COMMENTARY | The Blaze reports that on Feb. 26, Republican presidential candidates squared off in a final debate before the Florida primary. It was a very heated debate between potential nominees Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, and was also one of the most important debates for Romney. I watched the debate and fiery exchanges between Romney and Gingrich, and here is how Romney managed to reclaim his front-runner status.
Romney finally took control of the situation, and was able to rebuff Gingrich within a matter of minutes. In the Florida debate, Romney was quick to take jabs at Gingrich, and also rebuff the statements that Gingrich made against him. Romney took control of the debate last night, was very aggressive in his overall demeanor, and he dominated Gingrich on many issues. Romney also had looked weak when it came to debating in the past, but in the Florida debate, he seems calm, cool, and collected. Romney called out Gingrich for criticizing his investments in Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, saying he invested blindly. Romney also called out Gingrich over his questionable investments, which were also tied to the failed organizations.
Romney also clarified his stance on illegal immigration, which helped him get his point across to the American people. Gingrich had pulled a television ad off of the air which accused Romney of being against immigration, because he does not support illegal immigrants in this country. Romney was able to clarify his remarks saying that he does not want to deport the illegal immigrants that are in this country, but he also does not want more young people crossing the border to take American jobs. Romney needed to clarify his remarks on illegal immigration to secure his status as the front–runner, because Gingrich had taken his remarks out of context, which had hurt his status among some Republican voters. It was clear that Romney was not the evil candidate that Gingrich had made him out to be, and he was able to easily rebuff such harsh accusations.
Romney reiterated that his focus is on Obama, which is exactly what a front-runner should be doing. As the debate worn on, it also became apparent Romney was the only candidate willing to focus more on Obama than on the other Republican candidates. Romney reclaimed his status as the front-runner by choosing to primarily take aim at Obama and his policies, as opposed to the policies of Gingrich or Rick Santorum. The biggest issue for Gingrich is that he is focused way too much on Romney, and not focused enough on how he would be a better candidate than Obama. The Republican Party has to keep its eyes on the bigger prize, which is beating Obama in the fall, and Romney did just that. Gingrich has been criticizing the media over the last few weeks more than Obama, which seems to show his priorities are in the wrong place.
Myself, Personal Opinion
Scott Baker, “LIVE CHAT Replay: Romney Debates Rivals on Moon Colonies, Immigration, Wealth”, The Blaze