Boca debate

In case you missed it, the Republican candidates for president met tonight down in Boca Raton for another debate. And, once again, Mike Huckabee put in a solid performance.

In light of recent event, it was no surprise that the primary topic was economics. And, Governor Huckabee reminded his rivals, the moderators, and the crowd, that he had raised red flags at a similar debate up in Dearborn, Michigan, several months ago. It's as true today as it was when he said it: we need(ed) to look at the totality of the economy, not just those who are (were) prospering.

The fact that everyone is now following his lead and discussing economic matters is not helpful to someone like John McCain, who admits he much prefers to discuss things like national defense and the War in Iraq. Sorry, Mr. Senator, the next president needs to be a little more multi-faceted. And, if you cannot even field an economic question tossed to you by that whack-job Ron Paul, you don't need to be making plans to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was almost embarassing to watch McCain as he flubbed his way thru his response to Paul, grasping for words, repeating phrases, even looking confused. Essentially, he claims he will turn over economic policy to a team of trusted advisors he has cultivated during his very long career in DC. Great. Just what we DON'T need, more inside-the-Beltway "solutions." I guess this is why McCain is every Democrat's favorite Republican . . .

Ironically, he thought he'd try to play hard ball with Huckabee, by grilling him on the Fair Tax. What a mistake that was. The governor is so well-versed on that topic, he could recite all the nuts and bolts in his sleep. And, his expertise only highlighted McCain's shortcomings on economic subjects.

Bottom line, I give the candidates the following grades in the order they appeared on stage (left to right):

- Romney: C-, he had no major gaffes, but appeared plastic as usual and was disturbingly evasive when questioned about how much of his personal money he's using in his attempt to buy the nomination.

- McCain: D+ for doddering, his only saving grace was his rebuke of the New York Times and its savage attack on Rudy Giuliani.

- Giuliani: I for incomplete, he failed to close the deal with Florida voters, but he didn't completely blow it. He better do something on the campaign trail, or he's out of the race after Tuesday.

- Paul: F, this guy isn't even a Republican. He even admitted having been the Libertarian party's presidential nominee in the last election.

- Huckabee: B+, he appeared both knowledgeable and affable, and would have earned an A if he hadn't distanced himself from Chuck Norris! (Although, the ensuing exchange with McCain was without a doubt the most humorous moment in an otherwise dull forum.)

Huckabee wins St. Petersburg debate!

Apparently, I was not alone in that assessment. The Florida Chamber of Commerce polled the audience last night, and came up with the following figures when they asked who won:

MIKE HUCKABEE - 44%
Rudy Giuliani - 18%
Mitt Romney - 13%
John McCain - 10%
Fred Thompson - 5%
Ron Paul - 4%
Duncan Hunter - 1%
Tom Tancredo - 1%
Undecided - 4%

The most fun to be had, though, was observing the political pundits' response to Huck's great performance.

Andrew Sullivan over at The Atlantic apparently couldn't understand how someone could be so comfortable talking about his faith in public, and arrogantly dismissed it as "religious schtick."

CNN's analyst Jeffrey Toobin gave Huck credit for being the best debater, but went on to say he "lacked seriousness" for pledging to abolish the IRS. Well, Mr. Toobin, he is indeed serious about that. It's called "The Fair Tax." Look into it.

Anyway, if you want to get an unfiltered view of the debate, you can watch our favorite presidential candidate as he makes his rounds on the cable news networks tonight:

4:15pm - CNN - "The Situation Room," with Wolf Blitzer.
5:00pm - MSNBC - "Hardball," with Chris Matthews.
10:00pm - FoxNews - "On the Record," with Greta van Susteren.

Huckabee on Cavuto

Well, Huckabee on Fox news anyway. Neil Cavuto was mysteriously absent this afternoon. But, his fill-in had a pretty good interview with my favorite presidential candidate.

They started off talking about why the Republican congress got fired last year: over-spending, corruption, and failure to adequately handle Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. But, the worst of the three, they agreed, was over-spending. The Huckster says one way the GOP can regain credibility is to get back to its roots and advocate much-needed spending cuts.

Pseudo-Cavuto (don't you like how that rhymes?!) tried to place some of the spending blame on President Bush, noting how Gerald Ford (of all presidential examples) managed to veto 7 GOP spending bills during his short term. And, he had a point. W hasn't vetoed any to date. But, Mike assured him El Presidente will indeed be "spilling some ink" on future bills, if the Democrats follow-thru on their much crazier spending projections.

Then, the fill-in tried to grill Huckabee for the "D" rating he received from the conservative Cato Institute for over-spending during his term as Governor of Arkansas. Mike came right back with an "F" for Cato's grading process. He says they try to apply a rigid template to all 50 states without taking into account that each government has its own spending procedures, especially as relate to federal mandates. If you go back and look at how Huckabee spent money over which he had actual power to exercise discretion, he deserved an "A."

Finally, the former governor made a pitch for the Fair Tax. Although he claimed a 7-year old running a lemonade stand could understand it, I'm still not sure about it myself. He says it will save $250 billion in current compliance costs, not to mention bringing back an estimated $10 trillion (yes, trillion with a "T") from offshore accounts. And, he's looking forward to the day when he (as president, of course!) will have the pleasure of hanging a "Going Out of Business" sign at the IRS.

All in all, a good appearance.

But, I would've preferred to see a tete-a-giant-tete between Mike and Neil . . .