We’ll assume that FR readers who care are watching the debate live, or will catch the video stream at CNN.com. Nick and I are so close…but yet so far. We’re upstairs in the Spin Room, which is just a few hundred feet from the Air Force One hanger where the debate is taking place. So far, 25 minutes into the debate, our point made below that there is no Ronald Reagan in the race is being reinforced. Neither Nick nor myself have been impressed thus far.… Read More

I’m not sure which is worse… CNN’s repeated cutting off of Ron Paul… Or the fact that Paul doesn’t seem to be capable of sticking up for himself…… Read More

If you accept the notion that John McCain is the frontrunner for the nomination, then if you are Mitt Romney, you have to be on the offensive. You want John McCain in the hot seat. As we sit here, most of the way through this debate, clearly it has been Romney on the defense. If this doesn’t change, Romney’s ability to try and “win” the debate will be non-existant. McCain isn’t breaking a sweat tonight.… Read More

The other day I put up a video of what I thought was a very effective Giuliani ad (guess not so much!). A loyal FR reader sent me a link to the following ad by Citizen’s United — a very effective piece against McCain… … Read More

Nick Romero and I have finally made it to the “spin room” here at the Reagan Library. The security here is pretty hardcore, but somehow Nick and I have our names on the media list as “credentialed journalists” – go figure. We had to park off site, and shuttle over with a bunch of real reporters. Now that we’re here, we’ll go see how many reporters bash on Republicans when they “think” no one is listening.… Read More

In between 3:40 pmand 7:32 pm today I received 14 different press releases at the same email address from Team Romney, 11 of them literally in a 62 minute time span between 6:09 and 7:11 pm.

I’ve heard of trying to keep folks informed, but did the Romney Press Shop want me to watch the debate or read their barrage? After the fifth one, it became drivel, quickly going to the trash. I’m not exactly a big John McCain partisan, but excessiveness is not becoming the Romney camp. I don’t know whether to think he’s grasping at straws or be embarrassed by the clumsiness of such a "media effort."… Read More

Former FR Managing Editor Nicholas Romero and I are heading out soon for Ventura County. First to the Americans for Prosperity Summit where yours truly will be introducing Hugh Hewitt. Then we are on to stop #2. We are credentialed to cover the Presidential Debate later today at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. That said, there is a ton of stuff on our main page. On two closing notes — for those who are trying to follow the Presidential election, I recommend Real Clear Politics as a good site, and finally I want to thank FR Friend Michelle Malkin for the shout out this morning.

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?

Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.… Read More

Except for a brief time before his exit when I decided to vote for Fred Thompson, this presidential contest marks the first time in my entire life I have been undecided in a GOP nomination fight.

Going into tonight’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Library, I was strongly considering voting for Sen. John McCain, in spite of McCain-Feingold and other heresies. After watching McCain in action tonight, he’d have to make a heckuva case in the next few days to keep me from voting for Romney.

There were a number of flash points tonight that pushed me away from going with McCain. First was his exchange with Mitt Romney over his charge that Romney supported fixed timetables for withdrawal. McCain was obviously misrepresenting what Romney said. Even Anderson Cooper pointed out that Romney had not called for publicly fixing deadlines for withdrawal.

Yet even after his misrepresentation was made plain to him, McCain stuck to his story and continued insisting that Romney had said something that Romney clearly had not — and at that point it just becomes a lie. And that’s significant for a man who has built his campaign on honor, straight talk and… Read More