GOP South Carolina Debate: "I Love Reagan More Than You!" [VIDEO]

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 7:17 AM on January 11, 2008.

I admit it; I have an acute case of debate fatigue. Over the last eight months, I've watched every single debate for the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, most of which were largely the same. In an apparent bid to drive political observers to tears, news outlets and state parties have apparently decided to crank things up a notch, scheduling a barrage of debates all at once.

Last night, believe it or not, was the fourth debate in the last six nights. I mean, really. I live for this stuff, and even I have my limits. So, I skipped it. (I feel especially comfortable missing Republican debates because, well, they're just so darn similar -- "Hillarycare," "Islamofascism," "Reagan." Rather, rinse, repeat.)

So, how about this -- I read a bunch of news stories about debates so you don't have to?

From what I gather, Fred Thompson showed some signs of life for the first time in recent memory, and focused most of his attention on Mike Huckabee, whom he no doubt sees as his principal rival for the support of the far-right GOP base. As far as I can tell, this was the line of the night:

"On the one hand, you have the Reagan revolution. You have the Reagan coalition of limited government and strong national security. On the other hand, you have the direction that Governor Huckabee would take us in. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also bring about liberal economic policies, liberal foreign policies. He believes we have an arrogant foreign policy and the tradition of, blame America first.

"He believes that Guantanamo should be closed down and those enemy combatants brought here to the United States to find their way into the court system eventually. He believes in taxpayer-funded programs for illegals, as he did in Arkansas. He has the endorsement of the National Education Association, and the NEA said it was because of his opposition to vouchers. He said he would sign a bill that would ban smoking nationwide. So much for federalism. So much for states' rights. So much for individual rights. That's not the model of the Reagan coalition, that's the model of the Democratic Party."

Salon's Mike Madden responded, "That was just the beginning of the night for Thompson, who was so vibrant, so energetic, so... awake that it almost made you think he was running for president."

Other observations from other people's notes:

* McCain was not only thrilled to not have the other candidates going after him, he was especially pleased that Thompson was taking on Huckabee for him.

* There was reportedly quite a bit of discussion about the incident with Iranians in the Strait of Hormuz -- Brit Hume said the U.S. military reacted "passively" -- prompting some painful answers from the Republican candidates. "I think one more step, you know, and they would have been introduced to those virgins that they're looking forward to seeing," said Thompson. Huckabee said if it happened again, the Iranians "should be prepared to see the gates of Hell." Oh my.

* What about Mitt Romney? Noam Scheiber said, Romney "sounded like a smart technocrat last night-his comments about the recent near-confrontation with Iran was detailed and impressive. This is a winning persona for him. The problem is that technocrats don't inspire much passion." Not among Republicans anyway.

* I think Rudy Giuliani is trying too hard to stay relevant. In response to a question on foreign policy, Giuliani squeezed in this canned line: "The kind of change Democrats are talking about is taking the change out of your pocket." Please.

* Huckabee was asked about his support for a 1998 statement that said a wife should "submit graciously to the servant will of her husband." Scheiber said he seemed ready for the question: "Huckabee started with a winning comment about how everyone says we should keep religion out of presidential politics and yet he constantly gets questions about his religion. Then he explained that this was a tenet of his faith, not an expression of his politics, and that the full commandment is for both husband and wife be the servants of one another. 'It's not a 50-50 split, but a 100-100 split," he said."

* The non-Paul candidates seem to enjoy having Ron Paul on the stage, if only because they use him as a foil to score points with the Republican audience. (Fox News, which has made no secret of its disdain for Paul, also mocked him openly, reminding him that he has no chance of getting elected.)

So, did anyone see it? Did I miss anything important?

Tagged as: republicans, mccain, giuliani, romney, reagan, huckabee, thompson, south carolina

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.