Live-Blogging The Fox SC Debate - Andrew Sullivan
10.58 pm. I'm not sure what to say about this evening, except I want to take a shower. I've rarely been repulsed by the atmosphere of a debate as I was tonight. But this is the Republican core of South Carolina. One of the biggest applause lines was about waging war on the federal government. I suspect that if any Latinos or African-Americans were watching this, Obama's support just jumped.
From my perspective, Romney was cringe-inducing, shudder-worthy, and plastic beyond measure. I suspect he's going to try and rig this year's tax returns to hide his far lower rate of taxation and far, far, far higher income than 99.999 percent of the population. It was a weak answer.
We also had a strong endorsement of child labor, largely for African-Americans. I suspect that Santorum helped himself tonight, as did Perry a mite. Gingrich also showed his ability to reach the Southern vote, and Romney tried to fake it. Gingrich's diatribe about blacks getting paychecks rather than food stamps earned him a standing ovation.
I still have some strange feeling that Romney is in trouble in this state. I'd be a fool to analyze this debate or its impact in South Carolina. But Newt's solid racial dog whistles and constant support for violence and hatred of "elites" may well help him a lot.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/01/live-blogging-the-fox-sc-debate.html
10.40 pm. Another gem from the Economist:
This is Jon Huntsman's best debate by far.
