Thursday, November 29, 2007 - Posts
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The lead
story (as of 4:30 p.m.) on CNNPolitics.com has a headline that seems like a veiled insult at Politico.com, its
web-journalism competitor. Referring to Politico's agenda-setting
story on Giuliani's questionable expense allocations after trips to the
Hamptons, the story's headline reads, "Giuliani: Web site report a 'hit
job'"
Guys, that's pretty Web 0.0 of you. Sure the story originally appeared on a web site, but if Congress
wasn't out of town, it would have been published in Politico's print edition, as well. (Politico suspends its
hard-copy daily when Congress is in recess.) To refer to it as a "web site
report" rather than something like the "questionable expense report" or the "Hampton flap" only makes the story sound illegitimate. I understand it was probably unintentional, but it's
an interesting glimpse into CNN's psyche, nonetheless.
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Both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are out with new ads today, following up on yesterday’s debate in which the two candidates tussled like hyperactive siblings.
Rudy’s, titled “Promise,” is pretty straightforward, pitching his experience in New York lowering taxes, shrinking government, and otherwise saving the city from its liberal self. Romney’s, called “Historic Choice,” pulls back to look at the broader challenges of security, the economy, and family values. It hits all our favorite imagery: the barbed wire, the Chinese assembly line, plus Romney's trademark sleeve roll. The narration culminates with the line, “Ordinary isn’t good enough,” at which point we see a shot of … the Statue of Liberty.
The viewer's first thought: That can't possibly be a swipe at Giuliani. His second thought: How can it possibly not be? Just when political attacks were starting to get explicit—i.e., fun—Romney goes back to the coy subtlety thing. Instead of referring to his wife as "sweetheart" 80 times per speech, why doesn't he just come out and say he thinks Giuliani is a family-wrecking sleaze? Instead of slyly talking about "triangulation," why doesn't he just call Hillary a conniving you-know-what? All this euphemism is exhausting.
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The best part about Mike Huckabee’s surge in Iowa—and his resulting increase in speaking time during last night’s debate—is that we’re bound to hear more Huckabee-isms. No, not those cute jokes about Jesus being too smart to go into politics. I’m talking about his penchant for vivid imagery that, while hilarious, often feels slightly unsettling.
Take the time Huckabee told MSNBC that because his opponents’ levels of support didn’t match their fund-raising, they would “have to be sitting in a warm tub of water with razor blades.” He upset a few suicide prevention groups, but it never turned into a real flap. Other morbid images: “You never put the cross hairs on a dead carcass,” he said, after rivals attacked him last month. Then at the Oct. 21 GOP debate in Florida: “I am more than content to let them fight all they want tonight, shed each other's blood. …” And then last night, responding to a question about space exploration, Huckabee suggested that “maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars.”
The reason these bizarre quips fly is simple: He smiles the whole time. Yes, he may have suggested that the former first lady should be sent on a likely fatal mission to a faraway planet. But look at those dimples! He’s the class clown who gets away with wisecracks just by being so darn likeable.
Indeed, his good nature might be Huckabee’s best defense. Last night, Romney accused him of supporting tuition breaks for illegal immigrants. But even Romney had to preface the attack by admitting, “I like Mike.” The other candidates mostly left him alone, despite Huckabee’s controversial support for the Fair Tax, his unorthodox immigration stance, and ethics investigations during his time as governor of Arkansas. Laying off Huckabee is smart, at least for now: It’s not just that he’s quick with a riposte; it might also make the attacker look like a bully, or a nag, or a bore. A Huckabee line is likely to end with the audience laughing—a weapon even the best debaters have trouble combating.
Things could change if Huckabee’s supposedly notorious temper decides to make an appearance. But for now, he seems about as threatening as Pooh Bear.
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Using transcripts from CNN and the New York Times debate analyzer, I crunched some stats from last night's GOP debate.
- 3: Number of times Hillary Clinton was mentioned
- 4: Number of times Bill Clinton was mentioned
- 2: Number of times Mitt Romney mentioned health care
- 0: Number of times any other candidate mentioned health care
- 5: Number of times Rudy Giuliani said "Islamic"
- 3: Number of times any other candidate said "Islamic," "Islam," or "Muslim"
- 4: Number of times Duncan Hunter addressed Anderson Cooper as "Cooper." No other candidate followed suit.
- 2: Number of times the candidates mentioned President Bush
- 26: Number of times, according to CNN's transcript, the audience laughed
- 5: Number of times the audience laughed after watching a question from a YouTube user
- 7: Number of times the audience laughed after a Fred Thompson joke
- 4: Number of times the audience laughed after a Mike Huckabee joke
- 0: Number of times the audience laughed after Ron Paul or Duncan Hunter said something
Also, a breakdown of which candidates speak the fastest. Mitt Romney's mouth was a-flappin', while Fred Thompson, unsurprisingly, was the slowest talker.
| Talker |
Words |
Seconds |
Words/sec |
| Moderator |
2174 |
812 |
2.68 |
| YouTube Questioners |
2398 |
942 |
2.55 |
| Giuliani |
3163 |
945 |
3.35 |
| Huckabee |
1942 |
587 |
3.31 |
| Hunter |
918 |
293 |
3.13 |
| McCain |
2034 |
670 |
3.04 |
| Paul |
1288 |
431 |
2.99 |
| Romney |
3223 |
831 |
3.88 |
| Tancredo |
830 |
221 |
3.76 |
| Thompson |
1841 |
625 |
2.95 |
If you'd like, feel free to compare the words-per-second statistics to the Democrats'.
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