Rally & Debate

Great job by Mitt last night in the debate in Arizona!  His competence, smart ideas, focus, and preparation were on full display.  He clearly had the best night among the candidates.  Gingrich and Paul did a fine job overall as well.  Santorum, on the other hand, was on the defensive all night and to my view just did not come across well at all.  If I were to encapsulate the entire debate in one statement, it would be Romney's directed at Santorum in the discussion on "earmarks" directing federal financial support to various projects: "While I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were working fighting to save the 'Bridge to Nowhere.'"  Santorum and Gingrich (both of whom made an art form of passing their earmarks in the past) tried to claim that they are all the same, but Romney's comment shows how ridiculous that idea is.  An Olympics hosted by the United States of America has a legitimate claim for national support and as Romney noted, it was specifically for help with transportation and security for the Games.  Compare that with "pet projects" like the 'Bridge to Nowhere' which give local benefits but can hardly be claimed to be a national issue.

Well, I'm a bit late on this but wanted to pass on a video and a  few photos from a Romney rally in Chandler, Arizona yesterday morning, all taken by my brother (and contributing blogger), Mark, who had prime seating for the event.  Lucky dude...