NPR: How the GOP Candidates Handled the YouTube Debate

How the GOP Candidates Handled the YouTube Debate

It's really not fair to toss a question such as "Do you believe every word of the Holy Bible?" to a panel of candidates when one of them happens to be an ordained minister.

This is like asking each candidate to face a pitching machine when one just happens to be a professional baseball player. Nonetheless, you could not fail to be impressed with how the Reverend Mike Huckabee played the part of the pro when given a chance to shine. Not only was he instantly connected with those in the audience most devoted to the literal truth of the Bible (by tone of voice if nothing else), but he skillfully avoided giving offense to those in the audience who are not.

Contrasted with the stuttering response of a somewhat annoyed-looking Romney, Huckabee's hit was a line drive out of the park. And compared with the rather candid but uncomfortable response of Rudy Giuliani, who had to talk about "modern context" and had to use the word interpretive, it was a towering home run ...

Meanwhile, there's little reason to wonder why Dennis Kucinich says he could have Ron Paul as his running mate. Paul continues to stand apart from all his rivals on Iraq.

But not just on Iraq. He goes to foreign policy again and again and articulates a totally different view of the world and its many problems than any other major Republican candidate in memory. Even Robert Taft, the Senate Republican leader from Ohio who represented the western conservative wing of the party until his death in 1953, was never so pure in his opposition to American globalism and "big government conservatism."

Paul has little chance of winning the nomination, and one of the YouTube questioners demanded to know whether he would run as an independent or "let America down." Paul's answer was to insist he was in the GOP contest to win and had "no intention" to run outside the party. But then, he used a verb in the present tense ...

- Ron Elving

10:18 PM ET | 11-28-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

The format of the CNN program was superficial and boring: YouTube questions were vague and unintelligent one-liners (geared to the emotions rather than the intelligence). I thought this was supposed to be a real DEBATE??? Where was the development of political issues juxtaposed with policy? Where the logical structure of thought even though compressed to 30 second sound bites?

Who, for instance, can praise Huckabee for his humor when it amounted in one instance to smearing another candidate (Clinton and Mars) or avoiding the answer to a question (Jesus and politics). Am I supposed to be impressed with Huckebee's Statesmanship? Comedy Corner quippers are not appropriate to the high office of President during a GOP debate in a country where the working and middle classes of America are disintegrating, where few will have retirement, where millions will work themselves to death without any hope of retirement or adequate health care due to the baby boomer drain on medical infrastructure.

This horse and pony show, highlighting Giuliani and Romney was one big boring episode. Dylan Thomas' poem, "Do not go gently into that good-night... rage rage against the burning of the light..." more like TS Eliot's Hollow Men: "Not with a bang, but with a whimper."

Sent by Pauline | 1:41 AM ET | 11-29-2007

Kucinich/Paul 2008! :)

Sent by na | 9:21 AM ET | 11-30-2007

I am guessing that Ron Elving uses the national polls to determine that Ron Paul "has little chance of winning the nomination". As those polls use registered republicans who voted in the 2004 election and who have land lines and are home to answer them, they are missing huge segments of newly-registered republicans, young people who don't have land lines and are not home to take the calls, and other disaffected voters. I suggest you use other criteria to measure Ron Paul's support: 1. His ability to raise money from the people, not from big corporations; he is doubling his funding every quarter 2. His internet popularity; 3. His overwhelming wins in straw polls; 4. His overwheming wins in the debate polls, such as the recent CNN poll which he won with 51%; 5.His grassroots support, such as MeetUp groups. I'll make it easy: here's a website that spells it all out: http://thecaseforronpaul.com/ This is just one of the thousands of grassroots websites put up by supporters. How about pitching it like this: the old ways of measuring a candidate's viability is outmoded and the media needs to use other ways to measure. Thanks for your great shows.

Sent by Elizabeth Blane | 9:27 AM ET | 12-06-2007

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:	» List of local stations (PDF)
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.