COMMENTARY | The GOP presidential debate was held Wednesday in Los Angeles at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. After watching the Republican debate on MSNBC, here are three things I found interesting and notable about the Republican hopefuls.
First, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry were going back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the debate. The first question went to Perry about jobs and job creation, then Romney got a chance to argue why and how he created more jobs than Perry. It was pretty funny actually and got a lot of laughs from the audience because they were just going on and on with each other about the jobs being created in Texas by Perry compared to what Romney did in Massachusetts. I thought this was notable primarily because Romney and Perry are thought to be frontrunners for the Republican Party, and it was good to see them sparring back and forth.
I also found it interesting that Newt Gingrich stepped in and said that he is tired of the news media trying to get the Republican contenders to fight with each other so they can protect Barack Obama in 2012. I think it is great to see him standing up to the media and scolding them for making the Republican contenders fight with each other.
At the end of the day, it comes down to every candidate sticking together to defeat Obama in 2012; they will need to stand behind each other no matter which contender wins the nomination. I am glad Gingrich stood up and said it does not matter which contender wins the GOP nomination. I do not like him personally, but I do appreciate his enthusiasm for the Republican Party and his desire to stand behind whoever wins the GOP nomination just to beat Obama in 2012.
One thing that really concerned me regarding the debate was the response Perry gave about his executive order regarding inoculating 12-year-old girls with the HPV vaccine, regardless of parental consent. Both Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann were hammering the Texas governor about this. Perry said he would always air on the side of saving lives and beating cancer.
This worries me regarding what executive orders he would give as president just so he could save lives. I was intrigued and found this to be a gaffe from Perry because you should not put safety or security before the Constitution. I am, however, glad issues such as HPV and cervical cancer were brought up in the debate.