Rate Ron's Performance in the Debate

[DeadheadForPaul]

He is speaking over the heads of the audience, and as a result, speaking only to the choir

He must simplify the message and must also direct the message in his favor

There were zero mentions of low taxes or abortion - he could have easily worked those into the various questions

 

[S.Shorland]

Juan Williams lied about his position on Israel and Ron didn't correct him but his answer was that Israel is free to take whatever action it sees fit (as a sovereign nation) so I think he got away without being tarred with Williams' smear.They're out to get him so he needs to always be on guard and not fail to point out loaded questions.

 

[eleganz]

I wish that I could watch the debate, link @ fox isn't working.

 

[ronpaulitician]

I think he did well. The "winner" is, sadly, up to the polls and people like that Luntz's audience. "Cain really knew the problem, presented a solution, and knew the people to do it." Um, no, Cain SAID he would analyze the problem, figure out the solution, and then put the right people to work.

It's no wonder people like John "I'm thinking of the letter N... M... O... P.... that's it, right P?" Edwards can market their 'talent'.

But things are definitely looking more positive than they did in 2007.

Felt bad for Gary Johnson as he got a lot of "me too, the same as Ron" kind of questions, plus that idiotic "what kind of reality show would you have". I guess he's this year's "electability... do you have any?" victim.

Santorum makes me understand the "if that one dude wins, I'm leaving this country" sentiment.

Pawlenty didn't impress me, but also didn't unimpress me. Guess that's not good either way.

 

[trey4sports]

Here's the way I look at it......

Ron slid under the radar. I watched the full Fox News coverage after the debate and there was no mention of Ron being smeared and although Cain got a lot of praise, Ron Paul was not attacked and DID NOT hurt his campaign at this debate. The drug war response was killer in my opinion, but again that is MY opinion and i have no clue what the american idol drones thought.

Overall, Ron didn't win the debate (in terms of broad appeal)but he also didn't shoot himself in the foot either.

 

[Badger Paul]

The important thing to remember with these debates is not making a gaffe that will play in the media for weeks on end and forcing the campaign to spend valuable time defending the candidate. I didn't get to see the debate but just judging from what I've seen on these boards that didn't happen tonight which is good. Because what will win Iowa and New Hampshire is not so much these debates but the contact the campaign makes with voters in the first few states, both the grassroots volunteers and the candidate himself, which is the most important. RP has to use the skills he has as a retail campaigner to get voters in the early states to support him and that he has to spend more time in these states than he did in 2007-08. So far we're off to a good start in that front because I think he's made as many appearances in Iowa as he did in the last campaign cycle.

 

[[email protected]]

I gave him a 7. Not stellar, but some great moments. Yet more good exposure, an overall positive.

 

[Johnnymac]

9-10 10-10: i liked how Ron told it how it was, everyone else seemed to be bragging there tails off. especially Rick and Tim, Herman Cain tended to get the really important questions, and made a huge impact with his speaking on the audience. Gary was thrown to the dogs after speaking out(when he spoke out about not getting questions he was about 4 -5 questions behind Rick and Tim), but so weren't we in 07-08 so he will have to fight to get to where we are now. That chick asked Herman a question that was sort of a dis on Ron and didn't even let Ron Respond which was very rude. I recorded the questions asked Tim got the most Rick 2nd, Herm 3rd, Ron 4th, and Gary 5th, Tim and Rick kept talking past there limits the most. I wish i could've recorded the times but I didn't have multiple stop watches to use.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

I voted him a 1 out of 10.

This may sound a bit harsh, but I was really disappointed with that debate. Ron Paul had the chance to really knock it out the park, but he completely failed. He was the most experienced person there and was out performed by pretty much everyone except Rick Santorum. Bottom of the line, I have never seen RP look so bad in a debate. I felt like he had no heart in it and almost like he feels he's going to be given the nomination. The over exuberant supporters don't help in this situation. I don't want to see a re-run of the last election and I really do feel that he is the only candidate that can truly bring America out of the mess we're in. It seems like he has no focus on what he should be campaigning about. I think he should:

Focus everything on the economy.

It doesn't really matter what question he's asked he needs to bring it back to that. He has the experience and has worked his whole life for this. He has the answers to fix this country, but I don't think he realizes it. Someone needs to give him a pep talk before these debates.

 

[rp08orbust]

His average rating is 7.68 at the moment with 173 votes.

 

[WilliamC]

Went with an 8.

He didn'dt make any gaffes, except for rushing his closing remarks.

He was very comfortable and at ease, more so than the others.

He looked respectable and and was decisive in his answers.

He obviously knows what he is talking about.

And he used humor well.

This is the Ron Paul that can actually win elections I saw last night, and I'm pumped!

 

[Kludge]

One thing mentioned worth mentioning again was when RP used the word "Jews." That did cause a brief split-second of discomfort in me, mostly because my family's Evangelist. "Jew" turned into a slur, apparently. I had a Jewish English teacher who actually marked me down once for using the word "Jew." The "nigga" form of Jew is Jewish person. "Christ-killer" equates to "spear-chucker," I guess.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

This is the Ron Paul that can actually win elections I saw last night, and I'm pumped!

I was thinking the exact opposite. When he was running in 2008, you could hear how passionate he was about what he was saying. He could have won in 2008 had he done some things differently. It seems he might not have learned from those mistakes. He has to get a political advisor to help him focus on what he needs to campaign on. He'll never win if he doesn't and that's a shame because quite frankly it's now or never and he's the best shot we have at fixing the economy and saving our national sovereignty.

 

[Kludge]

I was thinking the exact opposite. When he was running in 2008, you could hear how passionate he was about what he was saying. He could have won in 2008 had he done some things differently. It seems he might not have learned from those mistakes. He has to get a political advisor to help him focus on what he needs to campaign on. He'll never win if he doesn't and that's a shame because quite frankly it's now or never and he's the best shot we have at fixing the economy and saving our national sovereignty.

Couldn't disagree more. In 2009, he tried repeating the same condensed points over and over and over on MSM. It was terrible because it wasn't Ron. He droned on and I quit tuning in to listen to him. Last night, though, he was Ron, and it was the only debate I ever actually laughed out loud from the candidates' (Ron Paul's, rather) response. He got roaring laughter and very loud applause, which is really unprecedented.

He was actually strongly encouraged to be coached before and he refused. You can't homogenize his responses because of his stubborn independence, but I think he turned that into a benefit, not a detriment last night, because his wit allowed him to give very original and witty responses to the questions posed.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Couldn't disagree more. In 2009, he tried repeating the same condensed points over and over and over on MSM. It was terrible because it wasn't Ron. He droned on and I quit tuning in to listen to him. Last night, though, he was Ron, and it was the only debate I ever actually laughed out loud from the candidates' (Ron Paul's, rather) response. He got roaring laughter and very loud applause, which is really unprecedented.

He was actually strongly encouraged to be coached before and he refused. You can't homogenize his responses because of his stubborn independence, but I think he turned that into a benefit, not a detriment last night, because his wit allowed him to give very original and witty responses to the questions posed.

I'm not talking about coaching him in what to say. You're right, it wouldn't be him. I would coach him to stick to certain points, namely the economy which is his strong suit. Nearly every single issue (foreign policy, experience, etc) can be tied to this. It's what's on most people's mind right now. He also needs to differentiate himself from other candidates. In that debate, I felt Herman Cain stood out the most and apparently others did as well. I'm not trying to bash RP though. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want him to win!