Cain defends himself, Perry stumbles at GOP debate (LA Times)

[pinto]

This whole crew is so irrelevant it's almost laughable, if it weren't a national political contest. ~ pinto

Cain defends himself, Perry stumbles at GOP debate

By Mark Z. Barabak and Maeve Reston
November 9, 2011, 7:08 p.m.

Reporting from Rochester, Mich.— Herman Cain delivered a spirited — and largely unchallenged — defense Wednesday night against sexual harassment accusations in a placid Republican presidential debate that saw the candidates repeatedly ducking the chance to engage one another.

Given a chance to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Cain, who has issued a series of contradictory statements about his allegedly boorish behavior, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney demurred.

<snip>

The debate on the campus of Oakland University in the Detroit suburbs was co-sponsored by CNBC and the Michigan Republican Party. It was intended to focus on the economy, far and away the top concern of voters, and, with rare exception, it did.

Unemployment in Michigan is 11.1%, higher than the national average but down from a peak of 14.1% in the fall of 2009. Economists credit the federal bailout of GM and Chrysler with saving tens of thousands of jobs in the state, and Romney, a Michigan native, and others were forced to explain their opposition to the bailout. All eight candidates onstage opposed it, a fact Democrats pointed out in advertisements placed ahead of Wednesday night’s debate.

<more at>

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-pn-gop-debate-web-wrap-20111109,0,809379.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews+%28L.A.+Times+-+Top+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

[RZM]

1. Don't agree that the crew is irrelevant

They are very relevant. It's a two party system. One of the people on that stage will get their party's nomination. They will have access to hundreds of millions in campaign funds, they will receive tens of millions of votes, and perhaps even be elected president of the US (way less than a 50 percent chance of that IMO, but it's not outside the realm of possibility).

That doesn't sound like irrelevant to me.

[pinto]

2. Good point. One of them will have the national campaign stage vs Obama.

I'm looking forward to it, tell the truth. Despite the mixed bag of results the Administration has been able to accomplish in dealing with the blindly obsessive 'party of no' in Congress, I think none of the contenders can match up with Obama, one-on-one.

:hi:

[RZM]

3. I think some can, some can't

Perry and Cain simply aren't up to the task of an extended turn on the national stage. Newt and the Mittster probably would be able to hold their own on the campaign trail and in the debates. But both of them have a whole hell of a lot of baggage from their pasts. The rest of the field has no shot at the nomination.

[pansypoo53219]

4. perry stumbles?

i thought he broke a leg or 2.