In comparison with the recent ructions in South Carolina, tonight’s GOP debate in Florida was a fairly sedate gathering.
Most of the sparks were generated by a few solid Romney v. Gingrich scrums. The former, reeling from recent lackluster debate performances, came out kickboxing and tarred the latter as a Freddie Mac lobbyist, an “influence peddler,” a Washington Insider and a pretty damn embarrassing failure as Speaker of the House.
Gingrich, for his part, repulsed the assaults, never losing his cool. Though at one point, he did something unusual and expounded on Romney’s debate strategy: “I understand your technique, which you used on McCain, you used on Huckabee . . . ” I can’t recall the last time I saw a candidate engage in an analysis of another’s rhetorical craft. Odd. But effective. Gingrich is becoming formidable-r with each passing debate.
The Speaker also played “frontrunner” well tonight. He took the assaults in stride and in accord with the Frontrunner’s Playbook he minimized his losses, laid back, toned down, defended, and strangely (but shrewdly) made sweet libertarian-oriented love to Ron Paul.
Paul, for the first time that I can recall, seemed to be settling into the idea that he won’t win his party’s nomination. He appeared to discount a run as a third-party candidate. Maybe my numbers are off, but if he withdraws and endorses Gingrich (who seems to have forgotten that Paul called him a “chicken hawk” a few weeks back), I don’t see how Gingrich loses.
If Newt does prevail and does get Obama into a “Lincoln-Douglas” debate he ought stage it in front of a crowd of 70,000 people. His advance staff should equip the spectators with Purim groggers to be whirled every time the term “Obamacare” is uttered.
The point is that Gingrich absolutely thrives off of crowd energy and chaos. Though tonight he demonstrated proficiency dealing with the adverse circumstance of tranquility.
NBC News (whose Brian Williams did a fine job aided by solid, smart questions from local Florida reporters) decided, I guess, to tone down the volume tonight. The audience was nearly inaudible. This was in contrast to a CNN gathering last week in which John King appeared as a crowd “embed” practically hurling bloody meat slabs at ornery Carolinians ginned up on hush puppies and rum.
The sedate nature of tonight’s proceedings ought to have favored the un-mercurial Romney and he certainly did chip away at his adversary. Newt’s negatives were rehearsed with gusto. Romney Super Pacs will do the follow-up in the coming days.
But so far, twice-left-for-dead Newt Gingrich is in command.
UPDATE: Apparently, Newt thought it was too tranquil!
