I posted page 2, go to the site for 1, clo
In debate, Republicans lash out -- at each other
The GOP debate became a race to the bottom Monday night, Simon writes.
“I think Gov. Perry would agree with me that if you’re dealt four aces, that doesn’t make you a great poker player,” Romney said in a dry tone. (The four aces are the energy resources of Texas, the lack of a state income tax, the lack of right-to-work laws, and the presence of a Republican-controlled legislature.)
Perry was not amused.
The two men were next to each other on the stage once again (and probably will be in every future debate) and Perry glared up an inch or so at Romney.
“Mitt, you were doin’ pretty good until you got to poker,” Perry said through teeth that were almost clenched. It seemed to be a macho thing with Perry, as if Romney was an effete northeasterner who couldn’t possibly play poker like a Texan, who could hold his cards, chew tobacco, spit on the floor and devise job-creating legislation all at the same time.
“I think we ought to have a conversation,” Perry said, leaving some to wonder if he were inviting Romney out into the alley for a good beating.
“We’re having it right now, governor,” Romney replied, stopping just short of an actual sneer. “You’re running for president.”
The audience in the hall was with Perry, but Romney was playing to the much larger TV audience. Or at least that part of the TV audience that was not watching pro football, Miss Universe or the finale of “Bachelor Pad.”
The two also had an extended exchange over Social Security. At the last debate, Perry called it a “Ponzi scheme” and refused to withdraw that characterization Monday night. Romney disagreed, saying that it was a program that had benefitted the American people for decades.
Perry got the worst of the exchange, and you could see Romney’s satisfaction. But Perry doesn’t seem to care that he might not be Romney’s intellectual equal. The smartest guy often does not win the race in presidential politics and Romney has yet to convince the public that he has a real heart beating inside his impeccable suits.
One person who probably didn’t watch the debate was sitting in the White House. “I didn’t watch my own debates, much less somebody else’s,” Obama told NBC’s Brian Williams in an interview that aired Monday.
But Obama did weigh in on his idea of government compared to the Republican idea of government. “I think having Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide a social safety net for people, that is a vital role for our government,” Obama said. “It’s not enough for us to just leave that to local charities.”
So that’s the difference between me and those Republicans, Obama was saying. Vote for me and secure your old age. Vote for the Republicans and line up for private soup kitchens.
And if Obama can get the 2012 campaign to be about that, he has a real chance
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63345_Page2.html#ixzz1Xp7mbbt1
DO SOMETHING!
| 
