National Journal and Hotline were back for day two of CPAC - an early cattle call for 2012 potential presidential candidates, who had a chance to make their pitches. Here are the key takeaways and nuggets from Friday's speeches:
--The day kicked off with former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), who already had to meet high expectations as the presumed frontrunner of the crowd. Deep in the red meat, Romney wasn't afraid to criticize Obama, especially his foreign policy. "I surely hope that at some point in the near future, the President will finally be able to construct a foreign policy, any foreign policy," said Romney. Notable omissions: Egypt, which was sucking the air out of the presidentials wannabes' room and health care, which could be Romney's Achilles heel.
--Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who received a rock star's reception from his faithful followers who had packed the ballroom, was the only of the potential 2012'ers who addressed the turmoil in Egypt at any length, linking the situation there to the U.S. financial situation and criticizing U.S. foreign policy "for propping up the puppet dictator all those years."
--Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R-Minn.) performance this year was a marked improvementfrom his speech last year--although he did have a second round of unlucky timing. Pawlenty spoke at the same time as Obama's statement on Egypt this year; last year, he was up against Tiger Woods' infamous press conference on his multiple affairs. Pawlenty was firmer and sharper this go-around, in an almost "prosecutorial indictment" of Obama. He also had a fleeting reference to Egypt, mentioning the Muslim Brotherhood as an enemy.
--Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) may be one of the bravest souls at CPAC this weekend, literally going into the lions den to talk to conservative militants wing of his party who may try to oust him in a primary. He appeared on a panel with FreedomWorks CEO Matt Kibbe, whose organization is looking at replacing Hatch with a more consistent conservative. Hatch, who conceded he "probably made a mistake" in voting for the TARP bailout, received a mixed reception If the six-term senator does face a tea party candidate and wins, he'll have written the playbook for how to handle such a challenge - engage your critics instead of running from them.
--Sarah Palin in the house? Not so fast. An impersonator briefly fooled some in the CPAC crowd who thought maybe the former Alaska governor had rethought skipping the convention. Meanwhile, the real-life Jimmy "The Rent Is Too Damn High" McMillan was indeed in attendance. --Someone who may have drawn the ire of Palin though (and maybe Donald Trump) was Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). In his speech, Thune wasn't afraid to mock other potential presidential aspirants, joking that ""The closest I've come to being on a reality TV show is C-SPAN's live coverage of the Senate floor." --Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) knows who's responsible for the Republican Party's mid-term victories: the tea party. She also knows who's not responsible "That would not have happened with country club Republicans," she said at an event honoring Phyllis Schlafly. The potential presidential candidate made it clear she wasn't "dissing" country club Republicans, she just said they don't represent a broad coalition of voters like the tea party does. Alex Roarty contributed to this report.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/02/cpac-day-2-on-call-s-takeaways-11
--Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who received a rock star's reception from his faithful followers who had packed the ballroom, was the only of the potential 2012'ers who addressed the turmoil in Egypt at any length, linking the situation there to the U.S. financial situation and criticizing U.S. foreign policy "for propping up the puppet dictator all those years."
--Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's (R-Minn.) performance this year was a marked improvementfrom his speech last year--although he did have a second round of unlucky timing. Pawlenty spoke at the same time as Obama's statement on Egypt this year; last year, he was up against Tiger Woods' infamous press conference on his multiple affairs. Pawlenty was firmer and sharper this go-around, in an almost "prosecutorial indictment" of Obama. He also had a fleeting reference to Egypt, mentioning the Muslim Brotherhood as an enemy.
--Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) may be one of the bravest souls at CPAC this weekend, literally going into the lions den to talk to conservative militants wing of his party who may try to oust him in a primary. He appeared on a panel with FreedomWorks CEO Matt Kibbe, whose organization is looking at replacing Hatch with a more consistent conservative. Hatch, who conceded he "probably made a mistake" in voting for the TARP bailout, received a mixed reception If the six-term senator does face a tea party candidate and wins, he'll have written the playbook for how to handle such a challenge - engage your critics instead of running from them.
--Sarah Palin in the house? Not so fast. An impersonator briefly fooled some in the CPAC crowd who thought maybe the former Alaska governor had rethought skipping the convention. Meanwhile, the real-life Jimmy "The Rent Is Too Damn High" McMillan was indeed in attendance. --Someone who may have drawn the ire of Palin though (and maybe Donald Trump) was Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). In his speech, Thune wasn't afraid to mock other potential presidential aspirants, joking that ""The closest I've come to being on a reality TV show is C-SPAN's live coverage of the Senate floor." --Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) knows who's responsible for the Republican Party's mid-term victories: the tea party. She also knows who's not responsible "That would not have happened with country club Republicans," she said at an event honoring Phyllis Schlafly. The potential presidential candidate made it clear she wasn't "dissing" country club Republicans, she just said they don't represent a broad coalition of voters like the tea party does. Alex Roarty contributed to this report.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/02/cpac-day-2-on-call-s-takeaways-11