Ron Paul & John Edwards Come Out On Top In ABC Debates

Last night in New Hampshire ABC held a debate for the Republicans and then the Democrats.

On the Republican side Ron Paul was able to easily differentiate himself from all the other Republican candidates who appear to be running the platform of continuing George W. Bush’s neoconservative policies, both foreign and domestic. While John McCain and Mike Huckabee looked childish making personal jabs at Mitt Romney, Ron Paul looked presidential explaining the problems with current American policies and the steps that need to be taken to correct those problems.

Facebook.com, a debate sponsor, had a poll on which candidate looked “most presidential.” Ron Paul won this poll with 41% of the vote with Huckabee finishing in a distant second with 24%. The big failures? Fred Thompson at 5% and Rudy Giuiliani at 6%. Thompson appeared barely coherent and with very little energy while Rudy Giuliani looked smug and appears to have little to say rather than “9/11.” His complete misunderstanding of foreign policy is extremely dangerous for America.

The contrast between the politics as usual of the rest of the Republicans and the true change that Ron Paul represents was made clear by the fact that Ron Paul actually went out to meet the press (in the “Spin Room”) after the debate himself rather than just sending a surrogate which is the usual and what all the other candidates did. Watch it below:

John Edwards was strongest in the Democrat debate. While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama appeared to give some calculating non-answers, Edwards showed an energy and a passion for changing the status quo in Washington. He repeatedly made the point that you cannot change a lot of the problems in Washington by making a deal with those that are causing the problems, you have to shut those special interests and lobbyists out entirely.

The New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday. It’s an open primary meaning that Democrats, Independents, and Republicans can all vote in whichever primary they want. This open primary format should greatly benefit Ron Paul on the Republican side as the only Republican with a message that resonates with anyone outside of the party faithful.