Mount Rudy Erupts

"While everyone is hailing this as a 'Great moment' for Rudy Giuliani, I think just as importantly, it was a horrible moment for Ron Paul. My former boss looked like a complete nutcase. He looked frail. His hands shaked. He showed his age. He was completely unprepared for Giuliani's romping response.

"Is this the man that should be representing South Texas Congressional District 14 in the US Congress? I think not. I am calling on Ron Paul to resign his seat, sooner rather than later."

Roger Simon provides a reality check:

"Debates are about theater, and the Fox News debate in Columbia, S.C. was certainly theatrical, even including one show-stopping moment when Rudy Giuliani, who sits atop all national polls for the Republican nomination, sharply upbraided Ron Paul, who sits so far at the bottom his support is not really measurable.

"Paul, a 10-term congressman from Texas, is a political exotic, a Libertarian who believes in a form of 18th century isolationism for America. In terms of the presidency, nobody cares what Ron Paul says, perhaps not even Ron Paul . . .The Republican pack doesn't really have a second tier. It has a top tier -- Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney -- and then you fall off a cliff."

Ana Marie Cox briefly reverts to Wonkette:

"Why do I have the feeling that all those pundits who swooned over Giuliani's ferret moment Tuesday night (with Ron Paul, fittingly, in the role of the ferret) will wake up sometime this afternoon and hurriedly search for their high heels and party dress, hoping to slink unnoticed past the RA's room before someone catches them? Sure, it was an immensely satisfying smackdown, but it was largely substance-free, fueled by vitriol and personality. And you're gonna go home with that guy? If that's the standard that the Republicans want to hold their leader too, dude, the terrorists have won."

McJoan at Daily Kos saw a "frightening display" at the debate:

"Bad enough that Giuliani and Tancredo are such enthusiastic proponents of torture, but the really frightening part was the bloodlust in the audience, who went wild after these statements. In contrast, the one candidate who could speak with true authority on the issue, John McCain, was met with stony silence when he expressed his opposition to torture."

While most of the punditry focuses on how GOP voters will swallow Rudy's pro-choice stance, at American Prospect, Ann Friedman is appalled by a Planned Parenthood statement cheering him on:

" Clearly Giuliani is staking his campaign on his deep, unwavering commitment to women's health... He repeats that he's personally opposed to abortion, that he would support further restrictions, that he would appoint an anti-choice Supreme Court justice, and that overturning Roe would 'be OK.'

"Apparently $900 in donations buys a lifetime endorsement from Planned Parenthood, no matter how weak your position on choice."