South Carolina Republican Presidential Debate

Color me unimpressed. John McCain's "drunken sailor" spiel on federal spending got old during the 2000 campaign. He actually said Republicans didn't lose the 2006 elections because of Iraq. The man is delusional.

Rudy Giuliani gave an incoherent answer to his liberal track record as Mayor. Matt Yglesias believes a viable anti-abortion candidate will take the nomination away from Giuliani. The problem is that candidate doesn't exist.

The problem for Republicans is if Giuliani wins the nomination his tough talk will not be enough. The American people have heard that from Bush and Cheney and aren't happy with the results. Giuliani proved himself to be clueless when pressed by softball interviewer Larry King.

KING: Let's get to some issues.

A leading industrialist, a friend of mine, said if the United States were a corporation, based on the Iraq War, everyone at the top would be fired.

How would you comment on that? And that -- in other words meaning it ain't going right.

GIULIANI: Yes, but that would have been true -- he would have said the same thing about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln would have been fired. And he might have said the same thing at the Battle of the Bulge and Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Marshall -- all would have been fired. And...

KING: So you're confident this is all going to turn around?

GIULIANI: Oh, no. No.

What is worse? Giuliani comparing Bush's leadership to Lincoln and Roosevelt or endorsing a military strategy he has no confidence will succeed. Hardly Commander-in-Chief material.

I haven't kept track of whether Romney is a liberal or conservative this week. I can't stand Tom Tancredo. Fortunately, he doesn't have a chance of getting the nomination. He does nicely fill wild man Pat Buchanan role. I hope Tancredo's convention speech goes over as well as Buchanan's culture wars keynote speech. I always enjoy when Republicans make themselves appear insane in front of a national television audience.

Yet a militant leader of the homosexual rights movement could rise at that convention and exult: "Bill Clinton and Al Gore represent the most pro-lesbian and pro-gay ticket in history." And so they do.

That would explain why Bill Clinton signed the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act into law during his second term. Good call, Pat.