No doubt, Mitt Romney made sure he was fit and ready for the ABC/GOP Presidential Debate in New Hampshire.  But as it turned out, he didn’t have a worry in the world.  So many softballs were tossed by ABC’s Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos and a New Hampshire anchorman, that the candidates didn’t even need mitts!  (Sorry…)

We’d like to do a rewind on the weakest questions offered, but we can’t remember them!  Fortunately, the field of presidential candidates had done this drill so many times they didn’t even need hosts!  Case in point: George Stephanopoulos and his curious question for Mitt Romney about states banning CONTRACEPTION.  Viewers actually were embarrassed for George it was such a misfire.  Romney turned it into a joke, and it WAS one.

Stephanopoulos clearly intended to try to trap former Governor Romney with a constitutional question, but his question about state government’s prohibiting contraception was so ridiculous, the whole line of questioning just didn’t make any sense!  George ended up being rebuffed by Romney, by other candidates, and even by the audience.

Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pxyzAjk72U

What was nice about the ABC debate was that candidates had more than thirty seconds to express their positions.  THIS was an improvement.  Asking any politician to share their view on Afghanistan, Gay Marriage, Economic Issues, State Infrastructure, contraception, or Iraq, in thirty seconds, is just insane.  The audience gets nothing out of it, and soundbites reign.

The ABC New Hampshire debate was different, and possibly because Diane Sawyer and her team only had about five prepared questions for the whole night!  They let the candidates finish their sentences and voters actually got to hear what Mitt Romney thought about Roe vs. Wade.  What Newt Gingrich really felt about gay marriage.  Why Rick Perry WANTED to send troops back to Iraq!  And why Rick Santorum voted for tax increases.  ABC’s format gave each candidate enough time to express himself and finish a thought instead of racing the buzzer.  Ron Paul for one, really benefited by the increase in time, but it seemed like he had almost more than his share.

Rick Santorum?  He was steady, but we felt Newt Gingrich was better in this debate.  Political columnists and pundits anticipated that Gingrich would self-destruct with his anger at a boiling point since losing Iowa.   Rather than a grilling of frontrunner Mitt Romney, the debate turned into a battle for 2nd place.  Santorum challenging Paul, Paul challenging Gingrich, Huntsman challenging Paul, and Rick Perry trying to get someone to challenge him.

Mitt Romney came away a bigger winner than when he arrived.

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Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics by Sonja Eddings Brown, Jan 7, 2012