Questions from the 6th Republican Debate

1. Whose job is it to fix the economy?
2. What is the difference Rudy and you on cutting taxes?
3. Are you a Bush Republican on trade?
4. Should a Dubai company be able to own 20 percent of NASDAQ?
5. Does a President need Congress to authorization bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities?
6. Will the government bail out farmers next year?
7. How do the Republican win back confidence on the economy?
8. Should we end the employer-based health care system?
9. Are unions good for America?
10. How would you make Arab Americans not feel discriminated against?
11. Is London going to replace New York as the financial capital of the world?
12. What is the greatest long-term threat to the US economy?

What They're Really Saying About Governor Mitt Romney At The Dearborn, MI GOP Debate * Vol. 2

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007 08:42 PM EDT

CNBC's Maria Bartiromo: "I think that Mitt Romney did very well." (CNBC, "Your Money Your Vote," 10/9/07)

CBN's David Brody: "Fred Thompson gave a somewhat generic answer to the first question about what he will do to 'ensure economy vibrancy in this country'. But then Romney followed with statistics, solutions, and a forward looking agenda. I mean, my goodness, he hit it out of the park." (David Brody, "The Republicans Debate In Dearborn: Reaction," CBN's The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 10/9/07)

• Brody: "It was Mitt Romney's night." (David Brody, "The Republicans Debate In Dearborn: Reaction," CBN's The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 10/9/07)
• Brody: "Mitt Romney was as sharp as he's ever been tonight." (David Brody, "The Republicans Debate In Dearborn: Reaction," CBN's The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 10/9/07)
• Brody: "Now, as for Romney, man he's a good debater." (David Brody, "The Republicans Debate In Dearborn: Reaction," CBN's The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 10/9/07)
• Brody: "Romney had it going. Very impressive indeed." (David Brody, "The Republicans Debate In Dearborn: Reaction," CBN's The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 10/9/07)
• Brody: "I must say Mitt Romney is truly a human power point presentation... And I say that in a very positive way." (David Brody, "The Republicans Debate In Dearborn: Reaction," CBN's The Brody File, www.cbn.com, Posted 10/9/07)

Detroit Free Press' Kathleen Gray And Joe Guy Collier: "Romney captured the early attention of the crowd, speaking to the woes of the auto industry and the recent taxes passed in Michigan to avoid a budget crisis. Romney, whose father was Michigan governor, said the president should have an 'open door' to the automakers." (Kathleen Gray and Joe Guy Collier, "Candidates Avoid Each Other, Turn On Sen. Clinton During Debate," Detroit Free Press Blog, http://www.freep.com/apps/, Posted 10/9/07)

The New Republic's John Judis: "Of the frontrunners, Romney had the clearest and most forthright answers." (John Judis, "GOP Debate," The Plank On The New Republic, http://www.tnr.com, Posted 10/9/07)

The American Spectator's John Tabin: "On the first question, Thompson seemed like he was winging it, especially in contrast to Romney's answer immediately afterwards. Romney has obviously done the homework on Michigan-specific issues that Thompson hasn't. This is pretty much exactly what we've come to expect." (John Tabin, "Notes On The Debate, One Quarter In," The American Spectator Blog, http://www.spectator.org/, Posted 10/9/07)

Townhall's Hugh Hewitt: "Romney's Michigan-specific references underscore the roll-out of his campaign. The former Massachusetts' governor drilled into the woeful state of the Wolverine State's economy, its crushing tax burden, and his roots as a son of Michigan. That's a shrewd dual use of the debate format --advancing his national image while supporting his plans to win in Michigan after the Iowa and New Hampshire contests." (Hugh Hewitt, "The Debate," Townhall, http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell: "Mitt Romney was very strong on fiscal issues..." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 10/9/07)

Right Wing News's John Hawkins: "Mitt slices Rudy on the line item veto... Mitt always sounds so smooth when he talks and he emotes well... Mitt sounds good smacking around Ahmadinejad." (John Hawkins, "Liveblogging The Debate," Right Wing News Blog, http://www.rightwingnews.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

• Hawkins: "Mitt sounds optimistic -* which is the right way to approach it." (John Hawkins, "Liveblogging The Debate," Right Wing News Blog, http://www.rightwingnews.com/, Posted 10/9/07)
• Hawkins: "Mitt should be talking health care all the time. It's a hot issue, he has done something with it before, and nobody else is addressing it very effectively." (John Hawkins, "Liveblogging The Debate," Right Wing News Blog, http://www.rightwingnews.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Good for Romney to chide others for focusing on gloom and doom. Double good for looking forward to debating Hillary on the economy, given his career spent inside it." (Wlady Pleszczynski, "American Dream," The American Spectator Blog, http://www.spectator.org/, Posted 10/9/07)

CNBC's Morris Reid: "I thought if anyone stood out it is probably Romney because he is the strongest on this." (CNBC, "Your Money Your Vote," 10/9/07)

RedState's Erick Erickson: "Great on Romney taking on Michigan's government! Well freakin' done!" (Erick Erickson, "The Michigan Debate," Redstate Blog, http://www.redstate.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

Real Clear Politics' Tom Bevan: "Romney appeared relaxed, confident, and in his element, probably as a result of being more less on his home turf in a forum that played to his strength as a business exec." (Tom Bevan, "Snap Impressions From The Debate," Real Clear Politics Blog, http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/, Posted 10/9/07)

• Bevan: "Romney got off to a fast start with a good line about it being unacceptable that Michigan in undergoing a 'one-state recession' and had a sharp exchange sic with Rudy over the line item veto." (Tom Bevan, "Snap Impressions From The Debate," Real Clear Politics Blog, http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/, Posted 10/9/07)

What They're Really Saying About Governor Mitt Romney At The Dearborn, MI GOP Debate

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007 07:07 PM EDT

Townhall's Matt Lewis: "Romney makes a good point about the line item veto. He used it 844 times, he says. Romney also points out that Rudy fought against it all the way to the Supreme Court. This is what he sees as a clear contrast..." (I strongly agree with Romney about this)." (Matt Lewis, "Live Blogging The Debate," Towhall, http://townhall.com/blog, Posted 10/9/07)

• * Lewis: "Matthews asks all the candidates how Republicans can win back the voters. ... Romney, perhaps answering Huckabee and McCain, says we need to be confident and optimistic. Amen!" (Matt Lewis, "Live Blogging the Debate," Townhall, 10/9/07)

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "For our money, Mitt Romney gave the best answer. 'There are some good ones and some not so good,' Romney said, before naming the Carpenters as one of the 'good' unions. As for the bad ones, Romney joked he wasn't planning to name them. It seemed like a real joke – Romney himself seemed somewhat surprised that he had made it – and a nice moment for a candidate." (Chris Cillizza, "Union Yes," Washington Post's The Fix Blog, blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/, Posted 10/9/07)

• Cillizza: "The three frontrunners used a question about how to convince voters that Republicans can be trusted with the economy to offer their larger philosophical visions. Romney, not surprisingly, was the most upbeat of the trio." (Chris Cillizza, "A Contrast In Visions," The Washington Post's The Fix, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/, Posted 10/9/07)

MSNBC's Chuck Todd: "Romney's coming across, so far, as the most prepared for this debate. He appears to be the least nervous; this topic, of course, is in Romney's wheelhouse." (Chuck Todd, "Romney Strong So Far, Avoiding Bush Comparisons," MSNBC'S First Read Blog, firstread.msnbc.msn.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder: "[Gov. Romney] let off a great line about the tax-raising Democratic Governor, Jennifer Granholm." (Marc Ambinder, "Romney Sounds Like A Gubernatorial Candidate Here," The Atlantic, marcambinder.theatlantic.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

• Ambinder: "Romney sounds like a gubernatorial candidate here. (That's a compliment). He let off a great line about the tax-raising Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm. 'I figured she was going to put a tax on the debate before it was finished.'" (Marc Ambinder, Atlantic Online Blog, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 10/9/07)

• Ambinder: "Props to ... Romney: knowing the ins and outs of the Michigan economy; for landing a punch about the line item veto; he got a full minute and a half to explain his health care plan." (Marc Ambinder, Atlantic Online Blog, http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com, 10/9/07)

MSNBC's Domenico Montanaro: "There was a clear difference seeing Fred Thompson versus Romney in style. Romney was much more direct, clearer and had a handle on the issues." (Domenico Montanaro, "On Style," MSNBC's First Read, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "A nice moment for Mitt, comparing his record in the private sector to that of Hillary. 'I've done it, she's just talked about it,' he hit home at the end of his answer." (Jonathan Martin, "Mitt: I Can Take A Piece Out Of Hillary, Too," Politico, http://dyn.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/, 10/9/07)

• Martin: "In his first answer, Mitt Romney scored nice points with the Wolverine State audience by taking a shot at Granholm – and citing the biggest news here locally." (Jonathan Martin, "Mitt Gets Easy Applause," The Politico, http://www.politico.com/, Posted 10/9/07)

Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Romney, speaking second, was much smoother and fluent – and smart enough to focus on Michigan's problem and blast Gov. Granholm's tax hikes." (Wlady, "Top of the Order," AmSpec Blog, 10/9/07)

• Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Who else on that stage will be so unabashedly supply-side? Romney's response? He's for the line-item veto." (Wlady, "Clubbing for Growth," AmSpec Blog, 10/9/07)

• Wlady At AmSpec Blog: "Mitt Scores Against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." (Wlady, "Mitt Scores Against Mahmoud," AmSpec Blog, 10/9/07)