Talk about it here. Watch it live on ABC or desmoinesregister.com.
5:56 PM PT: So we're about five minutes away from The Big One. Break out the popcorn!
5:58 PM PT: Jon Huntsman won't be at the debate tonight. Perhaps he'll be partying with Gary Johnson somewhere. In the past I'd have applauded his absence, but given Newt's out-of-nowhere rise from the dead, probably they both should be allowed in the debate. Plus, Huntsman probably draws away from Mitt in New Hampshire, and I'm all for that.
6:01 PM PT: ABC's broadcast opens as if this were a sporting event. It's unlike anything I remember seeing in American politics, but actually I don't mind the idea of making politics entertaining—at least not in theory.
6:02 PM PT: Tonight's debate is taking place in Iowa, at Drake University. Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos are hosting.
6:04 PM PT: Ergh, Diane Sawyer begins by saluting the candidates for selflessly running for president. Bleh. Diane, this is democracy. We don't need to kiss their ass. They need to win our support.
6:05 PM PT: Newt Gingrich begins by taking credit for creating 36 million jobs, 25 under Reagan, he says, 11 under Clinton.
6:06 PM PT: Here's a screenshot of the stage.
6:06 PM PT: Newt's solution is to zero out as many taxes on "job creators" as he can.
6:07 PM PT: Mitt Romney says there's 7 things you have to do to create 11.5 million jobs. He's not finished telling us what those things are, but I've already forgotten them.
6:07 PM PT: But hey, 7 things for 11 million jobs. 7-11. Better than 999!
6:09 PM PT: Ron Paul says the important thing to understand is that Federal Reserve created our economic problems. (Of course, we had a Fed during periods of high growth in the past, and the thing that really changed was how we regulate the financial sector, but no sense in trying to have that debate with Paul.)
6:11 PM PT: Rick Perry says he's an outsider who can put in place "that model" that will do good things for something. And he's for a flat tax. And Michele Bachmann says "literally we will create tens of millions of jobs if we abolish the federal tax code." Rick Santorum hasn't started talking yet, but I'll guarantee you he says he need a corporate tax rate of zero on the industrial sector.
6:12 PM PT: Bing! Santorum: "zero it out for all manufacturers."
6:14 PM PT: Diane Sawyer pauses to note that Mitt Romney was the only candidate honest enough to project how many jobs he'd create in four years. She is drooling with love for him. But the truth is: his 11.5 million jobs forecast is complete baloney. Mitt's willingness to name a number is an example of his willingness to say whatever he thinks will help him win—not policy courage.
6:16 PM PT (Kaili Joy Gray): The liveblogging continues in the next thread.
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