conservative, but he takes several fair shots - McCain Feingold; voting
against the Bush tax cuts twice (McCain noted earlier that he had voted to make
them permanent)." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes
McCain To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Geraghty: "I like that Romney says that the original version of the
McCain-Kennedy immigration legislation wasn't so bad, and that it got worse as
it moved through the process. It shows familiarity with the legislative
details." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes McCain
To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Geraghty: "'Let me help you with the facts, Senator.' Wow. Romney nails him
for pointing out the study McCain is referring to in his answer about job
creation and loss includes his predecessor, Jane Swift, who lost many jobs on
her watch." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes McCain
To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Geraghty: "Where the heck has this Romney been? He just calmly and clearly
took McCain to school." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney
Takes McCain To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com,
Posted 1/30/08)
The American Spectator's John Tabin: "Romney corrects some of McCain's facts
– McCain confused Romney's lieutenant governor with his predecessor, among other
things. I think Romney won this exchange." (John Tabin, "Romney Vs. McCain," The
American Spectator Blog, www.spectator.org,
Posted 1/30/08)
CNN's Bill Schneider: "Romney's response scores big points with conservatives
– and with a lot of Americans who aren't conservative." (Bill Schneider, "Big
Points For Romney On Immigration," CNN's Political Ticker, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Schneider: "Romney is winning this big-time — McCain's wrong. We already
have timetables for everything in Iraq, whether we stick to them or adjust them
later on." (Bill Schneider, "Romney Has McCain On The Ropes," CNN's Political
Ticker Blog, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com,
Posted 1/30/08)
National Review's Mark Hemmingway: "Not that I needed anyone to tell me the
McCain-Lieberman cap-and-trade program is a bad idea, but Romney's dissection of
it was clear and compelling." (Mark Hemmingway, "Not That I Needed Anyone,"
National Review's The Corner, http://corner.nationalreview.com=,
Posted 1/30/08)
Captains Quarters' Ed Morrissey: "Romney dominating near the close -this
debate is owned by Mitt." (Ed Morrissey, "Romney Dominating Near The Close,"
Heading Right, http://headingright.com/,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Morrissey: "Romney's Playing Ball Control. He's answering in depth, and by
doing so he gets more air time. He's using the format to his advantage." (Ed
Morrissey, "Romney Dominating Near The Close," Heading Right, http://headingright.com/,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Morrissey: "Romney is getting the best of this exchange … Romney does a
good job of keeping the tone even and factual while scolding McCain for getting
the data incorrect." (Ed Morrissey, "Romney Is Getting The Best Of This
Exchange," Heading Right Blog, http://headingright.com/,
Posted 1/30/07)
Commentary Magazine's John Podhoretz: "Mitt Romney is doing a great job. Very
commanding. He's far more substantive than McCain." (John Podhoretz, "Mitt
Romney," Commentary Magazine, http://www.commentarymagazine.com/,
Posted 1/30/08)
Ankle Biting Pundits' Bull Dog Pundit: "We're 45 minutes in and I'm not going
to go point by point, but I have to say that Romney is hitting the notes he
needs to." (Bull Dog Pundit, "GOP Debate," Ankle Biting Pundits, http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/,
Posted 1/30/08)
· Bull Dog Pundit: "Purely on substance Romney hit it exactly right when he
started talking about the need for entitlement reform. When he said we have to
'change the deal' on Social Security and Medicaid for people in their 40's I
almost stood up and cheered. He also did a great job of pointing out John
McCain's conservative apostasies." (Bull Dog Pundit, "GOP Debate," Ankle Biting
Pundits, http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/,
Posted 1/30/08)
Heading Right's Douglas Gibbs: "Romney's expertise …and knowledge of
economics and facts is outshining his opponents." (Douglas Gibbs, "Romney's
Expertise," Heading Right Blog, http://headingright.com/,
Posted 1/30/07)
Heading Right's Faust Wertz: "Romney's answers are great … Clear, to the
point but explaining what needs to be explained, and he looks comfortable."
(Faust Wertz, "Romney's Answers Are Great," http://headingright.com/,
Heading Right Blog, Posted 1/30/07)
