Romney's Home Run for the NH Home Stretch...

I must admit that I was SEVERELY disheartened after watching last night's debate on ABC.- and I do use the word “debate” as loosely as the English language will allow. It was more of a gang fight against Mitt Romney than a true discussion of the issues. Even Fred Thompson woke up from his perennial slumber to throw barbs at Mitt. George Stephanopolous came out after the close and remarked, “These guys REALLY don’t like Mitt Romney”. No joke, George.
Republican Candidate A (take your pick from the group) kept Mitt on his heels with a rebuttal to an attack, while Candidate B (again, your choice) interrupted with more personal attacks to detract from Mitt’s response. It was so perfectly timed that it couldn’t have been choreographed any better. The net effect was that Romney came off looking like a bobble-head doll.

Tonight, however, was a different story. Can you say, “sweet redemption?” This was a clear and decisive victory for Mitt Romney. He was articulate and able to get his points across effectively. It is clear that Huckabee and McCain are doing their best to tag team Romney out of the race early before he breaks their purse strings. Huckabee's inane left/right/up/down sound bites are drivel, and McCain is still an angry Campaign 2000 wannabe. Speaking of McCain and money, he must find it a cruel irony that his campaign is strapped for cash. The McCain-Feingold bill must have worked, huh?

I am nervous beyond words about the New Hampshire primaries. This is a must win for Romney and McCain, and while it makes for good political fodder, it has my ulcers growing new ulcers. I honestly don’t know who is going to win. I obviously hope that Romney gets a much needed bounce from this debate, and since this is the last wide scale showing from all the candidates, I am cautiously optimistic that the citizens of New Hampshire will take this last side-by-side comparison to heart. When Romney is allowed to speak about his position, it is plain to see he has the right message on economic policy, national security, and immigration. Conversely, McCain has shown us his true colors on immigration- they are Red, White and Green (seen the flag of Mexico lately?).

Huckabee is also a political train wreck. He has spun a confusing populist message that is anything but conservative. It is inconceivable to me to think that a true conservative would vote for a man who says that, “A nation will forgive you if you move right or left as long as you take them up.” What he doesn’t understand is that you CAN”T take the country UP by moving LEFT. He has made a campaign out of charm and trite slogans like this. I don’t understand why people don’t see through this “aw shucks” demeanor. I also have a major problem with Huckabee’s manipulative (mis)use of deity in his campaign. In Iowa, he all but implied that God wants him to be President. The Evangelical Christian base in Iowa ate it up like candy corn (get it? Candy + corn + Iowa? Insert rimshot here). We didn’t see this version of Huckabee last night or this evening because he knows that New Hampshire voters don’t wear their religion on their sleeves. Anecdotally, if Huckabee is dripping with such religious fervor, I think it is disingenuous of him to drop this persona with a different audience. They call this pandering, don’t they? If his most important campaign backer is his creator, why does he so readily mute it when the audience changes? The ease with which he slips in and out of “preacher mode” is a reason to question his convictions and motivations. To me, this is more deceitful than any flip-flop that he tries to pin on Mitt.

So, what now? Two days till Tuesday. I’ll wake up tomorrow and read the news, blogs and spin that will inevitably belch forth from my computer screen, and somehow do that pesky “work” thing that keeps food on my table. I will discuss the debates with my wife and discuss how this thing is going to play out. I’ll trade e-mails with Bill and Mark, and plan ways that we can help Mitt locally. In any case it’s going to be a fun couple-o-days. Anybody got any Tylenol?