2008 Presidential Campaign Blog

What They're Saying, Part III: John McCain At CNN Debate

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, PART III: JOHN MCCAIN AT CNN DEBATE

"John McCain Won The Debate" As He Delivered "The Most Poignant Moment Of This Debate"

CNN's Amy Holmes: "John McCain Won The Debate." "[I] would say getting down to business, who won this debate tonight, I'd have to say John McCain. ... [I]n the final citizen Q&A, I think he really brought it home on immigration - how our immigrants are our friends, our neighbors, they are serving in our armed services, we need to be tough on border security, illegal immigration is wrong - but surprisingly, on this issue, I think that John McCain won the debate." (CNN's "Post-Debate Analysis," 6/5/07)

National Review's Jim Geraghty: McCain "Hit It Out Of The Park" And Was "Respectful, Dignified, And From The Gut." "And he hit it out of the park in responding to the sister of the slain soldier - respectful, dignified, and from the gut." (Jim Geraghty, "The Hillary Spot" Blog, "GOP Debate Three Wrapup," hillaryspot.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

GraniteGrok Blog: McCain Had The "Best Display Of Empathy ... I Was Impressed." "Best display of empathy: McCain when an audience member, Erin Flanagan, asked her question: her brother was killed in service he answered the call and was the best of the best. What will you do, as CoC, in the halls of Washington and the sands, to bring our boys home? McCain strode forward to the edge of the stage (he had been seated for the second part of the debate) to look her in the eye. 'The War has been mismanaged badly. The new general should be able to make this work, so that your brother has not died in vain.' Erin had tears in her eyes when McCain was done. ... He spoke not to the crowd, not to the TV, but to her alone. I was impressed." (GraniteGrok Blog, "Live Blogging The Debate From My Couch," www.granitegrok.com, 6/5/07)

CNN's John King: McCain Delivered "The Most Poignant Moment Of This Debate." "That was Senator John McCain of Arizona in the second half of the debate, perhaps the most poignant moment of this debate, Anderson, when that woman, Erin Flanagan, a New Hampshire voter, stood up and said that her brother had been killed in Iraq. And she asked the candidates not only what would they would do to end the war and bring the troops home, but how could they turn down the tone of the fierce political debate about Iraq in the United States." (CNN's "Post-Debate Analysis," 6/5/07)

McCain "Took The Bull By The Horns," Showing The "Courage Of His Convictions"

The Politico's Josephine Hearn: "He Took The Bull By The Horns." "I completely agree with Craig [that McCain was a winner]. I think he took the bull by the horns. We knew it was going to be in the debate. Really the biggest cheer in the two hours was when he talked about Hispanic veterans and saying that there are a lot of Hispanic name on the I have yet unanimous veterans memorial. He said earlier we have to take on the hard issues when he was talking about immigration. I think he played it very well. Nice job." (MSNBC's "Scarborough Report," 6/5/07)

· Hearn: McCain Won "The Biggest Cheer In The Entire Two Hours Was When He Talked About Hispanic Veterans." "Really the biggest cheer in the entire two hours was when he talked about Hispanic veterans and saying that there were lots of Hispanic names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. I mean that was I think a poignant moment. ... He said earlier we have to take - we have to take on the hard issues when he was talking about immigration. I think he played it very well. Nice job." (MSNBC's "Scarborough Country," 6/5/07)

CQ Weekly's Craig Crawford: McCain Showed The "Courage Of His Convictions" And "The Other Candidates Didn't Lay A Hand On Him." "I think John McCain [was a winner] and holding his ground and defending his position on immigration reform even though he knows it's getting him hammered in the conservative base of his party, the other candidates didn't lay a hand on him. He stood his ground and he might have won a few nodding heads for at least showing a little courage of his convictions even if they disagree with him." (MSNBC's "Scarborough Report," 6/5/07)

· The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "McCain ... Mounted [A] Heartfelt Defense Of Immigrant Communities In The United States." "McCain later mounted an heartfelt defense of immigrant communities in the United States, inviting viewers to visit the Vietnam Memorial and notice how many hispanic names are engraved there. McCain said immigrants were all God's children' and that each immigrant community had added to the vibrancy of American culture." (Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post's "The Fix" Blog, "GOP Debate Wrap Up," blog.washingtonpost.com, 6/5/07)

McCain "Drew Loud Applause" For Criticizing Hillary Clinton On Iraq, Saying "Presidents Don't Lose Wars. Political Parties Don't Lose Wars. Nations Lose Wars." "McCain also drew loud applause ... [criticizing] leading Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, when asked a question about the the war. 'When Senator Clinton says this is Mr. Bush's war, President Bush's war,' she is wrong, he said. 'When President Clinton was in power, I didn't say Bosnia was President Clinton's war,' the Arizona senator said. 'Presidents don't lose wars. Political parties don't lose wars. Nations lose wars,' he added." ("CBN News" Blog, "GOP Hopefuls Spar Over Iraq, Immigration," www.cbn.com, 6/5/07)

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: McCain "Did Something Remarkable" With "Both The Rhetorical And ... Political High Ground." "I also thought John McCain did something remarkable. He went in there as the only candidate supporting his own bill. One out of ten, yet he had both the rhetorical and I thought the political high ground in talking about immigration which was quite a trick." (CNN's "Post-Debate Analysis," 6/5/07)

What They're Saying About Mitt Romney At The New Hampshire GOP Debate - Vol III

WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GOP DEBATE – VOL. III

Politico's Roger Simon: "Here are the winners and losers of Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate, accurate to three decimal places. FIRST PLACE: Mitt Romney.  Analysis: Strong, clear, gives good sound bite…" (Roger Simon, "Debate Winners! Guaranteed Accurate!" The Politico, 6/5/07)

CNN's Bill Schneider: "[Romney] made a compelling case." (CNN's "Post-Debate Coverage," 6/5/07)

Politico's Jonathan Martin: "…Mitt Romney also turned in a good performance."  (Jonathan Martin, "My Final Take," The Politico, 6/5/07)

Boston Globe's Scot Lehigh:  "Bottom line: Romney was most polished…"  (Scot Lehigh, Op-Ed, "Essential Qualities," The Boston Globe, 6/6/07)

Political Strategist Mike Murphy: "Romney is on his game tonight, I'll say that." (CNN's Political Ticker, 6/5/07)

CNN's Natalie Apsell: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also received audience cheers tonight after he fielded an immigration question." (Natalie Apsell, "Audience Cheers Tancredo And Romney On Immigration," CNN, 6/5/07)

New York Sun's Seth Gitell:  "Mr. Romney had a good moment when an audience member asked him about his Spanish language Web site. Mr. Romney quipped, 'I love legal immigrants coming to the country, and I hope they vote for me.'" (Seth Gitell, "Seriousness Dominates GOP Debate," New York Sun, 6/6/07)

The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes: "Romney was fine, too. It was clear he's figured out and was trying to emulate one of Reagan's traits: unbridled optimism. And he was pretty good at it. Most of Romney's answers included a reference to his personal optimism or his 'vision' for the 21st century…" (Fred Barnes, Op/Ed, "Nice Guys In New Hampshire," The Weekly Standard, 6/5/07)

National Review's John Derbyshire: "Romney: Great to hear these guys talking with such expertise and (in Romney's case) authority on a Dem issue like health care." (John Derbyshire, "Debate," National Review Online, http://corner.nationalreview.com/, Posted 6/5/07)

Sam Brownback Statement NH Debate

Brownback Offers American Leadership and Solutions at NH Debate
Calls for a political solution in Iraq, confronting Iran, fixing our nation's broken immigration system and a pro-life nominee for the Republican Party

MANCHESTER, NH –United States Senator Sam Brownback participated in the New Hampshire presidential debate on Tuesday, calling for a political solution in Iraq, fixing our nation's broken immigration system and a pro-life nominee for the Republican Party.

Brownback's strong performance was noted by the Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post who noted, "...Sen. Sam Brownback (Kans.) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.) made the biggest and best impressions."

Brownback offered strong leadership on the issue of Iraq, announing that he will introduce legislation tomorrow that would offer both a political solution to the war, and a political consensus amongst politicians in Washington.

"...We've got to put forward now a political plan," Brownback said. "It's about getting the situation to a point that we can turn it over to Iraqis and then us pull back from the front of the line. That's why I'm putting forward tomorrow a bill — and this would be about a three-state solution in Iraq — a Kurdish state, a Sunni state, a Shi'a state — with Baghdad as the federal city, in a loose, weak, federated system, oil revenues equally divided, and it's a bipartisan bill. We will have bipartisan support. We've got to pull together here to win over there."

Brownback also offered harsh words towards Iran, calling them the lead sponsor of terrorism and the need for aggressive confrontation.

"Iran is the lead sponsor of terrorism," Brownback said. "Ahmadinejad just this past week called for the destruction of Israel, continues to call for attacking of the United States. I think we have to confront them aggressively for what they are, which is the lead sponsor of terrorism in the world. I think we need to push the sanctions forward more aggressively. And I think we have to show that purpose and resolve — that we're going to confront these guys, and we're going to stand with our allies like Israel, we're going to stand against them oppressing and pushing us and trying to fund terrorists against us."

Brownback called for a solution to immigration, emphasizing border security with an interior solution regarding the illegal immigrants already here.

"...Everybody is concerned that we get something done and get something right," Brownback said. "I think if you do exterior enforcement, border enforcement, you do aggressive interior enforcement, and then you work on a comprehensive solution interior, that's something that a lot of people are going to be upset with, but that can work and move us forward. And it's better than not doing anything."

Brownback proved to be the leading candidate on social conservative issues, emphasizing respect for life in all stages, and the need for a pro-life nominee for the Republican Party.

"I am pro-life and I'm whole life," Brownback said. "And one of the things I'm the most, the proudest about our party about is that we've stood for life. We've been a party that has stood for a culture of life, and it was in our platform in 1980 and it continues today...That's why I don't think we can nominate somebody that's not pro-life in this party because it is at our core. We believe that every life is beautiful, is sacred, is a child of a loving God, from natural — from conception to natural death, and that applies not only here and in the womb, it applies to somebody that's in poverty, it applies to the child in Darfur. And that philosophy, being pro-life and whole life, is something I think can really help move us forward as a country and as a party. I don't think we're going to nominate somebody that's not pro-life."."

What They Are Saying … About Mayor Giuliani, Part Two

What They Are Saying … About Mayor Giuliani, Part Two

CBN News’ David Brody: “Rudy Giuliani Seems To Just Get Better And Better With Each Debate.” (David Brody, CBN News’ “The Brody File” Blog. http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/171317.aspx, 6/5/07)

Brody: “[Rudy] comes across as a straight shooter and genuine when talking about defending this country. He told Americans tonight that it was the right decision to go into Iraq. He didn’t beat around the bush.” (David Brody, CBN News’ “The Brody File” Blog. http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/171317.aspx, 6/5/07)

New York Sun’s Ryan Sager: “Big Giuliani Win.” (Ryan Sager, New York Sun’s “Latest Politics” Blog, http://www.latestpolitics.com/blog/2007/06/the-nh-gop-debate.html, 6/5/07)

New York Sun’s Ryan Sager Said Giuliani Was “Very Articulate” And “Very Commanding” On Health Care. (Ryan Sager, New York Sun’s “Latest Politics” Blog, http://www.latestpolitics.com/blog/2007/06/the-nh-gop-debate.html, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Rudy Wins.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog. http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDM1NmQzZTkwNDVmNTA3MDA2MGEzMjA4ZmZkMDU4N2Y

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Rudy Is A Freevangelical. He keeps coming back again and again to freedom—spreading it overseas, believing in it here at home.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YThjNDdmM2FhN2VmNzFiZDY5ZDRmMzU4NmJkYTJhNDU=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Self-confident, good-natured—that sums up the Rudy of the last two debates.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzBlOWU3MmY1M2FiODNjMzg0MWM0ZDBkMGNmNmMyNTc=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez: “Rudy Won.” (Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjliZTY5MzE4NGRjMzNmMGI4NzhmNWY2YjY0ZjY3MDA=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s John Derbyshire: “Rudy Looked Great.” (John Derbyshire, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Kate O’Beirne: “Rudy Finishes Strong.” (Kate O’Beirne, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/, 6/5/07)

The Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “The answer [Rudy] just gave on immigration, citing Lincoln, was superb.” (Jonathan Martin, “Rudy Is Having A Good Night,” The Politico’s Blog, http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0607/Rudy_is_having_a_good_night.html, 6/5/07)

Power Line Blog’s John Hinderaker: “Rudy Giuliani stepped forward … His performance was terrific.” (John Hinderaker, Power Line Blog, http://powerlineblog.com/archives/017849.php, 6/5/07)

NBC News’ Chuck Todd: “Rudy Giuliani was solid …” (Chuck Todd, NBC News’ First Read, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/, 6/5/07)

Power Line Blog’s John Hinderaker: “Rudy Giuliani … broke away from the pack tonight …” (John Hinderaker, Power Line Blog, http://powerlineblog.com/archives/017849.php, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “[Rudy] was quick, commanding, authoritative-sounding—altogether the big man on stage, projecting the image of the kind of guy you can trust during a time of war.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDM1NmQzZTkwNDVmNTA3MDA2MGEzMjA4ZmZkMDU4N2Y=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “He kept taking digs at Washington, burnishing his outsider credentials, and was frank and feisty …” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDM1NmQzZTkwNDVmNTA3MDA2MGEzMjA4ZmZkMDU4N2Y=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “[R]udy's strength and emphasis on freedom is probably what is going to strike most voters as really Reaganesque.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDM1NmQzZTkwNDVmNTA3MDA2MGEzMjA4ZmZkMDU4N2Y=, 6/5/07)

CBN’s David Brody: “On immigration, it’s a very complicated issue but Giuliani was able to boil it down to basically say ‘throw the bad people out’ and then was able to weave his idea for national ID cards into the answer.” (David Brody, The Brody File, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/171317.aspx, 6/5/07

National Review’s John Podhoretz: “[Rudy] is doing a brilliant job tonight.” (John Podhoretz, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2E0YTUzY2I5OWMyYzUzZTM4NjliNjFjMDc1NjIzN2Y=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez: “[Rudy was] in command, indeed.” (Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Mark Levin: “[W]hen Rudy is good, he's really good …  His answers on Iraq, Libby and health care were outstanding.” (Mark Levin, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDRmNWMxZDlkYjE2YTgyOTMyZjFjM2Q2MGM0NGEwYTE= , 6/5/07)

What They're Saying About Mitt Romney At The New Hampshire GOP Debate - Vol II

WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GOP DEBATE – VOL II

National Review's Rich Lowry: "Romney's Answer on War on Terror: Quite good (and he was shrewd to get off the tactical nuke thing quickly with a simple no-option-off-the-table)." (Rich Lowry, "The Corner," National Review Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/, 6/5/07)

Townhall's Hugh Hewitt Said Romney "Looked And Sounded Great." (Hugh Hewitt, "We Are Not Going To Build Fences And Barriers," http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/356cbdd4-ddd4-45d3-895f-a69cfdc8c0da, Accessed 6/5/07)

Political Strategist Mike Murphy: "I Thought [Romney] Had A Good Performance Tonight." "And I'll quickly defend Mitt Romney.  I thought he had a good performance tonight.  And I thought it was impressive that he brought up China, which is a huge economic issue that I think is going to play big in the general election.  I thought he was very clear about Iraq, which is 'fight terror.'" (CNN's "Post-Debate Coverage," 6/5/07)

Captain's Quarters' Edward Morrissey: "How many times will Romney have to answer for his religion, and why does he have to do it at all? Romney gave a gracious and tenacious answer, which should be the last time he has to answer it." (Edward Morrissey, "Romney gets the Mormon question… again…," Heading Right, http://headingright.com/, 6/5/07)

Hotline's Emily Goodin, Romney Nailed The Mormon Question. "Romney got the Mormon question. He quotes JFK – 'not a Catholic running for president but an American.' He also makes it political but slams it back on the press. Romney: 'I also believe there are some pundits out there who hope I'm going to distance myself from my church in order to help myself politically and that's not going to happen.'" (Emily Goodin, "Praying to God," The Hotline: On Call, http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/, Posted 6/5/07)

National Review's Jim Geraghty: "As I was watching this, I thought, 'I would be comfortable with Romney as the nominee.' The word 'unflappable' comes to mind. Solid answer on a borderline unfair question on the Mormon thing. I'm struck by how he manages to squeeze an answer that's usually pretty solid no matter what amount of time is available." (Jim Geraghty, "GOP Debate Three Wrapup," National Review, The Hillary Spot, http://hillaryspot.nationalreview.com/, 6/5/07)  

Washington Post's Chris Cillizza Highlighted Romney Applause For His Immigration Answer. "Later, Romney called for making the Z-visa program in the Senate legislation temporary and called on the government to enforce current law. He drew two rounds of applause." (Chris Cillizza, "McCain & Giuliani Tussle Over Immigration," Washington Post: The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/, Posted 6/5/07)

CNN's John King: "Romney Did Good On The Idea Of Mormonism." JOHN KING: "… [A]nd Mitt Romney did good on the idea of Mormonism and invoking the idea of John Kennedy, a religion like yours, not to be afraid of and that's something his campaign will have to engage in probably more than just tonight as the campaign goes along." (CNN, "Post Debate Coverage," 6/5/07)

What They're Saying, Part II: John McCain At CNN Debate

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: JOHN MCCAIN "IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN"

"Declare McCain The Winner" For "Stealing The Show" And "Was Noticeably In A League Of His Own"

NBC's Chuck Todd: "Declare McCain The Winner." "McCain was the news. It felt as if the first 45 minutes of the debate was all about McCain. From Iraq to immigration, the candidates essentially were point-counterpointing with McCain. So if owning the subject matter of the debate qualifies as winning, then declare McCain the winner." (Chuck Todd, MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, "Like A Heavyweight Boxing Match...," firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: McCain's Answer "Moving" "His answer to a NHer's question about ending the war in Iraq was moving, and the CNN cutaway showed that the questioner was moved." (Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic Online's "A Reported Blog On Politics" Blog, The Republican Debate," marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 6/5/07)

NBC's Domenico Montanaro: "McCain Stealing The Show." "Giuliani's following him (twice now); he slapped down Tancredo and got the loudest applause of the evening." (Domenico Montanaro, MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07) 

"CNN Pipeline Commentators Were Stunned Into Silence As Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, Delivered 'The Best Moment Of His Campaign.'" "For just a few moments, the CNN Pipeline commentators were stunned into silence as Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, delivered 'the best moment of his campaign,' according to Republican strategist and one-time McCain advisor Mike Murphy. In response to a question from the sister of a fallen soldier, McCain stood up, offered his condolences and elaborated on his vision for the future of Iraq. 'It was an extremely strong answer, he charged ahead right there,' said Murphy. Pipeline analyst and Democrat Arianna Huffington was left nearly speechless - 'wow, simply wow.'" (Josh Li psky, "CNN Political Ticker," Blog, "Murphy: McCain Charg es Ahead," politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 6/5/07)

GOP Strategist Mike Murphy: "I think McCain had the best single moment of his campaign in that question with the woman whose brother had been killed in Iraq. He admitted mistakes, he was great and right to her on the point, no political kind of dancing to it." (CNN's Post-Debate Coverage, 6/5/07)

McCain Delivered "Bold" And "Moving" Answers, Showed "Easy Command" Of National Security And "Impassioned Presentation Of His Views"

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "McCain's Easy Command On National Security Issues Drew The Evening's First Applause." "McCain's easy command on national security issues drew the evening's first applause when he criticized Hillary Clinton for calling Iraq 'Bush's war.'" (Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic Online's "A Reported Blog On Politics" Blog, The Republican Debate," marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 6/5/07)

· The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: McCain's Answer "Moving" "His answer to a NHer's question about ending the war in Iraq was moving, and the CNN cutaway showed that the questioner was moved." (Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic Online's "A Reported Blog On Politics" Blog, The Republican Debate," marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 6/5/07)

CNN's Candy Crowley: John McCain Reaching Out To Woman Whose Brother Had Died In Iraq Was "The Most Powerful Moment Of The Night." "John McCain in a very poignant moment ... when the young woman talked about her brother who had died in the war John McCain stood up, sort of bodily reached out to her and talked about some of the mistakes that had been made that the war had been terribly mismanaged and had been what he called unnecessary sacrifices, again that was probably the most powerful moment of the night ..." (CNN's "Post-Debate Coverage," 6/5/07)

The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "McCain Seems Especially Relaxed Tonight" Delivering "Impassioned Presentation Of His Views." "Mr. McCain seems especially relaxed tonight. On a question about Hispanics, he opened with, 'Muchas gracias governor,' and turned to Mr. Romney. And he went on to advise people that when they are in Washington - no, he wasn't trashing Washington here - he told them to visit the Vietnam Memorial, where they would see a lot of Hispanic names. He has had a few days of appearing on television defending the immigration bill and has been by turns angry and adamant; this is definitely a moderate, but impassioned presentation of his views." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "The Caucus" Blog, "Live-Blogging The GOP Debate," thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com, 6/5/07)

CNN's Bill Schneider: McCain "Bold" To Defend Immigration, "He Doesn't Back Down." "Sen. John McCain is being very bold in defending the immigration bill during the debate. He doesn't back down, despite attacks from the other candidates on the stage." (Bill Schneider, "CNN Political Ticker," Blog, "Schneider: McCain Bold' To Defend Immigration," politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, 6/5/07)

NBC's Chuck Todd: "He Led The Way In Standing Up During The Town Hall Portion Of The Debate." "His emotive high point was when he led the way in standing up during the town hall portion of the debate and showed incredible Clintonesque empathy toward the woman who lost a relative in Iraq." (Chuck Todd, MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, "Like A Heavyweight Boxing Match..." firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

GraniteGrok Blog: "McCain Got Huge Applause." "McCain spoke of Hispanic people and names on VietNam wall. Spoke about immigrants using military service to fast track citizenship. We are all God's children. He got huge applause on this answer." ("GraniteGrok" Blog, "Live from Manchester - The GOP Debate!" www.granitegrok.com, 6/5/07)

Townhall's Matt Lewis: McCain's "Got A Great Sense Of Humor." "'Muchas Gracias,' says McCain to Tancredo. You gotta give it to McCain, he's got a great sense of humor. I think he's scoring some points on being compassionate toward immigrants." (Matt Lewis, "Townhall" Blog, "The Debate Part II," www.townhall.com, 6/5/07)

What They're Saying About Mitt Romney At The New Hampshire GOP Debate

WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GOP DEBATE

CNN Political Analyst Bill Schneider Said Romney Sounded Like A President. CNN's BILL SCHNEIDER: "'I won't answer hypotheticals' – former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sounds like a president already when he responded to a question about what he would do if the current 'surge' strategy in Iraq was judged to be unsuccessful." ("Schneider: Romney Sounds Presidential," CNN Political Ticker, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/, 6/5/07)

Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "Romney Continues To Perform Well." "Mitt Romney continues to perform well, this time deftly handling a question about voters' doubts about his Mormonism. He called it a 'fair question to ask' and highlighted the similarities he shares with Christians rather than the differences that exist. 'The values that I have are the same values you will find in faiths across this country,' Romney said." (Chris Cillizza, "Surprise, Romney Gets a Mormon Question," Washington Post Blog, www.blog.washingtonpost.com, Posted 6/5/07)

· Cillizza: "Romney attacked both Washington – 'where everything becomes a mess' -- and the Democratic party for promoting 'socialized medicine.' He used the health care question to highlight his resume as a doer during his gubernatorial term in Massachusetts; 'I'm the guy who actually tackled this issue,' he said." (Chris Cillizza, "Giuliani, Romney And Thompson On Health Care," The Washington Post, The Fix http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/, 6/5/07)

CBN's David Brody: "If Mitt Romney doesn't become President, he should seriously consider being CEO of debate school. He could teach every candidate a thing or two. He is so polished, a great speaker and doesn't come across as robotic." (David Brody, "The Brody File Reacts To The GOP Debate," CBN's The Brody File, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews, 6/5/07)

· Brody: "His answers tonight on Iraq and immigration were very clear. He comes across as very knowledgeable. I thought it was the right move tonight to NOT attack John McCain on immigration. This way he comes across as the nice guy, not the attack dog." (David Brody, "The Brody File Reacts To The GOP Debate," CBN's The Brody File, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews, 6/5/07)

· Brody: "Romney had been criticized before the debate because McCain said he didn't have a plan on immigration but Romney said very clearly that he does: enforce the current law. That answer was a crowd pleaser." (David Brody, "The Brody File Reacts To The GOP Debate," CBN's The Brody File, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews, 6/5/07)

National Review Online's Andy McCarthy: "Romney: enforce the law as it exists… That hits the sweet spot." (Andy McCarthy, "Romney: enforce the law as it exists," http://corner.nationalreview.com/, 6/5/07)

Politico's Jonathan Martin: "Romney Knocked The Mormon Question Out Of The Park." "Wolf sorta gave it to him open-ended, but Romney knocked the Mormon question out of the park. He opens by drawing the JFK comparison, which makes the whole proposition seem less exotic, and closes by reminding those unnamed 'pundits' that he won't distance himself from his church to help him politically, which guilts those for even raising the question." (Jonathan Martin, The Politico Blog, www.politico.com, Posted 6/5/07)

The New Republic's Michael Crowley: "[Governor Romney] is a razor-sharp speaker. The answer about his Mormonism was a perfect 10. The man is a human PowerPoint presentation - it's almost scary." (Michael Crowley, "Mitt," http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank, 6/5/07)

ConservativeBlogger.com's William Smith:  "Romney is really solid tonight… he's saying the right things." (William Smith, "DEBATE: Live-Blog Of GOP Debate," http://conservativeblogger.com, 6/5/07)

Heading Right's Macranger: "Romney handled it 'Presidential…'" (Macranger, "Romney vs. McCain," Heading Right Blog, http://headingright.com/, 6/5/07)

· Macranger: "Romney hits it out of the park! Immigration - ENFORCE THE LAWS ON THE BOOKS! Exactly!" (Macranger, "Romney Hits It Out Of The Park," Heading Right, http://headingright.com/, 6/5/07)

What They Are Saying … About Mayor Giuliani, Part One

What They Are Saying … About Mayor Giuliani, Part One

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “‘I turned around New York City, I can turn around Washington’ That's the Rudy message and it's a powerful one (and Romney seemed tinny immediately afterward talking about "our products and services").” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTNlMzI4MTBiYThkZDg5OTI5YmVkOGMzZjQ3YWExOTQ=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry On Giuliani: “Does anyone doubt that this guy is ready to be President of the United States? Makes almost everyone else on the stage look small by comparison.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OWU5ZmMxODdkZjE5NTk3Y2YwMzE1NDhiNzRmMTgyYmY=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s John Podhoretz On Giuliani: “He is doing a brilliant job tonight.” (John Podhoretz, Nation Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2E0YTUzY2I5OWMyYzUzZTM4NjliNjFjMDc1NjIzN2Y=, 6/5/07)

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza: “Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was more forceful on the question. ‘It was absolutely the right thing to do,’ said Giuliani. He pivoted to assert that the ‘Democrats were in denial’ by trying to separate Iraq from the broader global war on terror.” (Chris Cillizza, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/iraq_kicks_it_off.html,  6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry On Mayor Giuliani’s Answer To Immigration Question: “‘No unifying purpose,’ ‘typical Washington mess’—right on the substance and right on the politics.” (Rich Lowry, National Review's "The Corner" Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZGMzYmViZjIxZGRiOThhN2YzYTRjNDRkNDY1MDAzMzk=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “The Underlying Thematic Argument between Rudy and McCain on the immigration bill is anti-Washington v. pro-Washington, with Rudy attacking the way Washington worked on this thing and McCain defending it. Politically, that's a big winner for Rudy.” (Rich Lowry, Nation Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDM0MTczOGIxMTM0MzQ3ZDcwYWUyNGE2YzdkYThhZGE=, 6/5/07)

The New York Times’ Katharine Seelye: “Rudolph W. Giuliani is criticizing the Democrats too. (Hmmm.) He was typically direct — yes, he said, he would not rule out the nuclear option against Iran if Iran developed nuclear weapons — but he got in a dig at the Democrats. He said that during their debate, they sounded like they were ‘back in the 1990’s.’ Those were the Clinton years, lest anyone has forgotten.” (Katharine Steelye, The New York Times’ “The Caucus” Blog, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Rudy’s Straight-forward answer to the Iraq question—not a mistake—made Romney seem wishy-washy.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDE5MDliZmQ4MDgyMTBhYTZmYjM4OTQwZjdkZDNhZDQ=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s John Derbyshire: “Forty Minutes In: Rudy looking good—lucid, good-humored, pushing the ‘executive prowess’ image ...” (John Derbyshire, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YjFiZDQ3Yjc5NGI1Y2I1MjUxZGI1ZmViODQ4OTNkMjk=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Rudy on Gays in the Military: Artful.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2M3YTcwZGUxOWFiN2RmZThhOTJiYWRkMzdiYmY5N2Y=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez: “Rudy's Libby answer was excellent -- including when he scolded Wolf for playing throwing the clock at him when we're talking about ‘a man's life.’” (Kathryn Jean Lopez, Nation Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDE2Y2IzNzM5MjVmMTE3MTdjYTI1MWFmYjc3MTI5N2M=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Rudy: man, he’s in command of these debates lately.” (Rich Lowry, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDE2Y2IzNzM5MjVmMTE3MTdjYTI1MWFmYjc3MTI5N2M=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s John Podhoretz: "’The sentence was wildly excessive.’ Straightforward and powerful, and gave Rudy a chance to point out he recommended 5,000 pardons to Ronald Reagan. In this debate you can see how good Rudy can be on his feet when he's focused.” (John Podhoretz, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZGY2ZmJkNjE0ODA4YWVlNWQxYTBkY2M0YjNiMjcxNWI=, 6/5/07)

National Review’s John Derbyshire: “ [Giuliani] jumps right into health insurance issue. Clear, concise.  He’s looking really good tonight.” (John Derbyshire, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWJjNzBjNzgxMjcwMTI4YWY0MWY3YTI5MTE1NTc0OGI=, 6/5/07)

American Spectator’s James Poulos: “Rudy finally clear, commanding, and crisp on socialized health care. Standing up from his chair looks professional and respectful, a dare I say Clintonian assertiveness.” (James Poulos, American Spectator’s Blog, http://www.spectator.org/blogger.asp?BlogID=6784, 6/5/07)

Giuliani Communications Director Katie Levinson Statement On The Republican Debate

Statement from the Communications Director

New York City – Below is a statement from Giuliani Communications Director Katie Levinson regarding tonight’s Republican debate:

“Tonight, Rudy Giuliani once again demonstrated why he should be the next President of the United States.  Whether it’s staying on offense in the terrorists’ war against us, securing our nation’s borders or keeping our economy strong, Rudy knows what it takes to make government accountable and efficient.  He is the strong, optimistic and proven leader our country needs during these challenging times.”

What They're Saying: John McCain At CNN Debate

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: JOHN MCCAIN AT CNN DEBATE

McCain Won The Debate With A "Beautiful, Soulful, Substantive" Performance And "Did What Few Candidates, Republican Or Democrat, Have Done So Sure-Footedly In This Campaign McCain Stepped Up"

National Review's John Podhoretz: "McCain At His Best." (John Podhoretz, National Review's "The Corner" Blog, "McCain At His Best," corner.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

· Podhoretz: "He gives a beautiful, soulful, substantive answer to a woman whose brother died in Iraq." (John Podhoretz, National Review's "The Corner" Blog, "McCain At His Best," corner.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "Mr. McCain Just Did What Few Candidates, Republican Or Democrat, Have Done So Sure-Footedly In This Campaign ... McCain Stepped Up And Addressed Her In A Totally Human Way." "Mr. McCain just did what few candidates, Republican or Democrat, have done so sure-footedly in this campaign. When a woman from the audience said that her brother had been killed in Iraq, Mr. McCain stepped up and addressed her in a totally human way. The sacrifice of your brother will not be in vain,' he assured her. He seems to have well learned the Dukakis lesson from 1988: Show your heart." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "The Caucus" Blog, "Live-Blogging The GOP Debate," http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/, 6/5/07)

National Review's Jim Geraghty: "He hits it out of the park." (Jim Geraghty, National Review's "The Hillary Spot" Blog, "The Third Republican Debate, Part Three," hillaryspot.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

NBC's Chuck Todd: "McCain Showed His Emotional Side Which Has Always Been A Hidden Strength For Him." "On Monday, a colleague commented to me that he was amazed at the lack of empathy in the Dem candidates on stage Sunday night when CNN had a relative who was personally touched by the Iraq War. None got up and addressed the woman directly. This colleague noted: Bubba would have had his arm around her in seconds...' Well, McCain's folks clearly believed the same thing when watching on Sunday. McCain showed his emotional side which has always been a hidden strength for him." (Chuck Todd, MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, "Bill McCain? John Clinton?," firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

· New York Sun's Ryan Sager: "[McCain's] answer to a young woman whose brother died in Iraq was eloquent and clearly heart-felt." (Ryan Sager, New York Sun's "Latest Politics" Blog, "The NH GOP Debate," www.latestpolitics.com, 6/5/07)

McCain Dominated The Debate And Drove "Home His Views" As Other Candidates Played "Follow The Leader"

Politico's Jonathan Martin: "In A Very Smooth Move Sensing Opportunity, McCain Speaks Up And Gets More Time To Drive Home His Views On The Broader Immigration Issue." "In a very smooth move, McCain speaks up when the English as the official language' question is posed. Nobody else on stage, of course, dared do anything but silently acknowledge their support for such a measure. Sensing opportunity, McCain speaks up and gets more time to drive home his views on the broader immigration issue. Oh, and he slyly drops in a reference to Jeb Bush supporting the deal to all the Florida primary voters watching at home." (Jonathan Martin, Politico's "Smith And Martin" Blog, "McCain Buys More Time On His Immigration Message," www.politico.com, 6/5/07)

NBC's Mark Murray: "McCain Walks!" "[I]n addressing the woman who asked the question about losing her brother. All other GOP candidates were sitting downThis came during the second half of the debate, with all the candidates seated. McCain got up out of his chair and directly addressed the woman." (Mark Murray, MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, "McCain Walks!," firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

· Townhall's Matt Lewis: McCain Is "The First To Stand Up." "This format is much better for McCain. He's the first to stand up. He's better out from behind a podium." (Matt Lewis, "Townhall" Blog, "It's Showtime!" www.townhall.com, 6/5/07)

Hotline's Emily Goodin: Candidates Followed McCain By Standing Up. "The town hall format, which was the slower half of the Democratic debate, John McCain stood up when it was his turn to address the audience. Rudy Giuliani and Jim Gilmore quickly followed. It was much better TV." (Emily Goodin, "Hotline" Blog, "We Were Watching," hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com, 6/5/07)

· NBC's Mark Murray: "The GOP Candidates Are Following The Leader McCain." "Now Gilmore walks up....The GOP candidates are following the leader McCain." (Mark Murray, MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, "Now Gilmore," firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

NBC's Chuck Todd: "McCain Is Dominating The Subject Matter Of The Debate." "[S]o far, in this debate, McCain's point of view has been the dominant topic of discussion, be it on the war or on immigration so far, this debate is providing a media spark." (Chuck Todd, "First Read" Blog, "It's McCain's Debate Right Now " firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

CNN's Candy Crowley: Talking About Immigration Was "A Good Moment For McCain." "I thought he made a pretty strong defense of his position on immigration when he said, look kind of looking into the audience my friends, we've done exactly what you expect us to do and that is to sit down and come up with some sort of compromise.' He went on to say our job is to do the tough things, for which he got applause, so I thought that was a good moment for McCain." (CNN's "Republican Debate," 6/5/07)

· Crowley: "McCain Obviously Came Loaded For Bear McCain Is Taking The Lead." "I think McCain obviously came loaded for bear in terms of how he was going to explain this. This is obviously a conversation that he's had in many townhall meetings. So in terms of just sort of the power of their presentation, I would think McCain is taking the lead." (CNN's "Republican Debate," 6/5/07)

McCain Delivered "Fantastic" And "Good And Strong" Answers, Getting "Loud Applause"
National Review's Rich Lowry: "Fantastic statement by McCain [on Iraq] " (Rich Lowry, National Review's "The Corner" Blog, "'Presidents ... Don't Lose Wars,'" corner.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

Powerline's John Hinderaker: "I thought McCain was good and strong on there being no alternative to success in Iraq." (John Hinderaker, "Powerline" Blog, "Live-Blog The Republicans' Debate," www.plnewsforum.com, 6/5/07)

McCain "Received Loud Applause From The Audience For Saying That The United States Needs To Succeed In The War In Iraq" And Criticizing Hillary Clinton For Her Description Of The War. "Arizona Sen. John McCain received loud applause from the audience for saying that the United States needs to succeed in the war in Iraq. He criticized Sen. Hillary Clinton for describing the conflict in Iraq as President Bush's war. What Sen. Clinton doesn't understand is that presidents don't lose wars,' McCain said. Political parties don't lose wars. Nations lose wars and nations have the consequences of failure. We must succeed in this conflict.'" (Lauren Kornreich, "CNN Political Ticker" Blog, "McCain: Presidents Don't Lose Wars, Nations Do," politicalticker.blo gs.cnn.com, 6/5/07)

Townhall's Matt Lewis: McCain "Made A Good Point Gets The First Applause Of The Night." " McCain just made a good point that he didn't say it was President Clinton's War' in Bosnia. He gets the first applause of the night." (Matt Lewis, "Townhall" Blog, "It's Showtime!" www.townhall.com, 6/5/07)

· Politico's Jonathan Martin: "McCain Gets First Applause." "McCain gets first applause. With an attack on HRC for her criticism of Iraq as President Bush's war. It didn't hurt that he played the Bill card with the GOP crowd." (Jonathan Martin, Politico's "Smith And Martin" Blog, "McCain Gets First Applause," www.politico.com, 6/5/07)

National Review's Jim Geraghty: McCain "gets applause" in saying "Presidents don't lose wars, parties don't lose wars, nations lose wars, and we must prevail." (Jim Geraghty, National Review's "The Hillary Spot" Blog, "The Third GOP Presidential Debate Is Underway," hillaryspot.nationalreview.com, 6/5/07)

NBC's Chuck Todd: All The Candidates Listened "Intently To His Lecture About What's Next For Iraq. It Was A Powerful Moment For McCain." "There was just a moment on the tube where CNN showed every Republican candidate angled to McCain listening intently to his lecture about what's next for Iraq. It was a powerful moment for McCain and a photo the McCain folks will want on the cover of tomorrow's Union Leader." (Chuck Todd, "First Read" Blog, firstread.msnbc.msn.com, 6/5/07)

RedState's Erick Erickson: McCain On Iraq "Is Well Said." "McCain is willing to own the war. His take on of Senator Clinton and Brownback's partition plan is well said." (Erick, "RedState" Blog, "Miscellaneous Debate Thoughts," www.redstate.com)