Republican presidential candidates from left, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman after seen at a Republican presidential debate in Washington on Nov. 22.// Evan Vucci/AP
In case you missed the GOP national-security debate last night – the seven millionth debate so far in this election cycle – here’s the consensus online: You didn’t miss much.
Still want the blow-by-blow? Check these stories out to get some of the basics:
- Time’s handy “Cliff’s Notes” version of the debate. My favorite line, from former Speaker Newt Gingrich: “All of us will be in danger for the rest of our lives.” Oh, the good times just keep on comin’, America. (Battleland)
- If you prefer watching clips of the debate – including some interesting sparring on Afghanistan, Pakistan and al-Qaida – the Daily Beast has some nice, bite-sized pieces of the debate. (Daily Beast)
- Danger Room is pretty sure last night’s debate sucked. But they picked out three good moments that you should know about. (Danger Room)
- One moment that Danger Room didn’t write about, but has raised some eyebrows: Rick Perry suggested Defense Secretary Leon Panetta should resign in protest over the hundreds of billions in DoD cuts over the next decade. (Stars & Stripes)
- The Associated Press fact-checks all the presidential debates, including this one. Their main takeaway was that the discussion on detainee interrogations stretched the truth. Michelle Bachmann was singled out for factual errors, with the AP saying that “her hyperbole on the American Civil Liberties Union was one of the more notable stretches in the national security and foreign policy debate.” (The Associated Press)
- WaPo fact checks debates as well, using their delightful (and methodologically sound) Pinocchio-based scale. Mitt Romney earned the dubious honor of saying the night’s “four-Pinocchio whopper” when he threw in that “President Obama apologizes for America.” He also got caught making an erroneous statement about the F-22, according to the Post. (The Washington Post)
If that’s still not enough debate news for you, you can watch the full thing online. But you might consider taking a breather from politics instead- we’re still a year away from next November and it’s going to be a long election season, friends.
