Michigan GOP Debate - Jobs, Economy & Taxes

Oakland University - Rohester, Michigan - The Michigan GOP Presidential Debate – Your Money…Your Vote. Real content. No grandstanding. And very little finger pointing at each other. There was no runaway winner but several of the candidates were at the top of their game. One of the popular candidates stumbled but it may not be fatal.

Mitt Romney was in his childhood state and he clearly felt at home. It was probably one of his strongest debate performances to date. He knew the auto industry bailout question was going to come and he didn’t back down or flip flop in his explanation. After the debate, you could see in the eyes of his supporters that they felt good about how Romney handled himself. He never sat foot inside the media filing room after he debate to add spin for the media. He didn’t have to.

Herman Cain didn’t enter the media room either. Smart decision. There would have been nothing for him to gain. His economic answers during the debate were well delivered and the alleged sexual harassment issue only took up two minutes of the debate. He didn’t want anymore questions on that subject. He would have received them from the media.

Newt Gingrich took on the media and displayed what could viewed as a little arrogance or holding journalists accountable for sloppy reporting on economic issues. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat, told me that she thought the best candidate the GOP could run against President Barack Obama would be former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. She may be right. He’s a moderate. That came across loud and clear. It would be hard for Obama and the Democrats to paint him into an ultra conservative corner. Can he get out of the primary as the top vote-getter? The odds are against him.

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and Congressman Ron Paul all held their own. But it was Texas Governor Rick Perry that for a few embarrassing seconds lost his train of thought. It has happened to all of us at some point in our lives but not in the bright glare of national television. It wasn’t a campaign ending moment but it did absolutely nothing to help his image a poor debater. There will be more debates and he will surely have to make the most of them.

Oh, I’m wrong. There was a runaway winner at the November 9th debate. Oakland University, Oakland County, and the State of Michigan can claim victory. Together, they made the candidates focus on what really matters: Creating jobs and getting our economy back on track! And that’s exactly what Michigan needs!