Washington, DC (TLS). The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California provided the backdrop for this first forum of the Republican Presidential candidates.
As we did with the Democrats, The Liberty Sphere will rate each of the Republican candidates based upon their performance in tonight's debate, as well as their views.
With regard to strength of communication skills, clarity of presentation, answering the questions posed, and ability to connect at an emotional level with voters, the candidates are listed below in order of their overall effectiveness in tonight's forum:
Governor Mitt Romney
Rep. Duncan Hunter and Governor Mike Huckabee (tie)
Governor Jim Gilmore
Senator Sam Brownback
Senator John McCain
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Rep. Ron Paul
Governor Tommy Thompson
Rep. Tom Tancredo
The surprises of the evening are that Mitt Romney and Jim Gilmore did so incredibly well, and Tom Tancredo did so poorly. We regret the latter, for Rep. Tancredo is a good communicator with ideas that need a hearing in this country. For some reason or another, he was off his game tonight.
Of the three front runners so far, Mitt Romney gained the most from this encounter, allowing a large portion of the population to see how well he handles himself under pressure. If there were to be a declared winner on the basis of communication, presentation, and debate presence, it would be Romney, hands down.
Now for the issues of substance. The Liberty Sphere rates all candidates based upon our mission statement, which is to advocate for human liberty all over the world, and to support those candidates, Parties, and organizations that do the most to propagate human freedom.
We base this 'liberty rating' on eight (8) key issues that are central to liberty: national defense, taxes, healthcare, gun rights, abortion, the war on terror, U.S. foreign policy, and immigration control.
For a complete description and rationale for our view that these issues are key, click here to go to our ratings of the Democratic candidates in their first debate:
http://thelibertysphere.blogspot.com/2007/04/ratings-of-democratic-presidential.html
Based upon our analysis of the views of each of the Republican candidates on these 8 key critical issues, The Liberty Sphere rates tonight's candidates on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest score):
Rep. Duncan Hunter--10
Governor Mike Huckabee--10
Governor Jim Gilmore--9
Senator Sam Brownback--8
Governor Mitt Romney--7
Governor Tommy Thompson--7
Rep. Tom Tancredo--7
Rep. Ron Paul--7
Mayor Rudy Giuliani--6
Senator John McCain--5
Based upon The Liberty Sphere's total leading indicators, combining effectiveness of presentation with strength of views with regard to liberty, who benefited the most from tonight's forum?
Four candidates stand out as doing a stellar job at presenting their case for why they should be President, and probably helped themselves tremendously by appearing in tonight's debate. They are Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore.
A LIBERTY SPHERE INSIDER'S TIP: The man to watch is former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who has been gaining supporters everywhere he goes. He was terribly underrated going into the campaign, and not only has he far surpassed everyone's expectations but he has proved that he is a major player--a political heavyweight who can stand his ground with the most seasoned veterans.
By the way, Huckabee surprisingly came out as the winner of the first Republican straw poll in South Carolina, the Spartanburg County Republican Party Straw Poll, which not only shows Huckabee's ability to sway voters to his side but which also showed the strength of another dark horse--Duncan Hunter, who came in third.
A FINAL NOTE: A huge absentee who was yet very much present tonight was former Senator Fred Thompson. He is emerging as a star waiting in the wings whose entry into the race could change the entire complexion of the Republican race for the nomination.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
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4 comments:
Nice Analysis. I too thought Huckabee gained some major ground. Gilmore also came up strong. Romney looked fake.
Brownback disappointed. McCain will continue to falter.
Huckabee's stellar performance was unexpected and surprising. I think you're right, he gained major ground.
I don't think McCain did so badly. He probably did not lose any ground, but some of his views on things such as gun control and the McCain-Feingold campaign 'reform' debacle make me very suspicious.
Martyn
I also thought Huckabee and Gilmore did well.
However, I am surprised that on your analysis of the views you rated Ron Paul so low (a 7). He seemed to be right on all the issues except the war on terrorism. On the issues I liked Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul the best.
Paul was the only candidate candid enough to state when something was unconstitutional. I agree in general with Paul's stance on national defense, however, I am more in line with Duncan Hunter on the war on terrorism. I do not think this to be inconsistent, as it was the extremist muslims who have attacked us and it is our right and duty as a nation to defend ourselves. Paul's views on the war on terrorism seem to be his only detractor
I am also surprised you rated Romney so well. Although he may have been well spoken, he is just wrong on too many issues. He supports gun control, is pro-choice (despite what he may claim), he has created socialized health care in Massachusetts and he supports exapanding his version of socialized health care nation wide, and he does not seem to understand the U.S. Constitution in respect to the limits of the federal government's authority (in fact, I would say that applies to McCain and Giuliani as well).
I really hope that one of the candidates besides Romney, McCain, and Giuliani can break away from the pact of the other 6 candidates and pick up some support. As far as I am concerned I would vote for any of the candidates except the so called top 3 that the MSM seems to be drooling all over about. It may have been a debate with 10 Republicans last night, but only 7 conservatives showed up.
I appreciate your well-reasoned response. So much of the process of rating candidates is subjective, although I do make a concerted effort at objectivity using the criteria I mentioned. While I like Ron Paul on most issues, I have to part company with him on the War in Iraq, particularly since he has called for the impeachment of President Bush because of the war.
Thus, the War on Terror, and the War in Iraq, to my way of thinking, are so vitally critical to the preservation of liberty that I felt I had to deduct some points from Paul for that reason.
With regard to Romney, remember my top rating of him was based upon his performance alone. On the issues he rated much lower.
My favorites at this point are Duncan Hunter and Mike Huckabee...and, of course, Fred Thompson when he decides to declare.
Martyn
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