WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AT THE DEARBORN, MI, GOP DEBATE
Townhall's Matt Lewis: "Romney makes a good point about the line item veto. He used it 844 times, he says. Romney also points out that Rudy fought against it all the way to the Supreme Court. This is what he sees as a clear contrast... (I strongly agree with Romney about this)." (Matt Lewis, "Live Blogging The Debate," Towhall, http://townhall.com, Posted 10/9/07)
· Lewis: "Matthews asks all the candidates how Republicans can win back the voters. … Romney, perhaps answering Huckabee and McCain, says we need to be confident and optimistic. Amen!" (Matt Lewis, "Live Blogging the Debate," Townhall, 10/9/07)
The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "For our money, Mitt Romney gave the best answer. 'There are some good ones and some not so good,' Romney said, before naming the Carpenters as one of the 'good' unions. As for the bad ones, Romney joked he wasn't planning to name them. It seemed like a real joke – Romney himself seemed somewhat surprised that he had made it – and a nice moment for a candidate." (Chris Cillizza, "Union Yes," Washington Post's The Fix Blog, blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/10/union_yes.html, Posted 10/9/07)
· Cillizza: "The three frontrunners used a question about how to convince voters that Republicans can be trusted with the economy to offer their larger philosophical visions. Romney, not surprisingly, was the most upbeat of the trio." (Chris Cillizza, "A Contrast In Visions," The Washington Post's The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com, Posted 10/9/07)
MSNBC's Chuck Todd: "[Romney's] coming across, so far, as the most prepared for this debate. He appears to be the least nervous; this topic, of course, is in Romney's wheelhouse." (Chuck Todd, "Romney Strong So Far, Avoiding Bush Comparisons," MSNBC'S First Read Blog, firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/09/404089.aspx, Posted 10/9/07)
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "[Gov. Romney] let off a great line about the tax-raising Democratic Governor, Jennifer Granholm." (Marc Ambinder, "Romney Sounds Like A Gubernatorial Candidate Here," The Atlantic, marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/10/romney_sounds_like_a_gubernato.php, Posted 10/9/07)
· Ambinder: "Romney sounds like a gubernatorial candidate here. (That's a compliment). He let off a great line about the tax-raising Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm. 'I figured she was going to put a tax on the debate before it was finished.'" (Marc Ambinder, Atlantic Online Blog, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 10/9/07)
· Ambinder: "Props to ... Romney: knowing the ins and outs of the Michigan economy; for landing a punch about the line item veto; he got a full minute and a half to explain his health care plan." (Marc Ambinder, Atlantic Online Blog, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 10/9/07)
MSNBC's Domenico Montanaro: "There was a clear difference seeing Fred Thompson versus Romney in style. Romney was much more direct, clearer and had a handle on the issues." (Domenico Montanaro, "On Style," MSNBC's First Read, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com, Posted 10/9/07)
The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "A nice moment for Mitt, comparing his record in the private sector to that of Hillary. 'I've done it, she's just talked about it,' he hit home at the end of his answer." (Jonathan Martin, "Mitt: I Can Take A Piece Out Of Hillary, Too," Politico, http://dyn.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/, 10/9/07)
· Martin: "In his first answer, Mitt Romney scored nice points with the Wolverine State audience by taking a shot at Granholm – and citing the biggest news here locally." (Jonathan Martin, "Mitt Gets Easy Applause," The Politico, http://www.politico.com/, Posted 10/9/07)
Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Romney, speaking second, was much smoother and fluent – and smart enough to focus on Michigan's problem and blast Gov. Granholm's tax hikes." (Wlady, "Top of the Order," AmSpec Blog, 10/9/07)
· Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Who else on that stage will be so unabashedly supply-side? Romney's response? He's for the line-item veto." (Wlady, "Clubbing for Growth," AmSpec Blog, 10/9/07)
· Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Mitt Scores Against Mahmoud [Ahmadinejad]." (Wlady, "Mitt Scores Against Mahmoud," AmSpec Blog, 10/9/07)
