I watched the first half of the debate on TV earlier. Since then I have been trying to watch the second part online. Since I have the some of the crappiest internet service on the planet, it has been impossible. I'll have to wait for the Youtube version.
My take on the first part...
Rick Perry looked good. He gave solid answers. His foreign aid plan is outstanding. Starting every one out at ZERO is perfect. It's pretty damn dumb on the part of our government to give foreign aid to countries that hate us. If a country isn't our ally and isn't willing to cooperate with us they shouldn't get a DIME of tax payer money. Pakistan is NOT our ally. Those assclowns hid osama bin laden from us for YEARS. There is no way in HELL that bin laden was in that city, for that long, without pakistan knowing about it. Anyone who believes differently is an idiot.
Newt also looked awesome. His answers were typical Newt. He knew what he was talking about. He doesn't sugar coat it. He tells the hard truth. He came up a little more in my view.
Mitt Romney looked pretty good too. He is getting better at covering the fact that he is a rino. I don't trust the guy. He is trying to make us believe he s something that he is not.
Michele Bachmann seemed to be getting kicked to the curb. The moderators wouldn't let her speak. Her foreign policy knowledge is good. I don't agree with some of her opinions, but she knows her stuff.
Ron Paul didn't get any time. This poor guy. I know he has a cult following and those people would like to hear what he has to say.
Herman Cain was a little out of his element in this debate. His lack of experience hurt him here. He is right though, a president has to surround themselves with the best and the brightest in order to make sound decisions. But it helps to have a base of knowledge to pull from.
Jon Huntsman didn't really say anything different. It seems that every debate brings up the issue of China and trade. Huntsman would continue to allow China to walk all over us. In this area I fully agree with Mitt Romney. China doesn't want a trade war with us. They sell billions of dollars worth of goods in this Country every year. It would be in China's best interests to have a discussion with us about our concerns. Huntsman would continue the same passive approach that has led to the issues we face now.
Rick Santorum must have read the reviews from the last debate. He appeared much less arrogant than he has in the past. His answers to the questions were about what you would expect from him. Nothing exciting.
There was a question about torture. Most of the candidates expressed an interest in returning to the policies of the past, policies allowing our Military and CIA to use enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. Ron Paul made some comments I found to be a little disturbing. He said that waterboarding isn't proven to result in reliable intelligence. He said something about waterboarding a hundred people hoping to get actionable intelligence from a few. Ok, waterboarding DOES create accurate and dependable intelligence. Our Military and CIA waterboarded THREE people, not hundreds. Those waterboarding of those THREE people resulted in intelligence that saved American lives. That intelligence led to the capture and/or killing of many more terrorists.
It's very misleading when a person of Ron Paul's standing makes it sound as if hundreds of people were tortured and waterboarded and no intelligence was gained. It's not fair and it's not true...
