The Occasional Observer

The main problem with the debate was the format. I heard Newt on Fox News stating that it would be nice to hear some back and forth from the candidates without so much moderating. I agree entirely.

My main gripes with the format:

1) Too often, only one candidate was asked to respond to a question. This made it impossible to get a sense of contrast between candidates. The two notable exceptions were Iraq, where each candidate had the chance to discuss, and the "down the line" questions, which was of limited usefulness because "yes" and "no" typically doesn't flesh out a position.

2) The wrong questions were asked of the wrong candidates. Especially grievous was asking Gilmore about the female prison population. Why not ask Brownback about an issue that he has been specifically discussing on the stump?

3) Overly combative, "gotcha" questions. Not only were several of the questions stupid, but the moderators (especially the Politico guy) seemed to revel in asking them in a nasty tone. I'm glad these guys have a taste of what the Dem/MSM teamwork will feel like in the General, but it was a waste of valuable debate time. Examples:

-to Romney: "What do you like least about America?"

-to McCain: "You were against Bush's tax cuts but now are for them. That makes no sense." [If the follow up had been, "please explain", that might have made sense]

Then there was this ridiculous exchange between Matthews and Huckabee [directly from the transcript]:

Moderator: Governor Huckabee, you've criticized Governor Romney for saying his faith wouldn't get in the way of his public life, his governing. Are you going to back that up tonight?

Huckabee: I've never criticized Governor Romney for that.

(Crosstalk)

Huckabee: I said, in general -- and I would say this tonight to any of us -- when a person says, "My faith doesn't affect my decision- making," I would say that the person is saying their faith is not significant to impact their decision process.

I tell people up front, "My faith does affect my decision process." It explains me. No apology for that. My faith says, "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you..."

Moderator: But you answered a question that George Stephanopoulos of ABC about this governor, one of your rivals, and you answered it in this way: "I'm not as troubled by a person who has a different faith. I'm troubled by a person who tells me their faith doesn't influence their decisions."

That's in direct response to George Stephanopoulos on February 11th of this year. Why are you changing that point of view now?

Huckabee: Well, I didn't know I was changing the point of view.

Moderator: No, you're changing your quote.

Huckabee: I'm saying that of anyone, whether it's Governor Romney or Governor Gilmore...

Moderator: Well, you answered in direct response to Governor Romney and his Mormonism. Why are you pulling back now?

Huckabee: I don't mean to be pulling back. I want to state very clearly: A person's faith shouldn't qualify or disqualify for public office. It shouldn't do that.

But we ought to be honest and open about it. And I think it does help explain who we are, what our value systems are, what makes us tick, and what our processors are.

"Are you going to back that up?" Why not ask him, "are you a man or a chick?" Is this seriously a debate worthy approach to asking questions? First, Matthews infers a meaning from Huckabee's quote that is not at all a sure thing, given that Huckabee never mentions Romney in the quote. But rather than allowing the candidate to explain himself, Matthews simply defines Huckabee as "backing down" when it was, at a minimum, questionable that he actually was changing his story. He goes on to imply that that Hucakbee had flip-flopped. There is no reason for a moderator to be taking that approach. Disgraceful.

UPDATE:

Here's the full transcript on the Stephanopoulos/Huckabee conversation. It totally acquits Huckabee of Matthews' charges and proves that he was being consistent:

[1]10:23:37 GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)
(OC) Governor Romney, his religion, he's a Mormon, has become a – is going to become a big part of this campaign clearly. You're a southern Baptist, former southern Baptist preacher.


[1]10:23:45 MIKE HUCKABEE (2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE)
Uh-huh.


[1]10:23:46 GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)
(OC) And that denomination teaches I believe that Mormonism is a cult. How big a hurdle is that going to be for Governor Romney in this campaign?


[1]10:23:56 MIKE HUCKABEE (2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE)
Well, you know, I'm not sure and I don't know that anyone knows. What I can tell you is about my faith and what it means and I think people ought to look at every person who runs for office and they ought to ask them questions about who they are and what they are about and what drives their decisions. I'm not as troubled by a person who has a different faith.