Video: Rick Perry’s Debate Fail

In isolation this would have been embarrassing but wouldn’t have left a mark. But when you’ve stumbled in every debate, and pundits are repeatedly declaring that you have just one more chance to get it right, this is pretty damaging. I am sure that this will be the defining moment of Perry’s campaign, the moment everything ended, but things have been unraveling from the start. This has been Romney’s race for some time and looks to stay that way.

Fred Thompson Explains Reagan Coalition – Conservatism to Mike Huckabee

It isn’t too late for Fred to be a factor but he needs a needs a serious, buzzworthy, surge to reset the race. That surge, if it’s to come, will be the result of his performance last night and his ability to dial in that tone that so resonated with the conservative base. We’ll know soon if Fred can be a factor:

“I don’t know of any better place to stand my ground and test my case than in South Carolina,” Thompson told a couple of hundred people at a pancake house in the northern part of the state as he began an 11-day bus tour.

He said the results in New Hampshire and in Michigan on Jan. 15 will factor into whether he stays in the race, but that South Carolina will be key.

Arizona Sen. John McCain won the Republican primary in New Hampshire.

“This is where we make our stand — this is where I have chosen to make my stand,” Thompson told a crowd at a barbecue restaurant. He later told reporters he needs to do well in South Carolina, which votes Jan. 19.

“There’s no question about it. It could prove at the end of the day that South Carolina is determinative as far as I’m concerned, but we’re not there yet,” he said.

Republicans Debate in South Carolina

Update 9:28 PM CST:: Internet probelms here. I have to bail out of the liveblogging. I’ll wrap up once I can get a decent connection.

Update 8:51 PM CST:: Ron Paul is going nuts again. You can tell the other candidates are really tired of this crackpot.

Update 8:44 PM CST:: Romney just said that Ron Paul should “stop reading Ahmadinejad’s press releases.” Best line so far.

Update 8:42 PM CST:: Rudy and McCain handled questions about the incident with Iran well. Ron Paul just had a total freakout meltdown – typical blame America stuff – the audience is laughing at him.

Update 8:35 PM CST:: Fred on the Iranians – “One more step and they would have been introduced to those virgins they’re looking forward to seeing.” Like Huckabee he followed with a more serious response.

Update 8:31 PM CST:: Huckabee threatened our enemies with a trip through the “gates of hell.” It was pretty entertaining but lacking a bit of sophistication. His second answer was a bit more thoughtful.

Update 8:29 PM CST:: Ron Paul on the GOP – “We finally got control of the government and we became big government people.” He’s right about that.

Update 8:26 PM CST:: Whoa Fred Thompson is kicking ass! Finally someone with some credibility addresses all of this Reagan legacy talk. He just stepped in and schooled everyone and drew the first applause of the night.

Update 8:22 PM CST:: Obligatory Reagan praise. Too bad they never seem to actually want govern like Reagan when they have the opportunity.

Update 8:19 PM CST:: Fred Thompson is talking about specific techniques for managing the economy. That sure confused everyone.

Update 8:17 PM CST:: Ron Paul is screaming “I hate blacks and gays!” Just kidding – that material is reserved for his newsletters.

Update 8:14 PM CST:: Rudy is promoting balance in all things. He must be taking yoga classes.

Update 8:11 PM CST:: Hucakbee is addressing economic issues in terms that his key snake-handling constituency can understand.

Update 8:07 PM CST:: McCain says that he’s ready to wield the veto pen and tackle wasteful spending.

Update 8:03 PM CST:: I almost clicked past it at the start. I saw that musical number and thought it was a state beauty pageant.

Liveblogging the Fox News – GOP Debate

I’ll be liveblogging tonight’s action. Refresh this page for updates once things get rolling. There’s already a little excitement and the event hasn’t even started:

There are several security officers at every entrance to the college checking IDs. Two hours before the forum is scheduled to start there are already about 30 Paul supporters protesting on the sidewalk. There have also been unconfirmed reports about a small aircraft flying a banner reading “Ron Paul Revolution” around Manchester.

They’re as loony as the Code Pink crowd – but probably better looking. Stay tuned for updates.

Wrap Up
The Fox focus group is hammering Huckabee on his initial confrontation with Romney. The exchange between the two of them, and Wallace’s attack on Huckabee’s foreign policy shortcomings, are the big stories coming out of this event. Will it have an impact? I think so. The Huckabee surge may have been slowed.

McCain performed well enough. He certainly didn’t sustain any real damage. I think the question here is did Romney’s slightly better performance sway a game-changing percentage of undecided voters? It’s possible.

The group’s take on Fred Thompson is exactly what I’ve feared. In essence they agree with him but his style is a major turnoff. They overwhelmingly agreed that he was the worst performer. It’s unfortunate but not unexpected.

Update 8:30 PM CST:
Huckabee thinks Republicans could hold the White House if they “actually solve problems.” It sounds silly but I think it will resonate. McCain’s focus is security.

Update 8:26 PM CST:
Wallace is grilling Rudy on the Bernie Kerik case and asking his to assure “republican voters” that they won’t have to worry about Rudy being further implicated or tied to the mob. I don’t think Rudy managed to pull that off.

Update 8:20 PM CST:
Wallace is on “flip-flopping” now. These topics are useless and tired.

Update 8:20 PM CST:
Huckabee: “Chuck Norris is standing outside right now.”
Thompson: “If John Wayne was here I’d have him beat him up.”

Update 8:17 PM CST:
Huckabee is referencing his slimy ad stunt in an attempt to address Wallace’s question about the tone of the campaign.

Update 8:14 PM CST:
Fox is replaying highlights from various negative campaign ads. McCain went first and didn’t bite.

Update 8:10 PM CST:
Fred has the only insightful take on immigration and blames policy makers on both sides of the border for encouraging illegal immigration.

Update 8:08 PM CST:
Rudy is rattling off the immigration buzzwords.

Update 8:07 PM CST:
Romney and Wallace are trying to challenge the harshness of Huckabee’s immigration plan.

Update 8:05 PM CST:
Romney and Wallace are trying to challenge the harshness of Huckabee’s immigration plan.

Update 8:00 PM CST:
Romney is pwning McCain on illegal immigration. That’s easy enough to do.

Update 7:54 PM CST:
Fred lands another: “Wasn’t that Ted Kennedy at your bill signing?” – directed at Mitt.

Update 7:53 PM CST:
Fred lands one: “My friend Mitt thinks experience is important in all areas except national security.”

Update 7:46 PM CST:
Holy crap! Chris Wallace just destroyed Huckabee. He highlighted his numerous national security and foreign policy missteps and then asked him, in essence, how can you claim to be up for the job? This will be the defining moment of this event unless Ron Paul steers his blimp into the building.

Update 7:43 PM CST:
Romney: “The Clinton’s have endorsed Senator McCain’s immigration plan.” Ouch. He made a pretty good case for the office requiring broad based leadership skills instead of specific expertise. It’s his attempt to undercut McCain’s national security credentials while highlighting his impressive resume.

Update 7:36 PM CST:
Rudy dismissed the whole change question as frivolous. It was my favorite take.

Update 7:34 PM CST:
McCain is shifting from change to national security. He’s blasting Adam Gadahn for tearing up his passport and promising to deliver Osama.

Update 7:32 PM CST:
Romney on McCain and change: “Just sending the same people to Washington, but in different chairs, is not going to change the outcome.”

Update 7:29 PM CST:
Ugh. Chris Wallace wants to talk about “change”.

Update 7:28 PM CST:
Fred Thompson is calling for a simplified tax code but Wallace wants to move on.

Update 7:23 PM CST:
Romney: “We also need a president who knows how to shrink the federal government.” Amen and a great response to Huckabee’s cheesy class warfare.

Update 7:21 PM CST:
Huckabee is feeling your pain. It would be a good moment for him if Romney hadn’t just kicked his feet out from under him on taxes.

Update 7:20 PM CST:
McCain on Social Security: “Tell the American people it’s broken and it’s got to be fixed.”

Update 7:18 PM CST:
Fred Thompson on Social Security: “I have the only plan dealing with Social Security.” and “We’re promising future retirees something we can’t possible deliver.” I want to see him back up and tackle the tax issue.

Update 7:14 PM CST:
Rudy: “I am a supply-sider.”

Update 7:11 PM CST:
Romney on Huckabee’s tax claims: “Mike, you make up facts faster than you talk.” Huckabee then dodged a direct question, twice – “Did you raise taxes?”

Update 7:08 PM CST:
Huckabee getting nailed on $500 million in tax increases.

Update 7:08 PM CST:
Romney: “I’ve got a record of cutting spending and cutting taxes.” He seems a bit agitated.

Update 7:05 PM CST:
McCain: Spending cuts drive tax cuts. He’s more on target, in both tone and message, than Romney.

Update 7:03 PM CST:
We’re starting off on taxes. Chris is hitting Romney on tax increases and Romney is immediately deflecting with jabs at McCain and Huckabee.

Update 7:00 PM CST:
Chris Wallace is kicking off the show.