Ron Paul presidential debates, 2008

Main article: Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008

Main article: Republican Presidential Debates, 2008

Ron Paul is a 10th-term Congressman, a physician (M.D.), and a 2008 presidential candidate from the state of Texas, seeking the nomination of the Republican Party. Below are summaries of the 2008 Republican debates as they pertain to Ron Paul's performance in each.

2008 GOP Presidential Debates

May 3, 2007: California

Ron Paul participated in a presidential debate at the Reagan Presidential Library at Nancy Reagan's invitation. Paul appeared on Tucker Carlson's show hours before the debate. Nine other Republican candidates debated along with Paul. MSNBC moderated and televised the 90-minute debate, which was also simulcast by Politico.com to give viewers the opportunity to submit questions online. MSNBC's online votes showed Ron Paul standing out from the other candidates. As of May 4, 2007, Ron Paul was ranked first for "Best one liner," "Who stood out from the pack", "Most convincing debater", and "Who showed the most leadership qualities?" In all four, he had at least 29% of the total vote and was winning the "rating and comparing candidates" question. Since these were votes limited to self-selected online viewers of the debate, they may not reflect the views of the entire debate audience. The media faced criticism for largely ignoring Ron Paul's performance.

May 15, 2007: South Carolina

On Tuesday, May 15, Paul debated again—in the 2007 First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Candidates Debate, televised live by FOX News Channel from the University of South Carolina’s Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia, South Carolina. Fox News Channel Washington Managing Editor Brit Hume moderated the debate and FOX News Sunday Anchor Chris Wallace and White House Correspondent Wendell Goler asked questions of the candidates. In a phone text message based vote among viewers after the debate, Paul finished second with 25% considering him the winner of the debate.

He won the voting on vote.com and MSNBC.com. He appeared on Your World Cavuto before the debate and Hannity & Colmes after the debate.

During the debate, Congressman Paul commented that America's history of interventionism in the Middle East has led to an unpopular view of the U.S. in Middle Eastern countries. Agreeing with what has previously been asserted by the 9/11 Commission Report and the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) specialists on al Qaeda, Paul stated that the CIA removal of an elected Iranian leader (the 1953 removal of the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mohammed Mosaddeq in Operation Ajax) and the bombing of Iraq in the 1990s, culminating in the ongoing Iraq war, has led to increasing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East. He went on, stating that these events have also led to terrorists developing such a hatred for America that they're willing to die in suicide attacks and are able to recruit others for their cause.

When asked whether he thought the logic of a non-interventionist policy had changed after the September 11th attacks, the following exchange between Paul and fellow candidate Rudy Giuliani occurred:

File:RonPaulAmericanConservative.jpg

Paul and Giuliani

PAUL: No, non-intervention was a major contributing factor. Have you ever read about the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we've been over there. We've been bombing Iraq for ten years. We've been in the Middle East [for years]. I think [Ronald] Reagan was right. We don't understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics. Right now, we're building an embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican. We're building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if China was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of Mexico? We would be objecting. We need to look at what we do, from the point of view of what it would be like if someone did it to us.

MODERATOR: Are you suggesting we invited the 9/11 Attacks, sir?

PAUL: I'm suggesting that we listen to the people who attacked us and the reason they did it, and they are delighted that we're over there because Osama bin Laden has said, "I'm glad you're over on our sand because we can target you so much easier." They've already now since that time have killed 3,400 of our men, and I don't think it was necessary.

GIULIANI: That's really an extraordinary statement. That's an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of September 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. I don't think I've heard that before, and I've heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th. And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn't really mean that.

MODERATOR: Congressman?

PAUL: I believe very sincerely that the CIA is correct when they teach and talk about blowback. When we went into Iran in 1953 and installed the Shah, yes there was blowback. The reaction to that was the taking of our hostages, and that persists. And if we ignore that, we ignore that at our own risk. If we think we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem. They don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free, they come and attack us because we're over there. I mean what would we think if other foreign countries were doing that to us?

While the confrontation was given some media attention, it was largely cast as a win for Giuliani, and Paul's remarks drew strong criticism from some pundits from the political right (particularly FOX News commentator Sean Hannity and GOP spokesman Michael Steele). Nevertheless, widely available information, including official US documents such as the 9/11 commission report, supports Ron Paul's assertions.

Former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, Michael Scheuer, said of Paul's statements: "Last week, Representative Paul did all Americans an immense service by simply pointing out the obvious: Our Islamist enemies do not give a damn about the way we vote, think, or live.... We are indeed hated and being warred against because we are 'over there,' and not for what we are and how we live. Our failure to recognize the truth spoken by Mr. Paul – and spelled out for us in hundreds of pages of statements by Osama bin Laden since 1996 – is leading America toward military and economic disaster.... And no matter how you view Mr. Paul’s words, you can safely take one thing to the bank. The person most shaken by Mr. Paul’s frankness was Osama bin Laden, who knows that the current status quo in U.S. foreign policy toward the Islamic world is al-Qaeda’s one indispensable ally, and the only glue that provides cohesion between and among the diverse and often fractious Islamist groups that follow its banner."

As cited in the 9/11 Commission Report, Osama bin Laden's 1996 fatwa called "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places," published in Britain, reveals his anger with American policies as his reason for declaring a fatwa. In his fatwa, bin Laden cites the reasons for attacking America. In order, they are:

1. American involvement in the Middle East
2. Palestine, and
3. Sanctions on Iraq

The Nation detailed how the CIA's former bin Laden and al Qaeda specialist, Michael Scheuer, told CNN, "We're being attacked for what we do in the Islamic world, not for who we are or what we believe in or how we live." CIA analyst, political scientist, and author Chalmers Johnson spoke of blowback in regards to the September 11 attacks in October 2001 and has written books on the subject.

In a press release following the debate, Paul's campaign chairman Kent Snyder said in response to Giuliani, "It is clear from his interruption that former Mayor Giuliani has not read the 9-11 Commission Report and has no clue on how to keep America safe" and on May 16, 2007, during an appearance on The Situation Room with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Paul asked for an apology from Giuliani and suggested that Giuliani should read the 9/11 Commission's Report.

Andrew Sullivan, early supporter of the Iraq War was led by Rep. Paul's remarks to conclude that:

The question serious supporters of a real war on terror must now ask is: will continuing the fight in Iraq help reverse this trend or cement it for decades to come? Is the war making us less secure and the world much less safe? Would withdrawal or continued engagement makes things better? At the very least, it seems to me, this question should be on the table in the Iraq debate. And yet the Republicans - with the exception of Ron Paul - don't even want to talk about it. Until they do, they are not a party serious about national security.

In the debate, only Paul and McCain did not endorse torture. Paul labeled the phrase enhanced interrogation techniques used in the debate to be Orwellian newspeak for torture. He has earlier stated that "the American people and government should never abide the use of torture by our military or intelligence agencies".

Since the debate, Ron Paul and his position have also been defended by Lew Rockwell , Pat Buchanan , Accuracy in Media , the John Birch Society and other conservative and libertarian commentators.

Accuracy in Media, a conservative media watchdog, has raised questions about a conflict of interest in Fox News' co-sponsorship of the May 15 Republican debate, pointing out that News Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, is a client of Giuliani.

June 5, 2007: New Hampshire

Ron Paul supporters outnumber supporters of other candidates at a pre-debate rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on June 5, 2007.

Ron Paul participated in this Republican debate in New Hampshire hosted by CNN. Responding to what the most pressing moral issue in America is, Paul answered that it is America's rejection of a Just War policy in favor of a preemptive military policy:

We in the past have always declared war in the defense of our liberties or go to aid of somebody,” he said. “But now we have accepted the principle of preemptive war–we have rejected the Just War theory of Christianity. "We have to come to our senses about this issue of war and preemption and go back to traditions and our Constitution and defend our liberties and defend our rights."

CNN gave Paul fewer than six minutes out of the two hours, giving candidates Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani over ten minutes each. In the CNN post-debate online vote, Paul received the highest marks in all categories except "snappiest dresser" and "Who had the most disappointing performance at the debate?"

August 5, 2007: Iowa

Congressman Paul participated in ABC News's Republican presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Time Magazine's Mark Halperin evaluated Paul's performance "crowd-pleasing," and added, "if the Republicans nominated a candidate based on who most moved the applause meter, Paul would be giving his acceptance speech next summer."

According to an on-line poll at ABCNews.com, Ron Paul won the debate with 63% of votes. Paul's vote total was nearly eight times as many as the second-place Mitt Romney.

September 5, 2007: Durham, New Hampshire

Supporters outside of the Fox News debate on September 5, 2007

Paul appeared in a live Republican debate hosted by Fox News at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire. Congressman Paul heatedly argued with candidate Mike Huckabee over the war in Iraq, which exchange many news reports cited as the highlight of the debate. Directly challenged by Huckabee, Paul retorted that the war had contributed to the Republican Party's poor performance in the 2006 elections. Paul won Fox News' "public text-messaging" poll: more than 33%. Huckabee, Giuliani, and McCain got 18%, 15%, and 14% respectively. Sean Hannity said the poll results had been unduly influenced by Paul's supporters, despite that being unlikely for technical reasons, because multiple votes from the same phone number were rejected.

Returning from a two-week vacation, satirist Stephen Colbert blamed himself for the incident, due to his having both Huckabee and Paul on The Colbert Report numerous times and giving them the "Colbert bump". Indeed, the last time Huckabee had appeared on the program, shortly after coming in second in the Ames Straw Poll, Colbert in reference to observations that Huckabee may no longer be a "second-tier" candidate, asked who was most likely to "go after" him to became "the next Mike Huckabee" and Huckabee had answered Ron Paul. In his post-debate analysis, the faux-neoconservative Colbert declared Huckabee the "winner" of the exchange. However, he compared Huckabee's statement satirically to Richard Nixon's statement to leave Vietnam "With peace and honor."

September 17, 2007: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Ron Paul was in the first-ever Values Voters' Presidential Debate, this one for the GOP candidates, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was broadcast live on Sky Angel Television, the American Family Association Web site, and many Christian radio stations, including the VCY America network. Six other Republicans attended–John Cox, Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, and Tom Tancredo. The official site for the debate says that, in an immediate straw poll of 340 delegates, Huckabee won with 63%, Paul in second at 13%, and Keyes third at 7%.

• official site, no transcript or video provided

A similar event was planned for the Democratic candidates on September 24, but none would confirm their participation. For a different debate which was previously announced for this date, see November 28, 2007, below.)

September 27, 2007: Baltimore, Maryland

Paul participated in a debate hosted by PBS television at Morgan State University with a panel exclusively of journalists of color. The organizers put empty podiums on the stage in the names of the absent candidates. Answering questions were Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, Alan Keyes, Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo. The first few questions concerned how some perceive the Republican Party to be racist. It was live on PBS and on www.pbs.org which also made them available later via downloadable Podcast

October 9, 2007: Dearborn, Michigan

Paul participated in a debate sponsored by CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the University of Michigan-Dearborn. The debate aired on MSNBC at 9 pm ET. Paul's theme for the evening seemed to be the long-term instability of the economy, as he fielded several questions relating to economic issues, warning that "as long as we live beyond our means, we are destined to live beneath our means". He also further expounded on the fundamentals of monetary theory, which he had mentioned in a previous debate.

October 16, 2007

The Republican Jewish Coalition debate on October 16, 2007, explicitly excluded Ron Paul due to his "record of consistently voting against assistance to Israel and his criticisms of the pro-Israel lobby", according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, resulting in calls for boycott by Jews for Ron Paul.

October 21, 2007

Ron Paul appeared in this 90-minute debate sponsored by FOX News.

At one point, with the poll showing Ron Paul winning the informal “cell phone” poll, Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity burst out with a definitive statement, “Ron Paul did not win the debate tonight,” even though the poll showed that he was winning by a wide margin. Hannity described the results as "stacking," even though only one vote can be sent per phone number or IP address.

Paul was the only candidate to be jeered during the debate: both times he advocated a non-interventionist foreign policy. Alan Colmes, in the post-debate analysis, stated that Paul drew the most spirited reaction of any candidate, both positive and negative.

Ron Paul hit on his theme of military non-interventionism, “70% of Americans want war over with and are sick and tired of big government at home and overseas.” They want their “civil liberties and not allow government to spend endlessly and bankrupt us.” Paul was also given questions related to his experience with Medicaid and made the distinction between his opposition to the Iraq War and that of Hillary Clinton, stating that Hillary does not support policies that would end the war.

November 28, 2007: Florida

Paul and McCain had been the only candidates who agreed to the Republican CNN-Youtube Presidential Debate originally scheduled for September 17, 2007. When it appeared that McCain might withdraw, UPI said, "The GOP version of the YouTube debate ... could end up with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, debating himself." The event was re-scheduled. More candidates accepted. Eight participated: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson.

Before the debate, Paul's campaign rented the Palladium, a 1,000-seat arena near the debate venue, for his supporters.

Sixty to seventy questions were chosen for the debate, with Anderson Cooper–the moderator–determining which candidates would respond to each question. Paul spoke 9 times, for a total of 7:43 minutes. Ron Paul's first question wasn't until after the first half hour.

According to the on-line CNN scorecard, 51% of online CNN Voters selected Ron Paul as the debate's winner. But though he won the online vote in every major category except "Most Disappointing Performance," two of CNN's three analysts disagreed, naming Paul specifically as having had a "disappointing performance," while the third argued that "Paul came off very direct and clear" and was one of two candidates that "stood out the most".

John McCain and Ron Paul had a notable exchange over the Iraq War and the Vietnam War. McCain stated that troops wanted the US government to "let them win." Ron Paul replied, "The real question you have to ask is why do I get the most money from active duty officers and military personnel?" McCain also called Paul an isolationist, saying, "We allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of isolationism." Paul replied that McCain was confusing isolationism with non-intervention, "I want to trade with people, talk with people, travel, but I don't want to send troops overseas using force to tell them how to live." Keith Olbermann and others noted that McCain's critiques of Paul's anti-war stance drew loud booing from the audience.

December 4, 2007: Iowa

This debate was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts . It was to be sponsored by the Fox News Channel and the Republican Party of Iowa, hosted by the University of Iowa, and televised live on the Fox News Channel.

One of the requirements for participation was to poll 5% nationally, which barred Ron Paul. Since that announcement, party officials in Iowa received numerous angry calls demanding that Ron Paul be allowed in. CNN then showed Paul polling 8%.

December 9, 2007: Miami, Florida

This debate was sponsored and televised on the Spanish-speaking television network Univision, and was hosted by the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. The original invitation for September 16 was accepted only by John McCain and Duncan Hunter, after which Univision re-scheduled it. Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson debated..

December 12, 2007: Iowa

Sponsored by The Des Moines Register newspaper and Iowa Public Television, the debate among nine Republican candiates was broadcast live on the state-wide television network and re-broadcast later. It was available to all PBS stations, and was the last debate before the Iowa caucuses, January 3, 2008.

Scheduled to debate were Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Fred Thompson.

When asked to offer a resolution for other candidates, Ron Paul stated:

"My advice would be to re-read the oath of office, take it seriously, obey the Constitution. We can — we are well defended against all enemies foreign. We should be much more careful about defending against the enemies domestic."

January 5, 2008: Manchester, New Hampshire

ABC, WMUR-TV, and Facebook are hosting back-to-back Republican and Democratic debates from Saint Anselm College on Saturday evening, 7 pm EST, two days after the official first-in-the-nation caucus. Charles Gibson will moderate. Candidates will be allowed to participate if they meet one of three criteria, "place first through fourth in Iowa, poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major New Hampshire surveys, or poll 5 percent or higher in one of the last four major national surveys."

January 6, 2008: Milford, New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Republican Party and Fox News have a scheduled forum on January 6, 2007. Fox News has stated that Ron Paul has not been invited to the debate. This sparked numerous protest letters from Paul supporters. Fox News has not told the campaign the reason Paul wasn't invited, though the chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Committee has said he doesn't know if Paul will be invited later.

January 10, 2008: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Fox News is hosting a debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Ron Paul has been invited to participate despite his exclusion from an earlier Fox News debate.

January 30, 2008: Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Times and CNN are hosting a Republican debate in Simi Valley, California.