Some random thoughts, in no particular order. Quotes were transcribed in real time and are as close to accurate as I could possibly get them without wearing out my Tivo.
+ Romney on the left of the stage, Tancradeo on the right. Funny how it randomly came out.
+ Giuliani: All we need is optimism. That's what Reagan taught us. Reagan actually invented optimism! I was NYC's Reagan, and I can be America's new Reagan. Iran needs to know we're serious. They need to look at the US and "see Reagan." He doesn't care what the court does about Roe v Wade - he's happy either way. That said, abortion decisions should be left up to each individual woman to decide on her own after searching her conscience.
+ McCain: I'm a crazy war hawk! I can talk fast! I can grimace! And point! And squint! "I will follow bin Laden to the gates of hell!" With a smile! Baaaargh!
+ Thompson: To win we need to support the troops. We need to turn over Iraq to the Iraqis, and to decide how they will split up their oil. Business should be allowed to fire gay people because they are gay. "I vetoed 1900 things! I'm from Wisconsin!" "There have been over 3000 deaths and several thousand casualties in Iraq. "wow. His casualty count was off by over 20,000)
+ Ron Paul is going to present serious problems for the narrative the other Republicans are trying to build. For starters, he actually remembers what it means to be "conservative." Second, he wants to end the war as badly as Democrats, and although he framing his arguments as "conservative," it sounds just like the arguments being made by Democrats. It will make it much more difficult for people like McCain to equate "defeatism" with "democrat." Assuming that he can stay in the race, that is... Regulation bad! Freedom good! I model my foreign policy on Taft! Taft, I tell you, Taft!
+ Tancrado: A threat to existence of Israel is a threat to the existence of the United States. He won't support cloning people to harvest organs. Reagan had heart. And he was not a centrist! Me, too! "In 1777, Benjamin Franklin came out..."
+ Romney: About Osama: Im not going to buy into the Democrats idea that all we need to do is catch Osama bin Laden..."He is gonna pay, and he will die." When asked if what he dislikes about America, he had nothing to say. He loves America, and he loves Reagan. Reagan!
+ Brownback: We need to rebuild the "family structure" in this society to end corruption. "I think personal beliefs of everybody shape everybody. It think we all have values, and that is taken in and taken forward...Principles, ideas, and big ideas - that's how we lead!"
+ Huckabee: Why Republicans don't seem interested in nominating this man is utterly beyond me. He is the only one who actually seems competent. And genuine. And not crazy. His answer about the role of faith in politics was genuinely thoughtful, and sounded nothing like the rest of the candidates.
+ Gilmore: "Where you've been is where you are going to go."
+ Duncan Hunter: "You build a football team by playing football games, you build a military by military operations."
And last but not least, all 10 men were asked to give a yes or no on their belief in evolution. Tancrado, the guy next to Romney, and Huckabee all said NO.
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