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Who would do best against Obama in a debate?

Who would do best against Obama in a debate?

  • Mitt Romney

    Votes: 12 30.0%
  • Mike Huckabee

    Votes: 3 7.5%
  • Sarah Palin

    Votes: 2 5.0%
  • Tim Palwenty

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Newt Gingrich

    Votes: 10 25.0%
  • Haley Barbour

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Charlie Crist

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Bobby Jindal

    Votes: 1 2.5%
  • Jeb Bush

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 12 30.0%

  • Total voters
    40

the makeout hobo

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Out of all the Republicans who might run for president in 2012, which do you think would perform best against Obama in a standard format debate? Let's define best as, most likely to sway the most votes towards the GOP ticket.
 
Are you still making a poll, or is it open-ended?
 
Out of all the Republicans who might run for president in 2012, which do you think would perform best against Obama in a standard format debate? Let's define best as, most likely to sway the most votes towards the GOP ticket.

Most likely to sway votes toward the GOP - Mike Huckabee
Most likely to make effective counterpoints - Mitt Romney

I think both of them agree with Obama on a lot more than their supporters might care to admit, though.
 
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Most likely to sway votes toward the GOP - Mike Huckabee
Most likely to make effective counterpoints - Mitt Romney

I think both of them agree with Obama on a lot more than their supporters might care to admit, though.

Mike Huckabee would have about as much chance of swinging me to the GOP side as the sun does of blowing up right this minuet.

Mitt Romney isn't bad but I still wouldn't vote for him.

As for who would be good against Obama in a debate? Don't really know. Obama has charisma and a teleprompter.
 
Romney, because the things that he and Obama disagree on are the type of things you can explain to a mass audience without delving into who loves jesus more.
 
Newt. His political acumen is tops.
 
I don't know which Haley Barbour to vote for. :2razz:

I don't know. I think it'll be someone that is under the radar right now.

Jeb Bush may give it a go. You never know.
 
Romney would probably fare best, as he can speak well and make his points clearly. Newt on a good day with a clear message would be tough though. At his prime, Newt was a powerhouse, but he is a bit too muddled these days.
 
None of em could stand a chance against Obama. I do love Huckabee though. He is so sweet:)
 
I don't know which Haley Barbour to vote for. :2razz:

I don't know. I think it'll be someone that is under the radar right now.

Jeb Bush may give it a go. You never know.

There will never be another Bush in office unless some of the kids or grandkids run.
 
There will never be another Bush in office unless some of the kids or grandkids run.

Jeb is clean and articulate. ;)

Heck, if Obama is deemed a failure by the majority of the public, the republicans could nominate anyone (except Palin) and they would win. 2nd term elections are a referendum on the incumbent.
 
Clean? Please explain what you meant by that? You mean not corrupt or something else?
 
Clean? Please explain what you meant by that? You mean not corrupt or something else?

It was a joke. Biden said that about Obama during the Democrat Primaries.
 
Huckabee has a certain charisma and likeability and he did well in the Republican debates. In fact, the debates are what helped put him on the map. I think he could do well against Obama, even though I'd never vote for him.

I also think Gingrich would do well. Newt is incredibly intelligent and there is a certain power or authority to his way of speaking. Plus, he's good unscripted and off the cuff, which is not Obama's strongest point. I think Newt would be the strongest in arguing the nuts and bolts of policy of any of the choices. All in all, I think Newt would be the strongest in a debate if he was in a position to go "offensive", and challenge the effectiveness of Obama's policies. That would presume Obama is vulnerable and the possible issues surrounding that vulnerability would probably trump issues folks have with Gingrich's personal baggage and likeability. Huckabee is less situational and able to hold his own and then some no matter what the perception of Obama is.
 
Stephen O Douglas, which goes to show than debating ability is just one thing in a mans qualifications as a successful politician..
But its a must during the campaign.
 
Chuck Norris.


And no, it isn't getting old.
 
Romney, because the things that he and Obama disagree on are the type of things you can explain to a mass audience without delving into who loves jesus more.
Total bull****, you never see Newt delving in Jesus. Man you need to keep it real.
 
Total bull****, you never see Newt delving in Jesus. Man you need to keep it real.

Where did I say Newt would? A negative statement as to one person is not an affirmative to all others.

For what it's worth, Newt might do fine in a debate, but he would be a terrible candidate because he's a pretty horrible person. But now that you mention it...

Besides politics, Gingrich has authored a book, Rediscovering God in America, attempting to demonstrate that the Founding Fathers actively intended the new republic to not only allow, but encourage, religious expression in the public square. Since Gingrich has, "dedicated much of his time to calling America back to our Christian heritage," Jerry Falwell invited him to be the speaker, for the second time, at Liberty University's graduation, on May 19, 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich#Ethics_sanctions
 
Just pointing out that looking back, Huckabee and Romney didn't fare that well against McCain, who lost handily to Obama.

Newt's good enough to hold his own in a debate, although I think his baggage prevents a serious run for president.
 
Mmmmm, that is pretty lame. Bad Newt! Bad!

He's not a horrible person because of that, he's a horrible person because of the **** with his wife and his ethical issues. I was just citing that to rebut American's claim that Newt avoids the religious culture wars.
 
Just pointing out that looking back, Huckabee and Romney didn't fare that well against McCain, who lost handily to Obama.

That's because McCain really was quite a good candidate who had almost no shot of winning due to the political climate. If he had won the primary in 2000, I don't doubt that he would have tromped Gore worse than Bush did.
 
That's because McCain really was quite a good candidate who had almost no shot of winning due to the political climate. If he had won the primary in 2000, I don't doubt that he would have tromped Gore worse than Bush did.

I don't think the 2000 election results were a "tromping", since it took the scotus to pick a winner, but I agree that McCain 2000 was much better than mcCain 2008.
 
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