And the Winner of the GOP Debate Is...Hillary Clinton!

Posted by Steve Benen at 6:20 AM on October 10, 2007.

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report

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Towards the end of yesterday's debate for the Republican presidential field, Mitt Romney used one of his canned lines he'd obviously been waiting to use. In response to a question about supporting the eventual GOP nominee, no matter who it is, Romney said, "[I]n terms of supporting these guys, I've come to know these people now over these debates.... This is a lot like 'Law and Order' -- it has a huge cast, the series seems to go on forever, and Fred Thompson shows up at the end."

Thompson responded, "And to think I thought I was going to be the best actor on the stage."

As Homer Simpson would say, "It's funny because it's true." Romney's right, Thompson's campaign is shallow and meaningless; and Thompson's right; Romney is a phony who'll say anything to get elected.

Watching the GOP field for two hours, one is reminded of just how impressive the Democratic field is. No one could possibly learn anything from these debates. The Republican candidates want to cut taxes, cut spending while investing in all of their favorite causes, argue inexplicably that federal coffers swell as a result of less revenue, and defend an indefensible Iraq policy.

Oh, and attack Hillary Clinton as if she were already the nominee.

Giuliani, who makes Clinton a frequent target on the campaign trail, accused Clinton of trying to "put a lid on our growth."

Poking fun at Clinton's proposal for a $5,000 bond for newborns, he said it would come "with her picture on it."

Giuliani said, "I challenged her. She has backed off that. She has a new one today. This one is, she's going to give out $1,000 to everybody to set up a 401(k).The problem is, this one costs $5 billion more than the last one."

Making it clear he expects Clinton to be the Democratic nominee, Romney said, "I can't wait to talk about the fact that I spent my life in the economy.... I can't wait to debate with her, because I've done it. She's just talked about it."

Indeed, in this sense, Clinton was clearly yesterday's big winner. The Republicans weren't just preoccupied with her; they were practically obsessed. Giuliani was asked about the lower tax rates applied to private equity firms. Asked if that was a fair policy, he said, "The leading Democratic candidate once said that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America." Clinton didn't say that, but more importantly, it was symptomatic of the larger problem -- much of the GOP field has decided it would rather attack Clinton than answer questions.

As a sign of just how ridiculous the debate was, consider the fact that Brownback and Tancredo argued over Brownback's mom, in the context of unions.

BROWNBACK: Sure. They've been good for the United States, I think, historically. My mother was a union member. She was a mail carrier, a rural mail carrier. She called herself a "postal packin' grandma" for a good period of time. And it helped her on health care. It helped her, I think, in some negotiations.

TANCREDO: Sam, I don't -- your mom, if she was a postal worker, believe me, she didn't need a union on top of Civil Service. (Laughter.) The fact is that -

SEN. BROWNBACK: Don't pick on my mother. (Laughter.)

REP. TANCREDO: I'm sure she's a sweetheart.

SEN. BROWNBACK: I love my mother. (Laughter, applause.)

REP. TANCREDO: I'm sure she's a sweetheart, but she doesn't -- she didn't need -

SEN. BROWNBACK: Leave my mother out of this.

REP. TANCREDO: -- both, I'll guarantee you.

The second most heated exchange came when Romney and Giuliani argued over the line-item veto and commuter taxes. Gripping it was not.

The WaPo's Steven Pearlstein's reaction was spot-on.

[F]or two hours yesterday, the nine white men who would be president were each peddling the Big Lie that the only way to ensure economic growth is by cutting all the taxes ever created -- and when you're finished with that, cutting them some more....

It is becoming clear, not just from this and previous debates but also from their speeches and position papers, that the leading Republican candidates aren't serious about economic issues.

A friend told me that watching the debate was like "watching a bunch of high-school jocks debate economics in an econ 101 class."

Perhaps, but I can think of plenty of high-school jocks who are smarter, more honest, and more coherent than the Republican presidential field.

Tagged as: clinton, brownback, election08, republican party, giuliani, romney, republican debate, tancredo

Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Crooks & Liars, The American Prospect, and the Guardian.