Round Table Round-Up: Mediaite Grades The New Hampshire Republican Debate

by Nando Di Fino | 7:59 am, October 12th, 2011

» 46 comments

Photo credit: Bob Daemmrich

Tuesday night’s Washington Post/Bloomberg News economics debate had a new quirk: the Republican presidential candidates were seated at a roundtable instead of standing on a large stage at spaced-out podiums. It messed with the status quo a little bit–previously-unseen personality elements came out and some candidates wallowing in the bottom of the polls showed a little fight. Sure, the subject matter was a little dry, but the two hours went by pretty quickly, and it ended up being kind of… fun. So here are the grades of the participants in the debate. Not from an ideological standpoint, but from how they performed, showed off their personalities, and worked within the dynamic of the group.

Michele Bachman: If Robert Jeffress was appealing to a certain group of Christians by slamming Mormonism, then Bachman may have done the same by pointing out that Herman Cain’s “9-9-9″ plan flipped over was the mark of the beast, remarking not so subtly that, “the devil is in the details.” She was also rocking some serious french tip nails, which ended up being a little distracting, if anything, because it made one wonder if she’d tone them down for, say, a somber White House speech addressing the nation. And even though most people already know this, it’s still kind of jarring to hear her say she has 28 kids. B-.

Rick Santorum: He made a stellar point arguing against Cain’s 9-9-9 plan by asking, “How many people here are for a sales tax New Hampshire?” and he showed more personality than he has in past debates. Where he had come across before as a kind of comedian giving stiff lines and jokes that fall flat, he seemed at ease at the debate, like he had just come back from a two-week vacation to Hawaii after working every day for three straight years. He even corrected Charlie Rose when Rose called on him to ask a question out of turn. Maybe the man thrives at a roundtable; perhaps it was just a good night, but Santorum had a surprisingly lively showing on Tuesday. B.

Herman Cain: Part of Cain’s appeal in earlier debates was that he was one of the candidates who would give a straight answer to a question. But on Tuesday night, he seemed to be tied to repeating 9-9-9 as often as he could. This was the most politician-like he has seemed so far, and not in a good way. Granted, he and his plan were attacked pretty often by the other candidates–Charlie Rose pointed out that as long as the other candidates kept bringing it up, he’d have to go back to Cain for a response–but Cain seemed to be a little more flustered by it all than he had in the past. When Jon Huntsman, for instance, made the joke about thinking 9-9-9 was the price of a pizza, Cain heatedly went back to the point twice in his retort, without that sense of humor that he had shown in earlier debates. C.

Mitt Romney: Maybe it’s because he was seated, and didn’t have the full-on stiffness that he does in the podium debates, but Romney seemed relatively relaxed at the table and gave off almost a head-of-household vibe, especially in the “ask each other questions” segment, where he handled the would-be gotcha questions with ease, even dropping in that his company started Staples, The Sports Authority, and a steel mill in Indiana. He still has that pesky problem of not directly answering the question he’s asked, but points to Romney for sticking to his guns about whether a hypothetical question by Julianna Goldman was actually hypothetical. B.

Ron Paul: It was sad that Paul barely had any face time in the debate, because he’s another candidate who tends to give straight answers (at least at first, before he winds down into a few stream-of-consciousness points). But in an economic debate, it had to be frustrating for Paul supporters to see him somewhat thrown on the backburner. He kept dropping tantalizing tastes of how deep his knowledge runs–references to Austrian economists, his views on ending and auditing the Fed–but was almost squeezed out of relevance. Jon Stewart was right! I.

Newt Gingrich: It’s kind of amazing that Gingrich is polling at such low numbers. Maybe it’s because he left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths after his run as Speaker of the House. Perhaps some people just think of him as a caricature and a vestige of times past. But his answers to the questions last night–and so far in pretty much every debate–were smart, well-researched, and thoughtful. He didn’t talk around questions and hammer home talking points; he actually gave a direct answer to anything asked of him. Perhaps his performance will give him a bit of a push, but if it hasn’t happened yet, it’s doubtful that last night’s roundtable is going to change much. A.

Rick Perry: Perry wasn’t a disaster in this debate, but he wasn’t exactly stellar, either. Remember in 2008, when people were clamoring for Fred Thompson to join the GOP fray, everyone got really excited for a week, and then he came into the debates and underwhelmed? Perry is quickly becoming Thompsonv2.0. He has awkward pauses in his answers, he seems to be fielding attacks from all angles, and he’s not doing anything memorable in the debates. Outside, of course, of rolling the “r” in Susana Martinez. C.

Jon Huntsman: Huntsman played the role of the motorcycle-riding cool uncle at the dinner table, who just rolled into town and enjoys antagonizing your dad. He was cracking jokes and firing off subtle quips. It wouldn’t have been a huge surprise if the camera panned to his left and revealed a beer on the table next to him. It’s obviously not the best way to choose a president, but he’s at least giving voters a taste of his personality, which has been somewhat lacking in previous debates. If he hits that perfect balance of joke-cracking and serious policy (coming up with a catchy 59 Points or 9-9-9 plan, for instance), he may still have time to gather some momentum. B-.

Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Washington Post/Bloomberg News debate

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_M5V6VTQAVLARF7XXO47Z5OCZWM TangledThorns

No more debates needed for me. They all already showed their true colors so Cain has my support.
Anonymous

The comical Debbie Wassermann Schultz was on Fox this morning giving her opinion of the debate .Surprisingly , she was disappointed in the Republican field . She can only handle two talking points at a time , so when asked a third and fourth question , she repeats the same answers .

SNL should come up with a Little Debbie character . Doesn’t fit their agenda , of course .
Anonymous

He’ll never win in a national election, though. I think the only one left who has a chance of beating Obama is Romney.
Chauncy Gardner

“debates aren’t my strong suit” said Perry afterward. He couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the A & the T. (Thanks Hollywood!)
Anonymous

I’m gonna go ahead and guess that Mediaite read the transcripts and did not actually watch the debate. Santorum acted very petty during the debate, going over his time and losing his cool. And Bachmann and Huntsman both gave eye-rolling jokes at Cain’s 9-9-9 plan. Bachmann for some reason decided to throw religion in there and invoked the Devil when criticizing Cain’s plan.
Exgoper

Let’s see: he’s produced an unpopular plan to restore the economy that even conservatives think is bozo economics, he’s admitted his shortcomings in foreign policy by belittling the names of funny sounding countries and he’s spent most of the campaign complaining about other blacks. You must have incredibly low standards.
Anonymous

Yeah, I didn’t understand that Bachmann quip. Unnecessarily evoking the anti-Christ and mentioning your 28 children aren’t the smartest things to do when the prevailing image that a large portion of the contrary has of you is that you are a whacko, Christian, fundamentalist with Charlie Manson eyes.
GluttonsMamasMama

Why wouldn’t Bachmann throw religion in there? It’s the Republican primaries. That’s what you’re supposed to do.
GluttonsMamasMama

She could get away with it in the Republican primaries. In fact, it will probably help her campaign.
GluttonsMamasMama

LOL Now you’re getting mad at SNL. Gotta love how conservatives get so pissy over comedy shows.
GluttonsMamasMama

999 folks! if $9.99 could sell pizza, why can’t 999 be the tax code?
Josh-Gladstone

Barney Frank grades Newt. Ouch! He’s a slapper. And this is just what Newt wanted. A national forum. Thanks, Barney.

http://themorningspew.com/2011/10/12/barney-frank-slaps-newt/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Timothy-Frost/600650612 Timothy Frost

No other candidate or politician can hold a candle to Ron Paul on economic matters. He is the only one that is consistently invitied on CNBC and other economics related news TV segments outside of the election cycle. They don’t do this for a joke, they do this because he has an unbelievable track record for economic forecasting and is a very keen student of free market economic principles. He is also aknowledged and endorsed by iconic investors like Jim Rogers and Dr. Marc Faber who are famed for their consistent and unnervingly accurate market predictions and insight (not to mention financial success). In 2001 Ron Paul stood up in Congress and specificaly talked about how expansionary monetary policy meant that almost immediately after the popping of Nasdaq bubble easy credit was pouring into the housing market allowing another bubble to form. In 2001! The fact that the most qualified person to answer questions on the economy was not given as much attention during this debate as other candidates tells you all you need to know about this race and the political process.

And if you didn’t already know Herman Caine is an ex-Fed board member who doesn’t want it to be audited, and also didn’t see any problems in the economy as late as 2008……. I mean even pre-schoolers knew what was happening in the economy by then. All the other candidates were mostly just evasive and non-specific in their responses primarily because their knowledge levels are either thin and/or faulty.

Don’t worry guys, America will get the government it deserves I can assure you of that.
Exgoper

Uh oh. Even Erick Erickson of Redstate can’t make sense of Cain’s loopy proposal:

“He is starting to get the tough questions on his 999 plan and his
responses sound like they were crafted in the land of unicorns and
rainbows …”
Norbit

Every one of them is better than the Marxist Dictator in DC today.

Obama – and HIS Mainstream Media – got him into the White House, and he’s been giving away YOUR CHILDREN’s FUTURE to all his contributors and supporters!

That’s what a Marxist Dictator does!
Exgoper

Actually, you forgot to mention the most improvement on the last debate: the audience didn’t embarrass itself by booing soldiers or cheering death.
TruDat

They didn’t have to. The OWS crowd is giving the country its fill.
Anonymous

If 4,998 people don’t boo, and 2 do, what did the “audience” do? And if the reaction of the 2 is to the POLICY when it was asked, and not to the soldier when he was introdcued, are they booing the soldier? Ahh, pesky details requiring thought. Nevermind.
TruDat

Racist.
TruDat

More racist rhetoric from a liberal racist.
TruDat

Good thing you’re not paid to think.
Pablo

Is there no one in the Paul camp that can do something about the crazy eyebrows? The right one looks like it’s trying to attack his ear.
Bayden

Next debate should have thought bubbles. Huntsman’s expressions were classic
Anonymous

After watching the debate I thought of a line from a Warren Zevon song :Disorder in the house……”
It’s the home of the brave and the land of the free
Where the less you know the better off you’ll be”
listener

Nando Di Fino?
Exgoper

Alas, I know it serves your narrative to say that everyone who calls out Republican B$ is a “liberal,” but I’m afraid I can’t oblige you. I was a Republican for 30 years and am no liberal.
Exgoper

Run along, little boy. This is a site for grown-ups. Your parents shouldn’t let you use their login. Go watch your cartoons — er, I mean your Fox News.
Exgoper

Nice spin, but wholly inadequate!

And BTW, where were the candidates rebuke of the cheers and the boos?
Exgoper

Nice spin, but wholly inadequate!

And BTW, where were the candidates rebuke of the cheers and the boos?
Rex the Wonder God

The biggest concern I have with this exercise is that Mediate – assuming it’s not just this Mediate reporter, but some larger consensus – is making the classic mistake of grading on a curve (and not even THE curve, because then the marks would be even lower).

Last night was Snow White Mitt & the Seven Dwarfish brains. Leave aside completely the issue the Republican base has with Mitt – that he’s a proven chronic liar and flip-flopper, running as a centrist in Mass, governing as a liberal, pretending to run as a moderate conservative in 2008 and now pretending to run as a radical Anti-Romney – he’s the giant among this band of pygmies.

So, eventually the “winner” has to go up to the Show and take on Obama – who took down the candidate who beat Romney in 2008, and before that took down the presumed winner in the Dem primaries. And you can bet everything you own that every single one of these knee-jerk ultra-Tea Party positions MItt is taking now, and will continue to take to get the Republican nod, is going to get shoved down his gullet during the general.

This happens again and again: conservatives run polls that show that someone named “Generic Republican” can win, but then have to run a real person, and things fall apart. Mitt is no “Generic Republican”, he’s the author of Romneycare, the sponsor of state legislation promoting women’s and gays’ rights, and he came into politics as Gordon Gekko. That guy couldn’t beat a nearly dead besotted Ted Kennedy. And the media and the Dems are going to find it very easy to remind people of that guy. He’s all over YouTube.
The Real Royal Emperor

Very low standards in the grading, obviously.

Willard: B
Mad Michelle: C+
The Newt: C
Huntsmann: C-
Dr. Ron Paul: D+
Herb Kane: D
Tollbooth: D- (points for attendance, only)
Sanitarium: I
The Real Royal Emperor

Charlie Rose wasn’t on his top game. The question flow was a bit broken. He seemed confused a couple of times. Perhaps, producer errors. Perhaps not. Still, even being off a bit, one of the brightest men in America. A gentlemanly A-.
Anonymous

Well, considering it was 2-3 people and they were not rebuking the soldier (speaking of spin, it is amazing the way the media continues to treat it as if they were booing the soldier), not sure there was anything worth rebuking. When a heckler calls out, best to ignore (even happened last night).

A suggestion: if you are going to call something spin or wholly inadequate, you might want to tell me why. Believe it or not, I would try to listen with an open mind. But like I said, does require some thought.
Obeezy

SNL Comedy?..Not in years, but if John Liebowitz is your idea of comedy, i guess how i can see how you think SNL is funny… SImple people for simpletons
http://www.facebook.com/tony.westover Tony Westover

I stopped watching the debate after I realized that they had no intention of giving Ron Paul any face time.

So I give the debate a big fat F.
Anonymous

She didn’t say it for any political reasons. She said it because she’s really religious
TheeJoeGlass

Terrible article from this person.
http://profiles.google.com/avon.st.cyr Phillip Avon St. Cyr

Major stretches, IMO. Can’t understand the grades at all.
Xraex413

THE MEDIA IS A JOKE, Ron Paul barely spoke, and he is the only one up their who is consistant in every category you ask him about, he predicted this financial mess we are in like 20 something years ago, he give the absolute most straight answers then any politician ive heard speak, its almost like you have to say something outrageous just to get freaking heard, the media is such a failure to the people and are only based on entertainment and what can get ratings.
Anonymous

What a reference

So many great songs I havent listened to in a long time

how many people does this sum up?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTk2J4C00Rk
Anonymous

Being given the choice between two GOP candidates, one you would be better for the country and the other would have a better chance of beating Obama…which one do you choose?
Anonymous

Yes, and he will have a hard time with that.
Anonymous

Turn those speakers up full blast.”Play It All Night Long” …………………Another great song!
Anonymous

stupid righty.
Imomsixi

I took a Newsmax Presidential poll. Here are the results.
Perry–14%
Romney–17%
Cain–14%
Gingrich–31%
Maybe the wrong people are trying to analyis their own polls. Does this explain to everyone why it is not a good idea to take advice from anyone, not endorse anyone and listen very carefully. it is too early.
Imomsixi

I didn’t know Rose had a game. Typical nimble witted liberal media type. Couldn’t ask a good question, because he doesn’t know how.