FRED WINS BIG IN MYRTLE BEACH

Six Republican Presidential candidates assembled Thursday evening for a critical debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Brit Hume, Wendell Goler, and "Campaign" Carl Cameron of Fox News conducted what was the most relevant and interesting debate of the entire campaign so far. The candidates actually discussed important issues at length and engaged each other almost at will. The Republican primary is a jump ball. Huckabee won thanks to the disproportionate evangelical base in Iowa, McCain took New Hampshire as expected, and now Fred Thompson is hungry for a win in a southern state. Fred needed a big victory in the debate, and he got it with room to spare. The former Tennessee Senator and Law & Order was the star of the show and showed once again why he is the clear choice for Republican Presidential nominee.

The most effective way to understand what happened Thursday night is to proceed as close to chronologically as possible. The first questions were about the economy and the potential of a recession. Mitt Romney touted a "comprehensive" plan, whatever that means. Senator John McCain gave his tired old promise to make the authors of pork famous and mentioned increased job training. Mike Huckabee took the opportunity to sermonize about our enslavement to oil. Rudy Guliani peddled his proposal for tax cuts largely copied from Thompson. Fred then gave the correct conservative answer by supporting making the Bush tax cuts permanent, providing tax relief for small business, and consider more immediate federal action only if necessary. Round one goes to Fred.

Then the moderators caught my attention by asking a series of questions about the Reagan legacy for the Republican Party, and that began the Thompson tidal wave. Huckabee declared the Reagan heritage and coalition dead and wildly exaggerated the role of evangelicals in the conservative movement. Senator McCain spoke about controlling federal spending and then crazily confessed to his belief in global warming (what?). Fred then spoke up and proceeded to jam Huckabee into a verbal wood chipper, and it was magnificent. Thompson said the future of the party is at stake in this election, and he's right. Fred excoriated the former Arkansas governor for pronouncing traditional conservatism deceased, for being part of the "blame America first" crowd after his "bunker mentality" critique of the Bush foreign policy, and for proposing the closure of GITMO and transfer of Al Qaeda detainees to American soil. Thompson summed it all up by finally and correctly identifying Huckabee as more in the Democrat Party model than the Reagan model. It had to be said amongst the right, and Fred delivered the message like a sharp punch in the nose. Rudy could only cling to Reagan's "peace through strength" policies after that, but it was clear that Thompson had stolen the issue and the moment. It just wasn't wise for any of the squishier candidates to challenge him with Huckabee's guts on the stage. Round two goes to Fred.

Discussion then moved to the recent provocative actions taken by the Iranians with speedboats in the Persian Gulf. Huckabee again flashed back to his ministerial history and referred to the enemy seeing "the gates of hell". Thompson then suggested perhaps the Iranians might be introduced to all those virgins they predict. Fred was the only candidate to comprehensively cover the entire issue, saying the recent incident is a test of our resolve. Rudy spoke about sanctions and Iran's domestic politics (yawn). McCain gave a history lesson on freedom of the seas, and Romney correctly labeled the Iranian actions as calculated. All the candidates agreed decisions about engaging the Iranians has to be left to the military commanders on the scene. Round three goes to Fred.

Another foreign policy round ensued. McCain was thrown a softball on Iraq he answered by falsely and outrageously claiming he was the only man on the planet besides Bush to support the surge. Rudy fantasized about the Palestinian Authority recognizing the right of Israel to exist and renouncing terrorism and vowed to pressure Musharraf to get Bin Laden. Pakistan was the next matter up, and Fred took his turn to properly point out that the overriding issue is the security of Paki nukes, and that our support for Musharraf is critical considering what the alternative might be. Huckabee whined about the accountability of foreign aid supplied to Pakistan, for which he was hit by Fred for worrying about dollars instead of supporting the Paki military controlling the nuclear weapons. Romney got in a good line about foreign policy in the last century being like checkers compared to today's issues that are more like three dimensional chess, but Round four went to Thompson for recognizing the important core of the matter.

A change versus experience discussion was next, giving each candidate an opportunity to tout their own record. Romney gave his tired and cliched broken Washington spiel and pointed out his background of problem solving. McCain listed his military credentials, which are indeed impressive, but then he actually had the audacity to bring up his unconstitutional campaign finance law aided by his defeatist buddy Russ Feingold. Huckabee said he has signed a pledge not to raise taxes and then exposed his socialist vision of federal involvement in health care, roads, and education. Fred emphasized his consistently conservative and pro-life record in the Senate and his ability to effectively communicate conservative principles. He then pointed out Huckabee had said earlier this year on Meet The Press that he would not sign a pledge against raising taxes, a charge Huckabee could not and did not refute. Rudy was asked about how his experience as mayor of New York relates to foreign policy, and he could only respond by citing his dealings with the United Nations. Huckabee responded to a question about his involvement with a Southern Baptist document stating women should be subservient to their husbands, proving him with yet another opportunity to go into preacher mode. Fred wins again.

Immigration was the last issue, and Thompson used it to put an exclamation point on the evening by demonstrating his knowledge and unwavering principles. McCain started the last turn by defending himself on his disastrous illegal immigration amnesty bill that failed miserably last year after great public outcry by saying he's from Arizona. Romney pursued his usual tack of going after McCain for supporting amnesty. Rudy defended his poor record on illegal immigration by saying he reduced crime in New York. Fred's policies included securing the border, punishing sanctuary cities by cutting their federal aid, helping employers identify legal workers, and enforcement by attrition. Thompson also slammed Huckabee for providing tuition breaks for illegals while governor of Arkansas, and Huckabee's response was a lame light versus dark homily. Fred takes the game, set, and match.

Hopefully last night's clear debate victory will translate into greater donations and movement in the polls, the only way to increase media coverage and discussion. Fred has so far gotten a raw deal from the media, liberal and conservative. Maybe now real conservatives in South Carolina will be able to correctly identify Thompson as most representative of their values and most able to win in November. The Democrats will play fast and loose with the facts as usual, and Fred has the knowledge and ability to correct them and win the White House. The future of the Thompson campaign looks much brighter after the debate, and a win like the one tonight couldn't have come at a better time.