This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/23/arizona-debate-romney-santorum-live
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| US politics live: Arizona debate fallout sees Romney up and Santorum down | US politics live: Arizona debate fallout sees Romney up and Santorum down |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.55am: How would America's Founding Fathers regard of the current crop of Republican candidates? | |
| Not much, thinks British historian Frank Prochaska, blogging at the OUP: | |
| What the Founding Fathers would make of the motley group of Republican candidates is speculative, but one can assume that they would dismiss them as partisan nobodies. It is often forgotten, but the Founders designed the Constitution in a pre-democratic age before the emergence of a party system, which they feared could lead, in George Washington's words, to the "unjust dominion" of "unprincipled men." They were well aware that they had created an imperfect document beset by compromise and issues unresolved. If they were alive today, and as wise as assumed, they might wish to amend the aging text that has failed to stem the tide of faction, has led to political deadlock, and has become an obstacle to governance. | |
| Partisan nobodies eh? | |
| 10.45am: Is there a top-secret alliance between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul? Chris Moody of Yahoo News hears Rick Santorum suggest something is up: | |
| After months on the campaign trail, Paul has largely chosen to focus his attacks on candidates not named Mitt Romney, most recently going after Santorum, the latest candidate to pose a challenge to Romney's candidacy. The idea that Ron Paul would spare Romney – while attacking candidates with arguably stronger conservative records than the former Massachusetts governor – has Santorum wondering. | |
| "You'll have to ask Congressman Paul and Governor Romney what they've got going together," Santorum told reporters after the Republican presidential debate in Mesa, Arizona on Wednesday. | |
| It has been a puzzle as to why Ron Paul has never gone after Mitt Romney with any energy, when Romney's record is no better than, say, Rick Perry's, who Paul attacked with gusto. | |
| 10.25am: Here's a round-up of some of the better punditry from last night in Arizona. | |
| Amy Walter at ABC News was particularly scathing on Rick Santorum's performance, calling him the "clear loser" from the debate: | |
| Whatever momentum Santorum had came to a screeching halt in tonight's debate. Romney lured Santorum time and again into defending his record in Washington. And, Santorum took the bait – responding to his attacks with process arguments and Washington gobbleygook speak. | |
| Jonathan Bernstein, in a well-argued piece in the Washington Post, said the real losers were Republicans denied a proper debate after Santorum got bogged down: | |
| The best example? At one point, he was on a roll attacking Romneycare fairly effectively, when Romney (talking over him) just said one thing: "Arlen Specter." You see, he had previously attacked Romney for supporting Specter against … oh, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Santorum actually fell for it and switched from an effective attack into a long, nuanced defense of his actions in a long-ago Senate primary in Pennsylvania. All of which, first of all, didn't do anything positive for him, but, more importantly, was off the main thing that he should have been pounding: Romneycare = Obamacare. A total Jedi Mind Trick moment. | |
| Molly Ball in the Atlantic also scored the debate as a win for Romney: | |
| One of the qualities that endears Santorum most to GOP base voters is his refusal to back down – his willingness to defend his positions rather than tweak or finesse them the way, say, Romney might. He's unapologetic. But there's a serious flip side to this quality: It means he tenaciously clings to the ugliest parts of his record. At the debate, that meant long, pleading stretches of Santorum trying to justify his pursuit of earmarks in Congress, his enthusiastic support for former Sen. Arlen Specter's 2004 reelection, and his vote in favor of the No Child Left Behind education law. More than once, he was booed. | |
| 10am: Rick Santorum apears to be taking a day off the campaign trail, according to his published schedule, but the other three are busy, with Romney and Gingrich visiting four states between them. | 10am: Rick Santorum apears to be taking a day off the campaign trail, according to his published schedule, but the other three are busy, with Romney and Gingrich visiting four states between them. |
| Mitt Romney • 8.30am MT: Addresses a national meeting of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Phoenix, Arizona • 7pm ET: Attends Milford Tea Party event, Milford, Michigan | Mitt Romney • 8.30am MT: Addresses a national meeting of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Phoenix, Arizona • 7pm ET: Attends Milford Tea Party event, Milford, Michigan |
| Newt Gingrich • 11am PT: Holds a rally, Kennewick, Washington state • 2pm PT: Holds a rally, Spokane, Washington • 7.30pm PT: Holds a rally, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho | Newt Gingrich • 11am PT: Holds a rally, Kennewick, Washington state • 2pm PT: Holds a rally, Spokane, Washington • 7.30pm PT: Holds a rally, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| Ron Paul • 9am MT: Holds a campaign fundraising breakfast, Mesa, Arizona | Ron Paul • 9am MT: Holds a campaign fundraising breakfast, Mesa, Arizona |
| 9.30am: Plenty of heat but little light was the reaction to last night's Republican presidential candidates debate in Arizona, with Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney quibbling over ancient political history as both men looked ahead to the coming primaries. | 9.30am: Plenty of heat but little light was the reaction to last night's Republican presidential candidates debate in Arizona, with Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney quibbling over ancient political history as both men looked ahead to the coming primaries. |
| The general consensus from the watching journalists was that Santorum harmed his chances with some long-winded explanations of past positions, while Romney could afford a bad night because of his stronger overall position. | The general consensus from the watching journalists was that Santorum harmed his chances with some long-winded explanations of past positions, while Romney could afford a bad night because of his stronger overall position. |
| Those of you with a strong stomach can enjoy the ill-tempered and at times chaotic event in our live blog of the Arizona debate. | Those of you with a strong stomach can enjoy the ill-tempered and at times chaotic event in our live blog of the Arizona debate. |
| Here's Ryan Devereaux's summary of the highlights and lowlights from Mesa: | Here's Ryan Devereaux's summary of the highlights and lowlights from Mesa: |
| • While Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum traded blows last night, neither candidates managed to pull off a decisive win. In what may have been the last debate of the race, Romney took Santorum to task on his record in Congress, characterising him as a Washington insider and supporter of big government spending. Santorum was also criticized for his support for No Child Left Behind – George Bush's signature education law – and votes providing funding for Planned Parenthood. When Romney attempted to highlight how he had balanced the state budget as governor of Massachusetts, Santorum jumped on the opportunity, warning Romney: "Don't go around bragging about something you have to do. Michael Dukakis balanced the budget for 10 years. Does that make him qualified to be president of the United States? I don't think so." | • While Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum traded blows last night, neither candidates managed to pull off a decisive win. In what may have been the last debate of the race, Romney took Santorum to task on his record in Congress, characterising him as a Washington insider and supporter of big government spending. Santorum was also criticized for his support for No Child Left Behind – George Bush's signature education law – and votes providing funding for Planned Parenthood. When Romney attempted to highlight how he had balanced the state budget as governor of Massachusetts, Santorum jumped on the opportunity, warning Romney: "Don't go around bragging about something you have to do. Michael Dukakis balanced the budget for 10 years. Does that make him qualified to be president of the United States? I don't think so." |
| • The debate opened with a discussion on earmarks and Santorum immediately took heat from Romney. Santorum provided a long, rambling defense of his pro-earmark votes. The explanation did not sit well with the audience. Romney seized on the opportunity, saying: "When I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere." A huge round of applause followed. | • The debate opened with a discussion on earmarks and Santorum immediately took heat from Romney. Santorum provided a long, rambling defense of his pro-earmark votes. The explanation did not sit well with the audience. Romney seized on the opportunity, saying: "When I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere." A huge round of applause followed. |
| • Texas congressman Ron Paul and former house speaker Newt Gingrich were often overshadowed by the Mitt and Rick show. Paul joined Romney in his attack on Santorum's record. When asked why he had ran an ad calling Santorum "a fake", Paul responded: "Because he's a fake." The former Pennsylvania senator was largely dismissive of Paul's attempts. Gingrich, who has been steadily slipping since his win in South Carolina, spent the much of the debate leaning back in his chair and enjoying the barbs exchanged by Romney and Santorum. When asked to describe himself in one word he said: "Cheerful". | • Texas congressman Ron Paul and former house speaker Newt Gingrich were often overshadowed by the Mitt and Rick show. Paul joined Romney in his attack on Santorum's record. When asked why he had ran an ad calling Santorum "a fake", Paul responded: "Because he's a fake." The former Pennsylvania senator was largely dismissive of Paul's attempts. Gingrich, who has been steadily slipping since his win in South Carolina, spent the much of the debate leaning back in his chair and enjoying the barbs exchanged by Romney and Santorum. When asked to describe himself in one word he said: "Cheerful". |
| • When it came to foreign policy the candidates were decidedly Iran-centric. When asked what he would do about the ongoing unrest in Syria, for example, Santorum failed to outline anything that resembled a plan. Instead he took the opportunity to make a cursory mention of Syria's ties to Iran, then launched into a lengthy discussion of why Iran represents one of the most significant threats to international security. | • When it came to foreign policy the candidates were decidedly Iran-centric. When asked what he would do about the ongoing unrest in Syria, for example, Santorum failed to outline anything that resembled a plan. Instead he took the opportunity to make a cursory mention of Syria's ties to Iran, then launched into a lengthy discussion of why Iran represents one of the most significant threats to international security. |
| • Dodging or blatantly ignoring questions was a repeated theme throughout the night. On the last question of the evening, asking the candidates to lay out the most common misconception about them, Gingrich avoided answering. Romney then followed suit, and even offered an explanation why: "You get to ask the questions you want, I get to give the answers I want," he told the moderator. | • Dodging or blatantly ignoring questions was a repeated theme throughout the night. On the last question of the evening, asking the candidates to lay out the most common misconception about them, Gingrich avoided answering. Romney then followed suit, and even offered an explanation why: "You get to ask the questions you want, I get to give the answers I want," he told the moderator. |