In a debate packed with silly questions and ones matching left-wing attack points on GOP candidates, in the first “Interactive Round” of questions submitted by the public on Politico.com, a co-sponsor of the debate, Mitt Romney got the most bizarre. The Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei, a Washington Post political reporter before jumping to The Politico earlier this year, found this one worth posing: “Daniel Dekovnick [sp phonetic] from Walnut Creek, California wants to know, 'What do you dislike most about America?'" Romney responded: “Gosh, I love America. I'm afraid I'm going to be at a loss for words...”
Here, let me help you out, Mitt:
What I dislike most about America
•I really can't stand smug, sophomoric halfwits who make the assumption everyone else shares their low opinion of their country. |
The “Interactive Rounds” at the Republican presidential debate, from the Ronald Reagan Library in California and carried live on MSNBC, became an opportunity to raise hostile questions from a left-wing agenda or meant to embarrass the candidates (what's the difference between Shia and Sunni? How many have been killed or injured in Iraq? etc.)
Some of the other questions VandeHei chose to ask during the same round (about 25 minutes into the debate) in which he posed the whopper to Romney:
To Rudy Giuliani, “Bradley Winter of New York would like to know if there's anything you learned, or regret, during your time as Mayor in your dealings with the African-American community?”
| • I really hate -- utterly despise -- race hustlers, the sort of dimbulb to whom the color of one's skin is he most important thing going, much more important than individual accomplishment or concern for the nation as a whole. |
To Mike Huckabee, “Thousands of reputable scientists have concluded, with almost certainty, that human activity is responsible for the warming of the Earth. Do you believe global warming exists?”
| • Oooh, I utterly hate the kind of beauzeau who's determined to prove that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Show me a man or woman or other who'll swallow and half digest received quasireligious truth today and I'll show you a man or woman or other who 500 years ago would have been killing Lollards or Huguenots. |
Later, to Tom Tancredo: “Will you work to protect women's rights, as in fair wages and reproductive choice?”
| • Dishpits who intrude on the political processes of other parties set my teeth on edge, just like they do most normal people. |
Moderator Chris Matthews, the long-time Democratic operative-turned journalist, also asked his fair share of ridiculous questions, bizarrely attacking White House aide Karl Rove and favorite target Scooter Libby. Regarding Libby, Matthews asked whether the former vice presidential aide deserved a pardon (he does not according to Matthews). The "Hardball" host went hard after Rove, attempting to pressure former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore. "Is Karl Rove your friend," he asked, wondering whether Gilmore would even think of allowing the nefarious Rove in the White House. Gilmore rebuffed Matthews: "It isn't a matter of Karl Rove. What's important to this nation isn't Karl Rove."
VandeHei's question about Islam was a true stump-the-candidate moment which Giuliani handled fairly well. The tables were turned later in the debate when Matthews wrongly tried to correct Romney after the latter mentioned altered nuclear transfer as an alternative to fetal stem cells. Matthews appeared to think the former Massachusetts governor was talking about nuclear energy.
Things did not improve for Matthews. Near the end of the 90-minute plus session, he actually asked the candidates if they approved of the idea of having former president Bill Clinton back in the White House: “Would it be good for America to have Bill Clinton back living in the White House?” he wondered. Amazingly, no one agreed with him. |