GOP Show Time At USF

They came. We saw. Now what?

We’ll find out on Jan. 31, but say this for that GOP presidential debate at USF: the Gang of Four made for pretty decent, occasionally contentious, political theater.  Mitt Romney got downright feisty, Newt Gingrich got coyly civil and, what the hell, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul got a chance to speak too.

And let’s hear it for moderator Brian Williams, the NBC Nightly News anchor. He wasn’t about to lead with his rhetorical chin the way John King of CNN did in South Carolina. He opened with an “electability” question couched in character terms aimed initially at Gingrich and never lost control. Better yet, he underscored the rules of engagement that are too frequently unaddressed in such forums.

This wasn’t audience-participation night, Williams made clear from the get-go. The applause proscription obviously didn’t please Gingrich. His few red-meat lines couldn’t prompt any Jerry Springer outbursts. He later labeled it a “free speech” issue and vowed to lobby, as it were, for a no-gag order on audiences of future debates. So much for the deportment department.

Also to Williams’ credit, he didn’t relegate Cuba to a back-burner topic, even if the rest of the country remains largely clueless about the national and international implications. But it surely matters to Florida–from the familial to the economic.

Ironically, the only candidate who showed historical perspective and enlightened American self-interest on Cuba was Ron Paul, the libertarian outlier who is not even contesting Florida aside from the debates. His manifestly obvious statement that “The Cold War is over” was juxtaposed to the pandering, jingoistic boilerplate of the three amigos. South Florida’s Diaz-Balarts and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen must have been beaming. The differ-with-us-over-Cuba-at-your-own-peril formula still works.

Romney said now was not the time to “relax relations or open up travel.” He contended that such a scenario would constitute “giving in” to a Cuban leadership nearing its “final days.”

Gingrich spoke in behalf of an “aggressive” U.S. policy–one that could include covert operations–with a goal of “overthrowing the Raul Castro regime. … A Gingrich presidency will not tolerate four more years,” he promised. Or threatened.

Santorum made sure he shoehorned in “dictator” and “tyrant” numerous times in his comments. And as for that counterproductive, half-century embargo: “Continue the sanctions until the Castros are dead.”

Paul pointed out that U.S. policies have actually helped “prop up” the Castros, who have played the Uncle Scapegoat card for two generations. “We’re living in the Dark Ages when we can’t even talk to the Cuban people,” added Paul. “It’s not 1962 anymore. We don’t have to use force and intimidation and overthrow other governments.”

What a concept.

*While Romney needed that improved performance at USF, he still has that pre-vote cushion. It’s assumed that he has a sizable lead in early voting–more than 200,000 votes already cast by now.

*”Go, Bulls.” Williams’ USF shout-out at the end of the debate.

*”Protests Are For Hippies! Real Men Buy Elections!”–Among the Occupy Tampa signage outside the USF Marshall Student Center before the debate.

* As noted, Williams was good. But I still miss Tim Russert.

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