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First hour.

Tonight’s debate went how I expected it to. I didn’t expect the overwhelming emphasis on religion or evolution but being on CNN I wasn’t surprised. CNN spent most of it’s time on Sunday running with what the Democrats are strong on so it makes sense that they would run with the same for the Republicans. I feel it is unfair to point a finger at any given candidate and make them explain their religion. Did they ask Hillary if she believes in God? Did they ask Obama to explain his faith and why it’s acceptable? The fact is the Republicans are labeled as the faithful and the Democrats as faithless; this is not true and no one should be pressured as if their religion is wrong.

Huckabee impressed me. Instead of hiding like most politicians would he laid out what he believes in. I commend him for saying it plain and simple and hope more politicians do so. I don’t feel I learned anything new about the candidates tonight. Ron Paul still makes a point to stand out from the rest, Rudy is still very stern on terrorism and Romney still dances around most questions. Seeing this from an independents point of view I’m not quite sure how I would feel. I’m glad the topics seem a lot more diverse but it’s the same old news, I haven’t learned much.

I was rather confused why CNN decided to ask so unfairly on certain questions. When they dealt with the Democrats every question seemed to be molded so they could easily answer them. Several questions about the Army’s gay policy was an unfair set of questions. On the other hand I liked the set where they were asked “how would they utilize George W. Bush (not those exact words). They asked the same line bout with Bill Clinton but I was right when I predicted Bush would barely be mentioned.

Overall I was satisfied with CNN. I don’t watch CNN because I feel they are very bias but they seemed to maintain a little less spin than usual. The front runners seemed to take more of a back seat in this debate. The questions were spread out fairly expect it seem Paul was avoided a bit. If you were undecided I don’t imagine you got anything out of this but maybe I am wrong. Republicans show that they are stern on Iraq and complete opposites from Democrats; other than Paul. Huckabee was very strong in this debate, he greatly appealed to me as a Christian. Romney was the same old dodger, he answered questions but he always alters his answer to change the question. Brownback always feels very organized and laid back. He isn’t over emotional and knows where he stands, I like that.

Second Hour

I am going to “live blog” some of this hour so forgive any rambles and feel free to skip to each section.

The first question opened with one on Iraq. The lady asked what they would do to end the Iraq war in a safe manner. Hunter seemed to answer the question in a typical manner. Explaining that we need to make the Iraqi army strong and then we can move on. Brownback followed up by basically agreeing but also explained his three state plan as he did earlier. McCain didn’t agree with Brownback on the three state issue and reiterated how he feels the war was mismanaged. McCain pushed his “they will follow us home if we don’t win” opinion as he always does.

The next question was on Iraq, this time it covered a question on Iraq’s government. She asked since Iraq was controlled so long by a dictatorship how can we make sure it is safe and secure. Paul described how he feels we should just pull out. He wants to immediate stop patrolling the streets of Iraq, it’s not our job and to come home. He feels the Iraqi’s need to take responsibility for the war now. Rudy fired back by saying that what we are doing in Iraq is making it safer for us at home. We overthrow Sadaam in the correct manner but have mismanaged the combat afterwards. He believes that Iraq needs to be organized better and for us to keep track of progress better such as schools being built.

An attorney asked if a conservative platform can contain a conservationist platform. Gilmore believes it can. He went back to talk about Iraq, in other words dodged the question mainly saying we need alternative energy. Tancreto believes we should be doing more to protect the environment. He believes such a thing is conservative and we should make conservationism profitable for people and to make it a free market.

Next, a man wants to know what the candidates would do to reduce medication prices. Rudy believes we need to individualize health insurance, he believes it is controlled too much by companies. He does not agree with government paid insurance. Hunter believes that prescription drugs need to be more of an open market. We need to be able to buy health care across state lines which may be cheaper.

Going ahead a little. The next question was, what do you think the most pressing moral issue in this country is and what would you do about it? Huckabee says the worst is the misunderstanding of every single life. He explains that not only do we need to respect the life of the unborn but that it needs to extend to all life. It should never be acceptable that people are expendable. We celebrate life, that’s what makes us unique and makes us free. Rudy followed up by agreeing but added that we need to share our gifts and freedoms properly with the rest of the world. It is our moral obligation to share our freedoms. Paul says it is the acceptance that we promote preemptive war. He believes it is not part of our history. We have rejected the just-war theory of Christianity. He thinks it is wrong to agree a preemptive strike against someone who has done nothing is wrong (Iran). We can not change the world in this manner. Brownback says it’s the life issue. He says that he is “Pro-Life Whole Life”. He does not believe you can elect someone to this party that isn’t Pro-Life. It applies to all people, poverty, to the child in Darfur. If Rudy was nominated could you support him, he says he could but that he could not be nominated because he is not Pro-Life.

Romney, you have been accused of flip-flopping on immigration. You said that you want the official language of America to be English but you are airing Spanish commercials. He says that he is no anti-immigrant. He is happy to reach out to all people to vote for him. He goes on to say we should secure our boarders and not give better treatment to those already here. The republican party needs to stand for more than fixing problems and to focus on the future. Tancreto would you advertise in Spanish? He says he would not. Believe me English is important because it is what holds us together. Bilingual countries do not work. English is the language of this country and we should not be ashamed of it. McCain responded by saying “muchas gracious”. We need to enforce our boarders. Stop illegal immigration. We are a country of many cultures and should support that. They have enriched our country just as the generations before them have.

In 2006 we saw the worse Republican defeat in years. Why do we expect anything different for 2008? How do you differ from Bush’s views and what has been his biggest problem. McCain says spending which lead to corruption. We let spending get out of control. We have to stop ear marking. I promise you I will veto every pork spending bill that arrives on my desk. We will stop the corruption. Rudy. Asked “what has been Bush’s biggest mistake”. He added to McCain, establish accountability. I can turn around Washington. Romney didn’t seem to answer. Says we are a party of the future. Brownback. Spending. End deaths by cancer. It is in our reach and we should go after it. Thompson, we have to come up with new ideas. Wind down the war in Iraq. Tancredo Says Bush ran as a conservative and governed as a liberal. Paul, the president ran on a humble policy and changed his tune. We are running a war to support our empire. Gilmore, principle is the difference. Immigration, it violates the principle of rule of law. Spending. Hunter says we need to re-unite with the American families. Huckabee, Americans are smart. Our regulation system makes it hard for businesses to compete. We have litigations that makes our jobs migrate out of the US. Bad communication about the problems we face.

Regards to immigration what does it meant to be an American. Tancreto, it means to cut from the past. Cut your ties with your past. We have to stop legal immigration except for refugees and family members. Huckabee, do you agree that the us should end most legal immigration. He says no. We need a sealed boarder. One at a time and sane sensible system. Rudy is very uncomfortable with his (Tancreto) stance. We shouldn’t be having a debate about legal immigration. We should always be open to legal immigration. McCain, what went through your mind when you heard Tancreto’s stance. It’s beyond my realm of thinking. American is the land of opportunity. To be an American is to share a common goal that we are Created equally with equal rights. America is still the land of opportunity and a shining city on a hill.

What would you do to include moderates and bring back independents? Gilmore, says conservatism stands for everyone. An American is someone who is noble and greater than themselves and the world can look up to that. An American believes in liberty and freedom. says to empower people and to give back more tax money. We understand the value of every person as a tax payer. Hunter, We need to move away from the Kennedy wing (talking about McCain). Romney, the model on how to win moderates democrats; Ronald Reagan. Rudy followed up, the way to accomplish is to nominate me. The party can unite around being on the offensive against terrorism. Fight raising taxes. These unite us. McCain, protect the family. Second, take the lead in fighting radical Islamic extremism. everything we stand for is at stake here.

Well tonight was definitely a night for those tough questions. As a final word I would have to say that Huckabee won this one. For me his strong stance and moral values out shined the rest. He definitely showed himself to be a strong conservative on all issues. Please let me know who you think won. Were you surprised by any of the questions or answers?

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