Redstate

Any news on yesterday's debate?

They are finally airing the Cardin-Steele debate on MTP. First impression? Cardin is one lousy candidate. The WaPo should be embarrassed for endorsing him.

Seriously. Decent empty suits everywhere should be insulted by the Cardin candidacy, with the possible exception of Casey fils.

Steele is TOTALLY controlling this debate. He's being familiar, easy with Russert, not defensive at all.

"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it"-Winston Churchill

one gets the feeling that he genuinely thought that all he needed to do is win the Democratic primary and it would be over. He clearly was not prepared to run in the general election and now he finds a fight on his hand and doesn't know what to do.

But lets also give credit where credit is due. Steele is a fantastic candidate. He just managed to bury Cardin on Iraq. The issue, we were told, that was supposed to give Cardin an advantage in such a blue state like Maryland.

in part because of Cardin's debate ineptitude.

Liveblogged at DebateScoop and there will be more anaysis there later.

That was ugly! Steele did mop the floor with Cardin, on issue after issue, Steele was impressive, sharp, honest, not canned...Cardin was the exact opposite, fell back on old trite talking points, had nothing to add...it was painful to watch.

"Moderation in all things, including Moderation" - Flavius

Yes, he beat Cardin, but that was to be expected given how weak Cardin is.

Steele stumbled when asked about Supreme Court Justices and about Roe v. Wade. He tried to come up with something coherent to say, but failed. He barely managed to evade answering the questions. How could he not have prepared answers to these questions? These are big issues for senators. He could have used them to beat Cardin over the head some more, too. Instead, he seemed confused over his own position.

He also stumbled when asked about stem cell research. Again, he didn't seem to know how to frame the issue. He was better here than on the Supreme Court, since he did have a good question for Cardin, but he didn't clarify his own position enough and point out that Cardin is willing to use unborn lives as mere material.

I remain a strong supporter of Steele, and find him the most exciting Republican candidate for Senate (with the exception of Santorum), but he missed some big opportunities.

"During my lifetime, all our problems have come from mainland Europe, and all the solutions from the English-speaking nations across the world." - Thatcher

I was flipping through the channels looking for the Steele-Cardin debate, but all I found was Tim Russert's "Tour of Blue State Talking Points."

The War Sucks. Check.
Bush Sucks. Check.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research is a gift from the gods. Check.
Being Pro-Life is Silly. Check

Does Cardin have to pay Russert for any of that? Or can he get off the hook since Steele handled it so well?

If you saw Timmy on Jeopardy, he proved he is ignorant because he is stupid. I assume he added the second "r" to his name after being sued by the Mr. Potato Head Foundation.

Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.

"...who voted against stem cell research." Great line for Steele; I also loved seeing the replkay of the ad featuring Steele's sister.

Cardin proved totally incapable of handling Steele; this was really a debate between Steele and Russert. At times, Cardin seemed like he wasn't expecting a Republican opponent to show up this morning. He certainly didn't land any gloves on Steele.

Unfortunately, none of this matters to the Maryland electorate. They don't care if Cardin has a thought in his head, they only care if he has the right party designation. Otherwise this race would be Steele's in a walk.

"Every time some nitwit college student burns a flag on camera, that's one less idiot who can ever run for public office." - Crank

I really believe on election day we will not only hold the Senate But Talent, Corker and Burns are going to pull through too. DeWine is lost and good riddance to a RINO. Kean has a shot but being a former jerseyite can't see them rejecting BLUE.

...Steele just dropped from 28% likely to win, to 24% likely, at Tradesports - in the aftermath of this debate.

WTF?