I doubt we won any votes in this debate

[Joey Wahoo]

Lets face it, Ron Paul is not a slick one-liner politician and he never will be. These types of events don't permit him to shine. Those of us who've seen him give a thirty minute speech know he can be dynamite. Its a pity most Americans never will.

In my opinion, he needs to understand that he must say ATTENTION GRABBING things when he only has 15 or 30 seconds to speak. Even if they are controversial. ESPECIALLY if they are controversial.

Example: Why not say "I will work to end the IRS and the income tax completely, and I will replace it with nothing."

Boom. Takes 5 seconds to say and would be the most quoted sound bite of the entire debate.

Sigh.

Lets just hope we can get the message out sufficiently before caucus day.

[ctb619]

People say this after every debate.

[Rex]

sadly I agree

[angrydragon]

I hope and think you're wrong. =)

[Dorfsmith]

I hope and think you're wrong. =)

X2

[Luther]

Ron Paul does not perform well in this kind of "debate" format.

[garyallen59]

whats wrong with you guys, this was as good as debates get as far as fair time dispersement paul got his message out loud and clear and everyone heard

[Luther]

I would like to see Ron Paul in a real debate, where he could challenge the assertions of other candidates and he could defend his own positions against the criticisms of others.

[RonPaulFTFW]

People come to paul because of what he says.

When they hear his stance on the war, and the economy.........they will come because he is different.

The way it's always been.

[split_lipz]

I think he did great!

What else did you want him to say? He laid things out very clearly.

[Dorfsmith]

whats wrong with you guys, this was as good as debates get as far as fair time dispersement paul got his message out loud and clear and everyone heard

Paul nailed education and was able to express his views on foreign policy. Those are both important to voters.

[garyallen59]

sometimes i think we expect too much from paul on this board his message will resonate with people who have never heard it

[Micahyah]

Yeah this debate was not a big positive for us, which sucks because it's the last one before the caucus.

This debate in a nutshell was con artist candidates copying Paul's language because they realized how much of a buzz his message has around the country.

[shadowhooch]

I thought Ron did awesome in this debate. His answers were concise and clear and he got his message accross well.

Sorry, I DO NOT want "one-line zingers" like Alan Keyes. They doesn't sway me one bit.

[RonPaulFTFW]

He helped people understand his education stance.

[davidhperry]

Just to encourage folks, people like Ron Paul because he stands on principle. If you support him, you already know that he's not slick, good-looking, witty, etc. He has his foibles and shortcomings, to be sure. However, people ARE attracted to his ideas, just as we were when we decided to learn more about him.

Let's keep pushing - a lot of our progress has been under the radar and that's going to be even more shocking once this whole election tips.

[dspectre]

I really wouldn't worry about it, most people aren't watching these debates. Knowing this, do you think they are watching this one at 1 in the afternoon?

[Original_Intent]

I think someone was too focused on the little "approval rating" chart on the right hand side of the screen.

Frankly this was the best debate so far for Ron Paul to get some speaking time and to explain his answers.

The little approval rating chart hurt us among people who want to follow the crowd. If there was anyone watching who was looking for real answers, I think this debate served us well.

[Bigboyen]

Ok debate - but in the situation we are now we don't have time to use a lot of time of convince every voter. We needed a great showing and we didn't get it. And even other did take Paul’s message and delivered it in a better package.

[Joey Wahoo]

Yeah this debate was not a big positive for us, which sucks because it's the last one before the caucus.

This debate in a nutshell was con artist candidates copying Paul's language because they realized how much of a buzz his message has around the country.

This is my point. Be honest about it. Lets say you knew nothing about these candidates other than what you heard today, and lets say you were looking for the candidate most likely to restrain federal government, follow the constitution and reduce spending and taxes.

Would you choose Ron Paul? Probably not.

To be fair, he did make the foreign policy point very effectively, as well as the defense of personal liberties (albeit in a general way only)

[garyallen59]

I think someone was too focused on the little "approval rating" chart on the right hand side of the screen..

thats the reason why i watched it on cspan

[homah]

Unfortunately, I agree. Debates are not the best platform for Paul to get his message across.

Just watch the CNN post-debate coverage. They are interviewing undecided Republicans who appear to be completely braindead.

[Pete Kay]

I didn't catch the entire debate, but from what I saw I thought he did poorly. His past few debates have been less than stellar. I honestly think he his censoring himself to try to appeal to a more mainstream audience, but he has lost the punch that wowed me in the first few debates.

[garyallen59]

I didn't catch the entire debate, but from what I saw I thought he did poorly. His past few debates have been less than stellar. I honestly think he his censoring himself to try to appeal to a more mainstream audience, but he has lost the punch that wowed me in the first few debates.

you're wrong

[Cam]

As always it is the message not the man . . . if our country is full of citizens needing a slick car salesman, we lose. But I have more faith in our people. We want substance over style. Time is running out. Hit the streets and help RP bring substance to the country.

[Delain]

I dunno. These debates or not his specialty, I agree, but the fact that he isnt another slick talker I find one of the most appealing things about him.

[Luther]

People come to paul because of what he says.

When they hear his stance on the war, and the economy.........they will come because he is different.

The way it's always been.

Right. His appeal is substance, not style.

[Ron Paul Fan]

Ron Paul is Ron Paul. He's not going to turn into slick Mitt Romney. Not now. Not ever. I missed the first part of the debate, but I thought his last two answers were excellent! He's the only one who actually answered the last one. Read the Constitution! I bet we picked up quite a few votes today.

[shadowhooch]

I think someone was too focused on the little "approval rating" chart on the right hand side of the screen.

Frankly this was the best debate so far for Ron Paul to get some speaking time and to explain his answers.

The little approval rating chart hurt us among people who want to follow the crowd. If there was anyone watching who was looking for real answers, I think this debate served us well.

I watched it online and there was no chart. From my view, Ron Paul had an outstanding debate.

That chart probably scewed viewers if you think Ron did poorly.

[angrydragon]

Ron Paul didn't come off as a snake's oil salesman, so I think he did good. All of the candidates were trying to say they were better than one another, except for Ron Paul