Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
From Byron York in today's Washington Examiner:
After a debate in which Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney faced attacks from all sides, the Romney campaign says it has not yet accepted invitations to participate in two high-profile debates leading up to the January 31 Florida primary, and a key Romney adviser is expressing fatigue and frustration over what he sees as a never-ending series of GOP debates.
"There are too many of these," Romney strategist Stuart Stevens said after Monday night's Fox News debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. "We have to bring some order to it. We haven't accepted Florida…It's kind of like a cruise that's gone on too long."
Big mistake. The prevailing sentiment amongst a big swath of the Republican electorate right now is that a Romney nomination, if it is to be inevitable, should at least be conditioned on a primary process rigorous enough to road test the candidate before he's sent into the general election. That was the rationale for Sarah Palin's quasi-endorsement of Gingrich yesterday, for Bill Kristol's call to let the primaries play out rather than rushing to a coronation (which you'll hear more about in the Ricochet podcast to be released later today), and perhaps even for Newt Gingrich's recent resurgence in national polls.
Translation: right now, there's a greater resistance to the imperious quality of Romney's inevitability argument than to Romney himself. Acting as if he's above the process will only exacerbate that tension. His people ought to realize that he's still one candidate amongst many. "Bringing some order" to the process isn't yet their prerogative.
- Comment (75)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (3)
Comments:
Dec '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Its kind of the exact opposite of Reagan's "I paid for this microphone" moment.
Jan '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
So Troy, are you saying you really want tO watch more of these increasingly tedious affairs? Enough of these stupid things, I say, at least in the format that we've been seeing. All you get is stump speeches being repurposed and stupid gotcha questions from the moderators. I stopped watching them awhile back. What's more, I don't think they really tell us much about how competently the candidates will govern. They're annoying dog and pony shows.
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Who needs debates when they have "electability" by the truckload? Besides, he's busy trying to figure out how and when to release his tax records in such a manner that will offend the fewest people. Wouldn't want the independents to develop bladder control issues, after all. That's how we advance liberty and the conservative agenda, see?
Jun '10
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Who thinks that if Mitt was moping the floor with his competitors, that he would think there are too many debates? Americans aren't the only ones watching the intestinal fortitude of these candidates. The leaders of other nations are watching just in case one of these guys replaces Obama. Whatever the motivation, avoiding difficult tasks is not sending the right message.
Oct '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Dave Carter: Who needs debates when they have "electability" by the truckload?
· Jan 18 at 11:35am
Isn't electability pursuing similar of pursuing a strategy just for the sake of it without objective ?
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
BT,
Sometimes, you have to sort through a lot of sediment to find a few flakes of gold. Yes, the debates can be tedious and the candidates repurpose stump speeches, but they also get pressed by their opponents. Having to respond in real time teases out the important differences between our potential nominees and -- perhaps more importantly -- sharpens their elbows in preparation for a general election. Given how many weaknesses Romney showed at Monday night's forum, he should welcome the opportunity. He needs the batting practice.
Sep '10
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Oh, boy. We're learning so much about Mitt and his people. Don't worry, if there is pressure to change, he will. Just like everything else.
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
It would be more interesting if they took the somebodies (reference to this via Instapundit) out of the loop. Just go on YouTube, let people submit questions, and make a video reply...No Fox no NBC etc.
Aug '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Someone here on Ricochet predicted exactly this development after Monday's debate! Who was it? Stand up and accept your prognostication award!
Edited on January 18, 2012 at 8:47pmAug '10
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
The primary is in transition at this point. At least one and possibly two candidates will drop out after SC (Perry almost certainly and there's a good chance Santorum will as well). That would leave Mitt, Newt and Ron.
In that scenario there probably isn't much for Romney to gain by going on stage between the crazy uncle and the red meat master debater. Newt is going for broke to win the primary - who cares about the general election! - and Ron Paul is Ron Paul. Romney is running a general election strategy and being on the stage with those two would greatly complicate things.
Look, I imagine he'll end up going to at least one of the Florida debates but there's really no reason to decide now - wait and see what happens this weekend and then figure out what you're going to do.
Of course all you Newt fans will scream bloody murder because debates are about the only thing your guy can do right so of course you want Mitt to show up but that doesn't mean it's in his interest to do so.
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
While I'm not a huge Newt fan,..I'll tell you what I really want. I want a candidate who is so forceful, so confident in his message, and so effective at advancing a conservative message that Obama will try to weasel out of confronting him. I want a candidate, and a President, that keeps the utopians in the media, in academia, and in government on the defensive, not one that spends all his time on defense and playing it safe. I don't want to be represented by a candidate, or a President, who backs down. This point in our history isn't exactly one that cries out for timidity.
Dec '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Interesting how the two Romney stalwarts on this thread immediately come out and say we don't need more debates.
Our guy is ahead; let's stop the process.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
I don't think he can drop either of the Florida debates unless he drops both. There's one white, and one hispanic debate. Dropping either would be a sign of disrespect to the other. Then there's no debates for almost a month; the ones at the end of February seem skippable (Michigan and Arizona are unlikely to complain too hard). If someone's making Super Tuesday competitive, he probably needs to go to the two debates before it, but there's no need to book more debates after that.
I'd be surprised if he dropped them.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Nobody's Perfect: Interesting how the two Romney stalwarts on this thread immediately come out and say we don't need more debates.
Our guy is ahead; let's stop the process. · Jan 18 at 12:43pm
The process is the primaries and caucuses. The debates add to it, but they do not constitute it. If Perry comes last in SC, we'll be down to three candidates + Paul, which is a small enough number that we can get more policy and issue discussion in formats that don't feature a 30 second buzzer. I don't think that anyone was suggesting that the candidates stop campaigning.
Dec '10
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Nobody's Perfect: Interesting how the two Romney stalwarts on this thread immediately come out and say we don't need more debates.
Our guy is ahead; let's stop the process. · Jan 18 at 12:43pm
That's the democrat recount technique.
Dec '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
I don't think that anyone was suggesting that the candidates stop campaigning.
Of course not. But this time around, the debates, for all intents and purposes, are the process, as far as the national audience is concerned.
I think the standing ovation Newt Gingrich received for dressing down Juan Williams spooked Mitt's advisers. As well it should.
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Instead of bagging the debates, Romney needs to learn how to handle debates. As his partisans admit, Ted Kennedy rolled him in the debates in 1994. Obama will do the same if Romney does not improve.
I understand the impulse. Romney is at his best when engaged in methodical planning. That is his forte. The debates reward the quick-witted, and politics more generally does the same. If he cannot make mincemeat of Gingrich, Paul, Santorum, and Perry, he may go down to defeat when faced with Obama. Politics is the art of persuasion, and Romney needs to work at it until he is much, much better.
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Nobody's Perfect: I don't think that anyone was suggesting that the candidates stop campaigning.
Of course not. But this time around, the debates, for all intents and purposes, are the process, as far as the national audience is concerned.
I think the standing ovation Newt Gingrich received for dressing down Juan Williams spooked Mitt's advisers. As well it should. · Jan 18 at 12:52pm
My bet is that Newt wins South Carolina. In the last set of debates, Romney struck out. Newt hit a home run.
Apr '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Paul A. Rahe: Instead of bagging the debates, Romney needs to learn how to handle debates. As his partisans admit, Ted Kennedy rolled him in the debates in 1994. Obama will do the same if Romney does not improve.
I understand the impulse. Romney is at his best when engaged in methodical planning. That is his forte. The debates reward the quick-witted, and politics more generally does the same. If he cannot make mincemeat of Gingrich, Paul, Santorum, and Perry, he may go down to defeat when faced with Obama. Politics is the art of persuasion, and Romney needs to work at it until he is much, much better. · Jan 18 at 12:58pm
Just to be clear, Romney got rolled in a couple of questions in the debate, but he won it as a whole. Romney rose and Kennedy fell in the polls after; it was at that point that Kennedy pulled out all the stops, mortgaging his house et. al., and vowed never to do another debate. The attack montage is really not representative of the debate as a whole.
Mar '11
Re: Romney Considering Taking a Pass on Future Debates
Nobody's Perfect:
I think the standing ovation Newt Gingrich received for dressing down Juan Williams spooked Mitt's advisers. As well it should. · Jan 18 at 12:52pm
Precisely. Newt is waxing everyone on that stage. Juan Williams, Ron Paul, you name it. He dominates the stage. Everytime there's a debate, Newt's numbers shoot up. Romney's solution: stop the debates.