Gabe,
I think that McCain and Romney both are about the same in their stances on the issues. There are a few differences but not many. But I think that McCain and Romney have to bring out their differences to get people to vote for them instead of the other. I hope that it doesn’t get as ugly between them two as it is between Obama and Hillary. That really turns me off and others also!!

Cynthia, Covington, Ga.

To me it sounds as if every canidate is taking notes from Obama. They are all trying to take his ideas and lead with what he is already leading with. Republicans do not, will not, and never want a better world for anyone other then the upper class. It’s all about big business. I’m for big business, but do it within our country. Keep our people, our business’, and our noses out of other countries business. Furthermore, stop making promisses you can’t keep. You are running for President, the congress, and the house can over rule any choice you make. So you have to understand that if you are truly not listening to the people, and you think you can make your own laws, then you will end up like Bush. Repeating the same State of the Union speech as before. Looking like the puppet that he is! Do you want that as a canidate? You want to look like Bush, regardless to what party you belong to? Bush, is and has been a disgrace to our country! As long as the next President flips what he has messed up, I will be fine with them!

After watching the debate last night, it was confirmed in my mind that John McCain is a rockheaded idiot. Even after being told by both Romney and Anderson Cooper that he was taking the quote out of context and that he was wrong in saying that Romney said that he agreed with timetables, he continued to say that he said it. We definitely don’t need another bonehead in the whitehouse.

I can’t understand why these Republicans are endorsing this pinhead. There is nothing more frustrating than talking to someone who can’t see the truth in facts. I guarantee that if McCain wins the nomination, the Democratic candidate(whoever it will be) will tear him apart in the debates and move on to the white house!

Bill
Marshall, MI

After watching the debate last night, it was confirmed in my mind that John McCain is a rockheaded idiot. Even after being told by both Romney and Anderson Cooper that he was taking the quote out of context and that he was wrong in saying that Romney said that he agreed with timetables, he continued to say that he said it. We definitely don’t need another bonehead in the whitehouse.

I can’t understand why these Republicans are endorsing this pinhead. There is nothing more frustrating than talking to someone who can’t see the truth in facts. I guarantee that if McCain wins the nomination, the Democratic candidate(whoever it will be) will tear him apart in the debates and move on to the white house!

Some people say that John McCaine has a pugnacious side to him. At least the guy shows what he really is and does not flip flop like Mitt Romney to suit the present audience. My gut feeling about Mitt Romney : beware he’s the charmer who will stab you in the back with a sweet smile. Does he remind anyone of a vampire (Dracula)?

Gabe,
It seems even you didn’t realize Ron Paul was also at the debate last night.
You again just wrote, “True, McCain, Romney and Huckabee clash on certain details — but they have much more in common with each other.” What about Ron Paul? Doesn’t he have a voice? Wasn;t he on the same stage?
If the CNN writers don’t even include Ron Paul, this might explain why Anderson Cooper pretended Dr. Paul wasn’t there.
Maybe if the American people got a chance to hear what he had to say, they would be pleasantly surprised. Why does Ron Paul seem to scare the media and other politicians?? Maybe because he’s right.

I remain befuddled as to why the press continues to spin the debating that happens in debates as “ugly,” “nasty,” filled with “attacks” and “arguments…” Every single debate that I have watched, and I have watched nearly all of them for the last 20 years, has had the same shape: the individuals debating use the strategies of traditional debating. If they become feisty, well, that’s part of the point. Why is it such a dramatic problem in the press if emotions are present in the debates? Debating classically revolves around pathos, ethos, and logos, and the strategies of debate do not stipulate that everyone is artificially conciliatory. In fact when that happens, people tend to think the debate is not serious.

Lidia Yuknavitch

I’ll tell you, someone better keep their mouths shut at just the right time or something not so pretty is going to happen. I’ve said it before, the childhood-playground antics had better stop by choice rather than by default.

Lewis
Portland, Oregon
http://www.spiritofsaintlewis.blogspot.com

Hartman,
Man…calm down!! No need in getting all riled up.

As far as lying about promises that they are going to do when becoming president…well they all do it. Obama and Hillary included. Do you honestly think that Hillary and Obama can get anything changed on their own. NO ONE CAN!! They may preach change but can they really do it! No one person can bring about any new change without help. After all everything they try to change has to be OK’ed and passed by congress. It won’t be that easy to do! People need to wake up and get over the rhetoric and hype of these two people! And really look at the issues at hand!

Cynthia, Covington, Ga.

I think the big difference is Immigration. McCain supports illegals and is willing to ignore how they came and Romney said go home and apply for citizenship and follow our laws on becoming a citizen . McCain doesn’t answer the issue he just says build a fence for future illegals. MccCain is old politics we need to send a message to Washington that we are sick of the “politics of old”. We want new! We want successful smart leaders.

Did you notice how Gov. Romney positioned his b ody so that he appeared to be in every shot of the right camera? I hope this was HIS strategy and not that of CNN. Also, who decided that Romney gave the “best answers” as reported by CNN this morning? I thought his answers were “canned”, the same old retoric we’ve heard from him during the entire primary.

President Bush is not running for President. How would you like to be judged by the person you’re replacing in a new job, especially if that person screwed up and spent too much of the company expense account?!

I would like to believe that it’s possible but it’s difficult when both sides say very polarizing things. Last night in the debate, Romney made the comment that 1/2 the uninsured “just don’t want to buy it”. That kind of statement enraged me and made me wonder just how much he cares about or is willing to help the middle class or lower income families in this country. He has no clue what it’s like not to be able to afford (or qualify for) health insurance. That’s just an example of the attitude that he has that would make it difficult to work with. However, at least McCain has attempted to work with democrats whether the end result was great or not. Yes, you have to have principals and stand up for them but you also have to be willing to be open enough to see the other side of an argument and be willing to compromise just a little.

As for the Dems they have both reached across the aisle to work with the Republicans. I do think it’s important to look at some one’s past work on issues like this to see what they’d be willing to do in the future.

Gabriel:
I think it would be unfortunate to pigeon hole the Republicans and Democrats into two opposite poles. Yes, the pundits do create that concept; but the American people are far more “gray” in this black and white world of politics. Maybe it is called moderation or “being a moderate.”

We don’t need another polarized administration in the White House. We need a President who can be for the middle ground of the American people. Otherwise, it is just going to be another four to eight years of nothing getting done.

Call it bipartisanship; Call it wishy washy. I call it an individual who is willing to compromise for will of the American people.

The President of the United States…United isn’t a word that seems to fit in America lately. I feel that if we Americans don’t stop fighting each other we will never unite behind anyone. That will make the new President’s job very difficult.
I for one want to stand behind the winner, Democrat or Republican, and wish them well. It’s a huge job that needs their attention, not our undermining them from day one. Change can’t happen, if people refuse to open the door to it’s possibilities.

Lorie Ann, Buellton, Calif.

I disagree that the Republicans all agree on everything. Illegal immigration is a very important issue to me and McCain has lost my trust permanently on that issue. I also do not trust that Romney is truly pro-life or pro-immigration enforcement. He just switches issues based on what is popular among the voters.

Huckabee and Paul are the only two Republicans I believe would be in the best interests of middle class Americans on the Republican side. It’s a shame they got so little time at the debate.

I think it was a mistake to have this debate at the Reagan Library. The Republican candidates bring him up all the time as it is. This choice of venue only gave them another excuse to do it again and again. I half expected him to walk in and join the debate! I think it is pretty sad that the Republicans have to go all the way back to Ronald Reagan to find a Republican role model of substance.

I wonder how long it will take the Democrats tonight to bring Reagan up and who will be the first one to do it?

Cindy,
I understand that part, and that is why I agree with the man, Obama, that said it first! We are not red and blue states, we are the United States. They need to stop this debate between each other and work together is all I’m saying. Just like Obama I agree that we need to come together as a country instead of splitting parties just to say who can or can’t be in government. WE ARE AMERICANS nothing more nothing less.

I know that no one person can change a nation on their own, but they can inspire others to cooperate and make the change. We need some one that can inspire us to change the direction of where this nation is headed, and to motivate us to make America great again. To make it a nation that others will again look up to and want to emulate. We do not need some one that can agree with everyone, that will never happen. We need some one that can inspire not only those political leaders around them, but also us, the people of this great nation, to want something different, something better. That is how you make change, by motivating others to want it.

Hartman,
I agree totally!! Even though I can’t say I am for Obama I do think we all need to work together both Democrats and Republicans.

Cynthia, Covington, Ga.

Gabriel,

I agree with Sharon from Indy in that the American people can’t be put into two neat little boxes. The problem is that for the past eight years our president has been playing to an extreme part of the country, or his “base,” making us seem more divided than we really are.

As for the pundits, I’d say they like us divided. After all, conflict sells.

Cindy,
See we are already starting to work together! LOL

I am so disappointed in the debate lastnight. It iwas such an unfair debate between candidates. Ron Paul hardly ever got a chance to speak, and Huckabee wasn’t heard from much either. I was so sick of hearing McCain and Romney disagree, and CNN continued to fuel the nonsense! Anderson should know better than to not include the other cadidates. America wants to hear from them all equally. This election is too important not to hear the other candidates position on the issues. Quite frankly, I was undecided about the candidates going into the debate, but I came out being completely turned off by McCain and Romney and wanting to hear more from Ron Paul.

Ok think about this one. Huckabee was at 3-4% in July and later went on to win Iowa and the same for John McCain. McCain was no where on the charts and now is considered to be the front runner. Would it not make so much more sense to have a debate where everyone on stage is asked equally the amount of questions and even equal time. How are we as American citizens suppose to learn about ALL the candidates unless they ALL are even equal time and questions. While at times Romney was even over 2 minutes to answer a question whereas other candidates where asked only a handful of questions and where cut off. This debate was setup to give more favor to candidates that are leading in the polls, for some that are just learning about the candidates, how is that fair to the remaining candidates? I was disappointed in how the debate was moderated. Some of the those long winded answered should have been cut off to allow more time for more questions and more time to lesser known candidates. This process should be fair to all, if not, the idea that the media decides our candidates is given more weight after last night’s interview.

I’ll stop talking about Reagan when the Dems stop invoking JFK and MLK every time a toilet flushes. Last night was actually a very nice setting. It’s just a shame that the candidates started to act like three-year olds (I said, no I said, no I said, somebody hand out the juice boxes now and tell Romney the self-righteous smirk on his face will be permanent if he doesn’t change his expression for the camera), the questions tended to be one-sided, and the analysis afterwards was mind numbing (you guys were way off your game; maybe too fatigued?). The debate did nothing more than prove that these events can bring out the jerks in all of them. And even though my guy didn’t give his best performance, I still like him. Even if I would have hated what my candidate did last night (and I don’t), he’s still the best choice for me. The right to life issues, beliefs in saving the environment, desire to follow the Constitution in choosing Supreme Court justices, military and war experience, decades of service in the federal executive and legislative branches, and bipartisan outreach trump any other qualifications for me. McCain is the best bet to bring both sides together because at least he has a record of continually trying to do that. Really, I could have better used the hours on something useful because this debate just solidified what I already believe. The highlight of the evening for me was that Nancy Reagan still looks great after all the years, is still gracious, and is still one of the best examples with President Reagan of what true marital love means, lives, and endures. That had nothing to do with politics or this presidential race at all. But at least something good came out of three hours of TV.

As I comment I have on the Democratic debate. and I notice that Obama is answering questions with what he believes rather than what he would do; Clinton details what she would do. She appears to have substance behind her campaign while Obama has dreams and lofty inspiration. Obama may be a good candidate but right now without him detailing what he would do instead of what he hopes I can’t tell if there is any substance there.

I think whoever is elected is going to have to be able to get things done - we have seen so many years of partisan politics and not much getting done while the country slides down the proverbial hill. As polarized as we are as a people for one man or woman to be able to pull us all together will be nothing short of a miracle. We have forgotten how to agree to disagree and still continue to work together.

Electing someone that can get things done will help relieve some of the frustration we all feel - but then I think we are going to have to be willing to reach across to our fellow Americans (like the Democrats/Republicans reach across the aisle) and agree to work for a better America for us all despite our differences . No one person can solve all the ills of this country - it will take us all and we need to realize that and make a beginning.

One small note Gabe - I know that CNN has to have advertisers to pay the bill but in CNN’s coverage it appears to be biased and I have noticed in the evening there is a bunch of Obama campaign ads but i don’t see any from the other candidates. I think your biases are showing. Ted Koppel said in recent years that someone asked him at a speaking engagement if he was Democratic or Republican and he answered that if the question needed to be asked then he had done his job well and stayed objective not letting his opinion on the matter show - and that after decades of marriage even his wife didn’t know which he was. I think CNN needs to take a leaf from his book on this one.

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

Has anyone noticed how Ron Paul sticks to the same talking points but it seems no one wants to listen. The point he has made over and over again is that there is cause and effect for our actions whether it be our monetary or foreign policy. All these candidates talk about how to fix the current problems without debating how we got here. That’s the real question and I applaud Ron Paul for pointing this out. We need to hear more from Ron Paul because I believe people are seeing our current front runners and aren’t exactly jumping up and down with excitement. I would love to see someone move into the oval office and mix things up a bit. Obama is an inspiring person with this speeches but lacks substance and McCain and Romney are basically a couple of republicans that are similar to George Bush on their policies. I thought we were tired of the last 8 years and here we go jumping on the wagon again with the same ole career politicians. Let’s mix it up and give the reins to someone with some common sense.

Tim- you’re right, we do need to hear more from ron paul. but as you may have noticed during the debate, the media doesnt want us to hear what he has to say. anderson cooper hardly let him talk. none of the major media outlets cover him at all. none of them include his polling numbers or his primary numbers in any of their reports. the media is censoring ron paul because they know, just like the big money knows, that ron paul has the drive, the ideals and the solutions for giving this country back to the people and taking it out of the hands of big business.

Still haven’t decided whom to vote for today…. I think that Hilary’s idea of pulling out of Iraq so quick is inhumane to the innocent war victims. Bush shouldn’t have went in so quick but only last week did we find out that Saddam tricked us into believing he had nuclear arms. Bush jumped the gun and now innocent civilians are suffering. We need to help them rebuild and teach them how to fight against the terrorists.
Then Obama supports abortion which I am totally against. I do like his Healthcare ideas as opposed to Hilary’s.

Noticed during the last debate that Barack Obama is left handed as I am. Does anyone know how many previous presidents were “lefties”.? Also there has never been a president with a Mc or 2 word last name as a president….. Silly statistics but interesting.

I was shocked at how this debate was moderated! Anderson, I thought you were better than this!!!! If you are going to have a so-called debate, you need to hear from all the candidates equally. I thought it was embarrassing on your part, Anderson, at how disrespectful you let this debate get and how dismissive you were of some of the candidates - I don’t particularly care for Huckabee but he is a former governor and deserves respect. As well as Ron Paul, a multiple-term Congressman and a physician, deserves even more respect and time from the media. He actually makes more sense than those two (McCain and Romney)who were playing in the sandbox that night about timetables. You didn’t let Paul or Huckabee have any time to answer the questions. Don’t get me started on the questions you and those two reporters were asking - can we get some real questions that deal with issues such as EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY, TRADE, ECONOMY, DIPLOMATIC NEGOTIATIONS, etc. - issues that the federal government will be dealing with. I was extremely disappointed in how this debate was handled - the last one before Super Tuesday.