Tuesday's GOP presidential debate resembled a sporting contest rather than a political event. As CNN's Anderson Cooper introduced the Republican candidates, they appeared one by one, each with an eruption of applause. The candidates then positioned themselves at their respective podiums, as would a boxer in his corner of the ring. Each time a rival candidate landed a successful "jab" regarding healthcare or pulled off a skillful "uppercut" on the topic of illegal immigration, the audience beamed with excitement.
Contrary to many predictions, more attacks, it can be argued, were directed toward Mitt Romney than Hermann Cain. In other words, the trend thus far has been for an energetic and enthusiastic candidate to emerge, to rise in the polls, and then to take a great amount of heat at the next debate; October 18th was supposed to be the day that Cain bore the brunt of the attacks. Although he did have to defend his 9-9-9 plan a great deal, he was rarely the sole recipient of other particular lines of questioning. This is intuitive on one level, however, since his private sector experience and tax plan are the major elements of his candidacy that set him apart from the crowd. Other than that, Cain was asked only to explain his views on different issues when two or three other candidates were asked as well.
Throughout the debate, Governor Rick Perry took advantage of every opportunity to attack Romney. He on one occasion decided to give in and agree with Romney on the topic of the economy, but in general, one could conclude that the Texas governor is more threatened by Romney's candidacy than by the other front runner, Cain; or, it is equally possible that the two candidates simply do not like each other. Either way, the attacks made by Perry toward Romney quickly became personal. He made the claim, for example, that the former Massachusetts governor had no right to assert that he would change United States immigration policy for the better since he had previously hired illegal immigrants to work on his property. Romney responded, saying at first that he simply did not hire illegals to work for him, but later explaining that he was unaware that the company he hired had illegals on staff. When he was made aware of this fact, claims the candidate, he immediately fired the company. After being interrupted by Perry on numerous occasions during the exchange, Romney actually resorted to placing his hand on the Texas governor's shoulder, a harmless yet somehow very threatening maneuver.
Romney's Mormon faith was also a big topic of discussion, but most of the candidates seemed to come to his defense -- except for Perry. Freedom of religion was touted by all of the candidates, including Perry, although he chose his words carefully so as not to make his opponent look good, while also disagreeing with a pastor who had once introduced the Texas governor at a rally. Being the one candidate on the stage who stood by the position that Mormonism is a cult would have been bad politics. His heated attacks regarding Romney's Massachusetts healthcare bill, however, were not bad politics, another topic that put Romney on the defense, and which everybody on stage seemed to jump on.
It may actually be a good sign that Romney caught more flack than Cain during the debate. Perhaps it is a validation of his overall front runner status. It may also signify the frustration currently growing within the Republican Party regarding the candidacy of Romney. Some questions will be answered when new rounds of opinion poll results are released.
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