Grading the CNN Florida Debate

Osky News

By Nik Rule
On Twitter: @NikRule

Florida is going to go down to the wire and tonight’s CNN debate helped a few of the candidates and was less than helpful for the others.  Here is the debate report card:

Rick Santorum

Best Moment: His best moment came when he challenged Romney on the individual mandate in the Massachusetts health care plan. Romney continues to struggle to answer the issue effectively and when challenged further by Santorum, Romney responded, “first of all, it’s not worth getting angry about.” Romney appeared out of touch, being that health care is one of the top issues among GOP voters and Santorum was spot on. You can find the entire exchange here.

Worst Moment: Santorum’s low point wasn’t something that will particularly detrimental. In responding to a question about Puerto Rico being accepted as the 51st state, he rambled for a bit then said he had no position. It was a slightly awkward moment but the question was essentially discarded and wasn’t addressed by any of the other candidates.

I was shocked that Santorum was the only candidate going after Mitt on his weakest issues, but nevertheless he was very effective in doing it. Governor Romney is going to have to have a better response in dealing with the health care question if he is the GOP nominee.

Santorum’s debate grade: A-

Mitt Romney – Best Moment: Romney’s best moment came when he finally got the best of Newt Gingrich while defending his investments. It came after Gingrich accused Governor Romney of making over a million dollars in investments with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Romney explained it was a blind trust and then turned it right back onto Gingrich, leaving the former Speaker at a loss. Check out the exchange here.

Worst Moment: In a controversial attack ad against Newt Gingrich on immigration, Romney claimed he hadn’t seen it and doubted its existence. The ad accused Speaker Gingrich of calling Spanish “the language of the ghetto,” which Gingrich flatly denied. Wolf Blitzer, who was moderating the debate, later informed Romney that it was in fact his ad. Check out the exchange here.

Mitt Romney has reportedly hired Michelle Bachmann’s debate coach and has been very sharp on-stage this week. In my mind his performance sealed the deal in Florida and I’d be shocked if he didn’t win on Tuesday.

Romney’s debate grade: B+

Newt Gingrich

Best Moment: In dealing with the question of Israel, Gingrich was able to convey that he has deep knowledge on foreign policy issues and can effectively communicate them. He finished his answer by explaining he would direct the State Department to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to show America’s support. Check out his best moment here, beginning at the 3:40 mark.

Worst Moment: Almost every exchange with Mitt Romney. Every time Gingrich threw a punch, Romney countered and I believe it caught Newt off guard.

This was a missed opportunity for Newt. He wasn’t sharp, he lacked fire, he let Santorum go after the media, and Romney’s aggressive approach had him looking uncomfortable. The momentum was slowly tilting back to Romney before the debate and this performance certainly won’t help combat that.

Gingrich’s debate grade: C

Ron Paul

Best Moment: When questioned about his age, Ron Paul was energetic and entertaining in his response. He is 76 years old and when asked he responded by saying, “I’m willing to challenge any of these gentlemen up here to a 25 mile bike ride any time of the day.” Gingrich supported Congressman Paul essentially saying his age will be no issue. Check out his answer here.

Worst Moment: Here’s the thing with Ron Paul, he can claim he is more electable when facing Obama as he did tonight. Problem is he has to win the GOP nomination. He essentially described how he is farther to the left than President Obama on foreign policy and he won’t win the nomination with that stance. In essence it makes his argument null and void because unless he has an ideological shift on how he is going to deal with the world he won’t stand a chance.

Paul’s debate grade: C