Florida Debate Reaction

Huckabee gave a strong performance in tonight's debate in Boca Raton, FL. Here is some reaction from the National Review Online:

Jim Geraghty:
The best exchange of the night deals with Huckabee and a Chuck Norris comment that McCain was too old to be president.

Jonah Goldberg:
I hate to say it, but for politics — and to a certain extent policy — (Mike Huckabee’s answer about the proposed stimulus package) was the best one. The $300 rebate thing is largely stupid as far as I'm concerned. But if we're going to spend $150 billion, building more highways seems like a better way to go. The China jabs were just smart politics.

I'd be curious to know if any of my colleagues disagree with me that Huckabee's proposed solution of building more highways — whether it's expanding I-95 or some other similar effort — instead of the rebate is a better approach than this rebate.

Some other online media reviews:

Blog4President.us:
Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee scored major points during tonight's Republican Presidential debate in Boca Raton, Fla., emphasizing his plan to strengthen the U.S. economy, his successful record in Arkansas, and his vision for America's future.

"A few months ago, at the debate in Dearborn, Michigan, we were asked how about the economy, everyone said it's going great," Huckabee said. "I was the only one who said it may be great if you're at the top, but it's not so good if you're the ones carrying the luggage, serving the food, or driving the cabs."

Hot Air's Bryan Preston:
Mike Huckabee makes some sense on the economic stimulus. He says, essentially, if we’re going to borrow $150 billion from China to finance the stimulus package, why not use it to do something useful instead of just handing it over to be spent on goods imported from China?

That’s not crazy. Chances are, people will spend their rebates on TVs and other consumables that’s imported. That’ll help American retailers and importers but not manufacturers. While it would be better just to cut taxes and cut spending and the government as far from all our wallets and lives as possible, if you’re going to borrow and spend, let’s at least widen I-95, put Americans to work on it and get some long-term benefits from the project.

Check out the Huck's Army press release here.