www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2072835,00.html
Guardian Unlimited John McCain and Rudy Giuliani greet each other after the first Republican primary debate The only two candidates most people could recognise - John McCain and Rudy Giuliani greet each other after the debate. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP The frontrunners for the Republican nomination in next year's presidential election posed together alongside the imposing grandeur of Ronald Reagan's Air Force 1 Boeing 707. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani did their best to look statesmanlike, but could not avoid being distracted by the eight besuited men standing alongside them. Had the elderly crew got off the Spirit of 76 to serve a jar of Ronnie's favourite jellybeans to the pretenders?
Advertisement Yet as the fanfare died down and the first Republican debate of the presidential primary campaign started, it became apparent that the other people on the stage all claimed to be candidates. There were quite a few of them, too many, in all probability, for the average widescreen TV. The debate provided some useful insights into the mindset of the cautious Republican candidate. Republican candidates like to talk about abortion, and how to stop it. Ditto taxes, immigration, and stem cell research (although with their host Nancy Reagan fixing them with a beady gaze, some of the candidates at least had the decency to sound mildly uncomfortable trashing the venerated first lady's pet project). Political talkshow host Chris Matthews - Boris Johnson without the twinkle - tried his best to push matters along, telling the candidates beforehand not to thank anyone and not to make opening statements. The frenetic pace of the show, and the number of contestants, made it a bit like an early episode of Survivor. You weren't quite sure who was who, or why they were even there, but you knew it didn't matter, because most of them would be gone and long forgotten by the autumn. Matthews destroyed the only meaningful betting contest of the night, the sweepstake on which candidate would be the first to quote one of the Gipper's peerless insights into the American soul. Matthews himself got in early, quoting Reagan's "morning in America" line in his first question. Giuliani, however, rallied in fine style, managing to work in Reagan's "shining city on the hill" line in the first response of the night. Matthews also had a tendency to play fast-and-loose with the format. "Governor Thompson," he thundered midway through: "Same question. Well, actually, you could respond to just about anything at this point." There were some gimmicks to help pass the time: online questions voted on by online people were submitted to the real people standing on the stage at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Some were quite unexpected - welcome to the world of webpolitics. Did Tommy Thompson think employers should be allowed to fire gay employees? TT looked around nervously to make sure no one was listening, before answering yes, that would be fine. What do you dislike most about America, one online poster demanded to know of Mitt Romney. Momentarily, evil thoughts could be seen chasing each other across his brow, before he found his script: "I love America," he pronounced. Romney was smooth and assured, the sort of person you could imagine having quite a nice conversation with if it weren't for his politics. The two big hitters, however, both seemed nervous in their opening answers. Giuliani fumbled his lines, and McCain seemed to be having difficulty coordinating breathing and speaking. When he found his stride, it was to lapse into hustings mode, his hand chopping down as he made promises to the American people, "my friends", as he constantly reminded them. Indeed McCain, whose campaign already has the word "obituary" scrawled all over it, misjudged the tone throughout, at one point insisting, his finger jabbing the air, that he would "follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell". The smile that followed was chilling in its insincerity. Matthews ended the affair by quoting that most beloved of America's founding fathers, Winston Churchill: "It is the end of the beginning," he promised. With a full 551 days until the election, would that it were.
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