This morning, on NBC's Meet the Press, Newt Gingrich took an ax to the base of the party from which he is seeking a 2012 presidential nomination.
Gingrich first criticized Paul Ryan and the GOP plans for healthcare. He then proceeded to detail how he and Mitt Romney were not that far apart on the issue of the individual mandate and healthcare overall. This, of course, makes neither of the two GOP candidates very far from President Obama and his plan.
This hurts Gingrich at a time when he could stand to gain at least some of Huckabee's supporters. It now looks as though any path to the nomination Gingrich may have had is gone.
Some might ask why has Romney's stance on healthcare not already sunk his nomination chances? To be certain, his nomination chances haven't been helped any. Even so, it seems that many simply believe he is the most electable. This could explain why he polls so highly despite the GOP electorate's general disdain for Obama's healthcare initiative.
Without question, this story is far from over. More on this subject will be coming in the following days. Check back for further updates, and don't forget to vote in the poll.
Also, take a look, below, at Huckabee's full announcement on his Fox News show.
Today, Newt Gingrich officially announced he is seeking the Republican nomination for president. You might recall that Gingrich is the 67 year old former Speaker of the House. He led the Republican Revolution of 1994, when the GOP took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
On Monday, Gingrich announced he would soon announce his bid for the presidency. That day was, in fact, today. Take a few minutes to watch his announcement address, and see what you think.
Tomorrow, I will put up a poll asking you to consider who your favorite candidate for the GOP nomination. Unlike the current poll, your choices will include even those who are just being talked about in the media. Remember to vote in the current poll!
Last night's GOP presidential debate had a lot of great moments. As is normally the case, Ron Paul pulled off a series of zingers and flat out hilarious comments. That's not to say that he didn't make some excellent points. Instead, it simply means that Paul's answers were both informative and entertaining.
Rick Santorum showed primary voters why he had been a rising star before his reelection defeat in 2006. Tim Pawlenty had the courage to admit that he had been wrong when he had, at first, supported cap and trade legislation. He explained how he changed his mind after studying the issue in much more detail. Gary Johnson rightly used his opportunities to discuss a number of his accomplishments as governor of New Mexico.
You might say that each candidate had his flash of excellence--that is clear. That being said, businessman and former radio host Herman Cain consistently performed at a high level. In reality, he stole the show.
Mr. Cain had two especially outstanding moments. One was when moderator Chris Wallace asked Cain about his support for the Fair Tax, noting that experts argue that such a taxing system would actually hurt the middle class. Cain quickly responded by saying, "With all due respect, your experts are dead wrong." He followed up his great one liner with an explanation of exactly how the Fair Tax would be good for all taxpayers.
Cain's second great moment was when he was asked about his having never held an elected position. Mr. Cain quickly responded that most of the folks in Washington had previously held public office. His next sentence really brought the house down. He said, "How's that working out for ya?" RedState.com's Erick Erickson discusses Cain's performance in more detail here.
Dr. Frank Luntz's focus group was near unanimous in their opinion that Cain dominated the debate. In fact, this opinion was near unanimous in a group of more than twenty-five South Carolina GOP primary voters. Luntz was visibly taken aback by the overwhelming opinion that Cain had won the debate. He proceeded to ask the group how many had come in supporting Cain--only one raised her hand. In the end, the "no-name" Cain left with at least half the room solidly backing his candidacy--and the others weren't far behind.
In case you aren't familiar with Dr. Frank Luntz, be assured that this isn't his first time around the focus group block. The man is a consummate professional and wordsmith. Trust me, if he is taken aback at the response to Cain's performance, we all should be. When you have the time, you should check out Dr. Luntz's amazing book, Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear.
Be sure to watch Dr. Luntz's focus group below, and vote in the poll to pick your favorite candidate out of the five who participated in last night's debate.
Tonight's first Republican presidential debate provided an excellent forum for Republican primary voters to hear from some lesser known candidates.
Rick Santorum spoke often of the importance of family, life, and experience. Ron Paul stayed true to his Libertarian philosophy of individual liberty--even in cases relation to drug use. This stance was largely echoed by Gary Johnson. Tim Pawlenty argued that his record of practical conservative leadership in Minnesota is exactly what the country needs. In addition to advocating for the Fair Tax, Herman Cain noted the importance of solid, common sense leadership, just as he did in his book, Leadership Is Common Sense.
Overall, lots of important issues were discussed tonight. If you missed it, you missed a good one. Fortunately, you can return here in the morning and get the links to all the latest news on post-debate reactions.
Take the time to vote in the new poll, "Of the 5 Republicans who participated in the first debate, who's your favorite?"
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