Romney Eludes Rivals’ Attacks at Republican Debate in N.H.

[alp227]

A relaxed and self-assured Mitt Romney sailed above the fray at a crucial debate on Saturday night as his Republican rivals engaged in a spirited fight to determine which of them would emerge as his most formidable opponent when the party’s nominating contest moves past New Hampshire.

Mr. Romney, who had been bracing for an onslaught of attacks, brushed aside a critique about his time buying and selling companies at his investment firm. He defended his record as Massachusetts governor with ease, fielding only occasional questions about his controversial health care law.

But Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who is fighting to become the leading conservative alternative to Mr. Romney, warned Republicans that Mr. Romney’s pedigree would make it more difficult to push back against the income equality argument that is a central theme of President Obama’s re-election strategy.

“There are no classes in America,” said Mr. Santorum, referring to his own blue-collar background as he needled Mr. Romney for referring to the middle class. “The idea that somehow or another we’re going to buy into the class warfare argument of Barack Obama is something that should not be part of the Republican lexicon.”

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/us/politics/romney-eludes-rivals-attacks-at-republican-debate-in-nh.html?pagewanted=all

[oh08dem]

1. He didn't look very relaxed to me...

In fact, just the opposite.

[think]

2. Agree. He appeared very nervous. It's almost as if he was cognitive of the fact he was lying.

[oh08dem]

5. The Koch Bros. must've told them to take an easy on Romney tonight

because even one of Bill O'Reilly's bullshit body language experts knows when Romney starts talking fast and getting fidgety he's on the ropes.

[RandySF]

3. This is good news for Obama.

The more he skates through the primary, the less people will know about his warts until Team Obama goes to work on him.

[dimbear]

4. Don't forget this about Romney's pedigree: that long lonely ride in the car carrier. n/t

[coalition_unwilling]

6. Oh, the K-99% is most definitely not forgetting:

[classof56]

10. Hee-hee! Good one!

Thanks for the chuckle!

[stockholmer]

7. true ignorance -----------> “There are no classes in America,” said Mr. Santorum

In ALL the industrialized world, only the UK has less upward social and economic mobiltity than the US. One of the biggest myths in the USA is the Horatio Alger 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' one. The supposedly 'enshackling' social democracies of the EU, especially the Nordic ones such as my country, Sweden, have the highest in the world.

This results in extreme wealth inequality which is playing a large part in the destruction of the USA's way of life for the vast majority.

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=628129&mesg_id=628129


--------------------------------

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-downward-path-of-upward-mobility/2011/11/09/gIQAegpS6M_story.html

In the United States, however, if you are born into poverty, you are highly likely to have malnutrition, childhood sicknesses and a bad education. The dirty little secret about the U.S. welfare state is that it spends very little on the poor — who don’t vote much — lavishing attention instead on the middle class. The result is clear. A student interviewed by Opportunity Nation, a bipartisan group founded to address these issues, put it succinctly, “The ZIP code you’re born in shouldn’t determine your destiny, but too often it does.”

[BlueMTexpat]

12. Thanks for your post.

Santorum is truly out of it, but that is practically a requirement for a Republican Presidential candidate in today's USA.

[zanana1]

8. Romney basically stayed out of the debate...

He let his rivals destroy each other while he stood there with that smirk on his face.

[4dsc]

9. Like a deer in the headlights

I thought he looked a little creepy myself. He had the smirk and he just stared off into space.

[Johnny Noshoes]

14. Hell man

He ALWAYS looks creepy.

[center rising]

11. Mitt looked very nervous to me

Didn't sound confident at all.

[BlueMTexpat]

13. The media "spin" is always right.

How dare you trust your own lying eyes and ears!