Ron Paul vs. FNC: The Situation Room…
Ron Paul was on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer about twenty minutes ago in the first quarter hour of the 5pm ET hour and he was doing everything possible to stick it to FNC over his exclusion from the Forum. He had some help from Blitzer on that score. Paul said that Fox was “in a bind” now and hinted that some body of the Republican Party in NH was threatening to withdraw support from the forum if Paul wasn’t invited. Paul also hinted that FNC would look very bad if he finished ahead of any of the current invitees tomorrow in Iowa. I think he’s referring to Fred Thompson.
Update: Portfolio’s Jeff Bercovici weighs in defending FNC…to a point.
More often than not, however, “open” debates still focus on a few front-runners, leaving the second-tier candidates desperate to get a word in. The frustration of being consistently ignored even led Democrat Chris Dodd to post a “Talk-o-Meter” on his website, tracking how many minutes each candidate was allowed to speak.
Fox may be restricting debate to the candidates it considers legitimate, but at least it’s doing so in a relatively transparent fashion, rather than using the lesser candidates as silent props to suggest, falsely, that everyone has an equal voice.And, hey, not for nothing, Fox’s decision means we’ll get to hear more in-depth answers from the candidates who actually stand a reasonable chance of moving into the White House a year from now. Shouldn’t those of us who like to complain about the debates offering nothing but sound bites be grateful for that?
FACE!!
Comment by elmonica — January 2, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
I was watching this. Something tells me there is somethuing fishy behind the scenes involving either FNC execs or New Hampshire Republican bosses.
Comment by Aaron — January 2, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
SHAME on FNC for shunning Mr. Paul! Too bad he’s the only one on either side that wishes to address our joke of a foreign policy. Which means no chance in hell he’ll get elected. Ah, so settle in for more of the same from our elected crooks and pedophiles.
Comment by Terance — January 2, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
Have there been candidates who have raised a lot of money (unlike Duncan Hunter) that were polling in the single digits at this juncture, who went on to win early primaries, their party’s nomination, or the presidency?
Yes there were. May Ron Paul supporters never turn on that poisonous channel again.
Comment by elmonica — January 2, 2008 @ 7:05 pm
Ron Paul has no chance of being President of the United States. He has a hard time proving he is sane most of the time. He is to the far right what Rosie is to the far left.
Comment by Brad Strecker — January 2, 2008 @ 7:11 pm
If you want to talk about a joke of a foreign policy than you should look at 4 years of Jimmy Carter and 8 years of previous administration. It was the appeasements from those adiminstrations that we are in the mess in today…
Comment by ZoneDaiatlas — January 2, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
ZoneDaiatlas, you might be right. Yet, I have no idea what the foreign policy was back then.. but something tells me it was just like the one we have today with different players. Btw, when Bush sets up peace between Israel and/or Palestine/Iran/Syria like he did with Israel and Egypt you be sure and buzz me, eh.
Comment by Terance — January 2, 2008 @ 7:41 pm
Terance: Why is no one mentioning that Paul also being excluded from the ABC debate that will be seen in prime time Saturday night before a much larger audience?
(Dishonest) Elmonica: Should Paul also never tune into poisonous ABC?
Comment by Ira — January 2, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
Quickfix for my post #7 — “Btw, when Bush sets up peace between Israel and/or Palestine/Iran/Syria like he did with Israel and Egypt you be sure and buzz me, eh.” Should’ve been, “Btw, when Bush sets up peace between Israel and/or Palestine/Iran/Syria like Carter did with Israel and Egypt you be sure and buzz me, eh.”
Ira, I don’t really follow what ABC does.. I’m only really interested in cable news channels. With that said, it seems both should get the same “heat” for dissing Paul.
Comment by Terance — January 2, 2008 @ 8:05 pm
(Lying weasel) Ira:
1.) What was dishonest in my comment? Not mentioning ABC News who are not the topic of Spud’s post.
2.) Unlike Fox News, ABC has at least established reasonable and verifiable criteria for inclusion:
Comment by elmonica — January 2, 2008 @ 8:11 pm
Terance, From what I understand is that Jimmy Carter gave US Military weapons to Egypt or they wouldn’t sign the peace agreement with Israel. Jimmy Carter is a joke and a disgrace to the US and that is why President Ronald Reagan kicked his ass in the 1980’s election.
Comment by ZoneDaiatlas — January 2, 2008 @ 9:04 pm
Jimmy Carter is just as much as a disaster as the current President. Incompetence, horrible advisers, a lack of foreign policy experience. Two southern governors, two horrible presidencies. The worst years for Bush have been since ‘04. I personally think most people are disappointed with the way this administration handles certain situations regardless of partisan viewpoints on those positions.
Comment by Aaron — January 2, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
Let’s get something straight about Uncle Paul..most of his supporters are 9/11 Truthers and Neo-Nazis..so I don’t blame FOX for not including him..and this Forum with Chris Wallace isn’t a “real” Debate and Uncle Paul has been invited to a later “real” Debate on FOX in Jan anyway.
Comment by mlong — January 2, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
Elmonica: Correction: not necessarily dishonest but definitely disingenuous. ABC seems to be throwing all kinds of rules against the wall, specifically to exclude Paul and Hunter. Yet good old elmonica gives them a pass.
Given your hatred of all things Fox, it is unlikely you have ever watched Fox News Sunday. So here is a primer: Chris Wallace spends two segments (30 minutes) on interviews and 30 minutes on the panel plus the Power Player of the Week. I have never seen Wallace interview more than five people and never more than three at a time. So five candidates in a forum, not a debate, more than fits what Wallace usually does every Sunday.
Here is something else for you and everyone else: when was the last time a sitting Congressman won a Presidential election? I don’t believe it has ever happened. And it is not going to happen with Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter or Dennis Kucinich. In every Presidential election in my lifetime voters have preferred Governors and Senators as their Presidential nominees. And since New York City is larger than most states, Giuliani is also a viable candidate.
Comment by Ira — January 2, 2008 @ 10:33 pm
As Ira mentions, it’s actually not a debate we’re talking about here, but a “round table” discussion on Fox News Sunday. I still wish Hunter and Paul were included; this would give them far more visibility than the debate formats have allowed.
Comment by Missy — January 2, 2008 @ 11:07 pm
Ira,
Ron Paul and Hollywood Fred are both running neck at 9 percent in recent Iowa polls, which means he has a good shot at being included in ABC New’s debate if he edges Thompson out.
Comment by elmonica — January 2, 2008 @ 11:19 pm
I take that back.
Comment by elmonica — January 2, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
No, I see Guliani at 5% so he a shot.
Comment by elmonica — January 2, 2008 @ 11:26 pm
ZoneDaiatlas, I don’t recall hearing Carter gave weapons for Egypt to sign the peace deal before. However, I have no problem accepting that as truth. Btw, don’t we give Israel weapons and billions every year? I mean, no peace deal, just for the hell of it? Oh, and wasn’t Reagan involved in that Iran Contra scandal?
Comment by Terance — January 3, 2008 @ 6:35 am
elmonica: A huge correction: the Fox forum is a two-hour show on Sunday night, not a part of Fox News Sunday.
However, my premise remains: if you bash FNC for excluding Ron Paul, then ABC News must also be criticized for doing the same thing, no matter what cockamamie rules they set.
If as rumored Fred Thompson drops out after a disappointing finish in Iowa, then possibly both networks will add Paul.
Comment by Ira — January 3, 2008 @ 7:45 pm