The South Carolina GOP debate; Update 9:26pm Fred goes after Huckabee; 9:36pm – Fred’s on fire, Hume embarrasses Paul; 9:50pm – It’s the battle of the one-liners; 10:36pm Winners and losers
10:36pm Eastern. The debate is finished. (Here’s the AP’s take. Kind of fun to compare it with mine. Allah has post-debate focus group video and analysis.) Fred will be declared the clear winner. There are a lot of folks on our side of the blogosphere who were pulling for him. He delivered his one-liners better than anyone else. As I noted below, someone gave him some Red Bull. He aggressively attacked Huckabee, showed humor, and looked comfortable on stage.
But.
He doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to go after John McCain. And judging from the audience reaction, Mike Huckabee’s South Carolina evangelical base is sticking with him.
Romney was a big loser tonight. His delivery was wooden. The other candidates ignored him. In just four/five days, he seems to have completely lost that front-runner status.
McCain didn’t do himself harm. Nothing gained or lost. It’s everyone else who failed to challenge McCain who lost.
What does this say about the state of the GOP?
Brit Hume will be getting a tsunami of Ronulan hate mail for handing Paul his head on his Iran/Strait of Hormuz answer. Brit, they’ll be with you for life.
Here’s the Hume/Paul smackdown vid via Hot Air:
10:29pm Eastern. Thompson: High fences, wide gates. We decide when to open and close it. Fred goes soft on his “friend John McCain” over amnesty. Weak. He doesn’t have the stomach to take McCain on.
Paul: If we subsidize something, you get more of it. Gives economic argument against illegal immigration. Cites health care subsidies and welfare state. Yes. He’s right. “The law is the law and we should enforce the law.”
Huckabee reels off his nine-point plan but says: “We should have the assumption that everybody here is legal, not illegal.”
WHAT!?
Giuliani is asked about sanctuary. He’s defending his sanctuary policy. “He’s very proud of it.” Yes, I’m tuning him out.
Wait. He just made me laugh: “I would be the best at stopping illegal immigration.”
10:25pm Eastern. McCain gets first immigration question from Goler. McCain says shamnesty failed because of lack of trust. Well, it was also because shamnesty is a reckless, bad idea–and because of the arrogant way in which McCain and company wanted to ram this bad idea down our throats. Recycles his Geraldo line about not deporting illegal alien relatives of soldiers.
Smattering of applause.
But how would he remove illegal aliens?
Romney: Secure the border, have the fence, Border Patrol, employer verification. Our difference is what we do with 12 million. They should stand in line. Not be given special pathway or privilege. Applause. Send ‘em home and wait in line.
10:23pm Eastern. Ok, we’re at our last commercial break. It looks like they have saved immigration for last. While we wait, here are the vids of Fred’s made-for-YouTube one-liner moments from the first part of the debate via Hot Air:
Attacking Huckabee’s Dem coalition:
Meet the virgins:
10:19pm Eastern. Huckabee defends his faith, comments on marriage/wife. Gets strong applause from SC crowd. “Marriage is an important institution. It teaches us how to love.” Strong applause from the audience.
Cameron on Paul. “Electability: Do you have any?” Laughter. He appeals to fiscal conservatism to fend off attacks that he less Republican than other candidates. Applause.
10:15pm Eastern. Rudy is asked about 9/11 and what makes him equipped to fight the war on terror, but he answers by saying Democrats will take change out of our pockets. Goes back to reciting his resume. Same stuff from the weekend. Here we go with the Saudi prince line. Did you know that he returned the money? Naww. Hadn’t heard that before.
He’s like the Bill Richardson of the GOP field.
Am I the only one not listening to Rudy anymore?
10:08pm Eastern. Back from the break, Romney’s giving his Obama change speech. Change. Broken Washington. Change. Change. Change. Zzzzzzz.
McCain’s turn to repeat his surge speech, the same change speech he gave during the weekend debate. Can someone please stop the talking points? We heard all of this four/five days ago.
Thompson goes after Huckabee again…this time on his tax record. I ask again: Will Fred go after McCain?
10:04pm Eastern. It’s halftime. The Fredheads will be going wild, with good reason. He woke up tonight. But is it too little, too late? And will it be enough to move South Carolina voters? Thompson’s focusing his sights on Huckabee. But what about McCain. We haven’t touched immigration yet. Will Fred go after McCain?
***
Scroll down for updates from first half of the debate..the debate got off to a slow start, but it’s hopping now…Fred’s seizing the moment, Romney and Giuliani have been non-entities so far…Brit Hume handed Ron Paul his head…the campaigns’ joke-writers worked overtime–it’s the battle of the one-liners…
***
START OF THE DEBATE.
9:00pm. I’m starting a new thread. We’ll see if any of our questions get asked. The debate is livestreaming at FoxNews.com. Got your popcorn? Red Bull? Here we go…
9:02pm. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen the National Anthem performed at one of these things. Nice!
Introductions of the candidates. Is it just me or does the debate set-up make it look like they’re all going to play Jeopardy?
The bell will ding if they go over time. The bell sounds like it’s from Quiz Show!
First topic: The economy. Chris Wallace is doing the questioning. Are we headed for a recession?
Romney: Maybe we are, maybe we aren’t. Cites Mass. record, economic turnaround.
Oh, no. His first proposal: “Stop the housing crisis.”
Wallace, please follow up!!!! Is he for Bush/Hillarycare for housing or not? If not, what the heck does he mean.
NO FOLLOW-UP.
Wallace throws it to McCain. McCain wants “straight talk.” He’s dissing Mitt’s Mass. jobs record. McCain thinks it’s the federal government’s job to retrain people who’ve been laid off.
This is Clintonspeak.
McCain gives some stump talking points about the need to control spending and reduce foreign oil dependency. “Education and training” is important. No more earmarks. “I’m called the Sheriff…I didn’t win Miss Congeniality.”
Wallace goes to Huckabee, cites his ad on the economy. Do you want an economic stimulus package?
Huckabee cites recession-creating factors: Fuel prices, subprime mortages. There’s culpability on both lender and borrowers… “I commend the president.” Says Bush approach doesn’t involve tax dollars.
Bull.
Huckabee sounds a lot softer than he did a few weeks ago:
In an interview on Fox News recently, you said that the government should not be bailing out people whose mortgages are about to reset to interest rates that they can’t afford. Foreclosures are at record rates right now. Wouldn’t doing nothing — as millions of Americans risk losing their homes — smack of Herbert Hoover deferring to the market as 25 percent of Americans were unemployed in the Depression?
Not at all. What you have is a situation where you have culpability on the part of the lenders and the borrowers. The fact is you need to encourage the lenders to try to work with those who have borrowed to keep from foreclosure because ultimately nobody wins. The banks don’t need an enormous inventory of property on their hands that they can’t move any more than the market can. The lender doesn’t need to be in default and ultimately bankruptcy and out of a home.
But what we don’t need is a government bailout. That is not the purpose of government, to prop people up from every poor decision they make. In fact, when you do that … whether it’s in the world of finance or the world of drug addiction … it creates an enabling codependency. It’s the last thing that really helps people.
Is there some way to bring some resolve to it? Yes. But it needs to be handled by the … people who made the mistake in the first place: overambitious borrowers and greedy lenders, who saw a way to suck people into interest rates that they should have known they couldn’t afford in the long term.
Ron Paul speaks. We’re in a recession because of…the Austrian theory of the business cycle. “The housing market is in a depression.” Lower interest rates? That’s the problem. That allows the inevitable recession to come. Don’t pretend that artificial stimulus is going to help.
Well, miracle of miracles, he didn’t mention the military-industrial complex.
Fred gets a turn. What a great opportunity he has to attack the Bush/Hillarycare approach to the housing crisis…
…never mind. HE WANTS A FISCAL STIMULUS. “It needs to be considered somewhere down the line.”
That’s the end of the economic discussion.
Geez, that was unsatisfying.
Carl Cameron goes to Huckabee on the survival of a Reagan coalition. Huckbee is giving a stump speech. He appeals to social cons and then does his economic populist thing–appealing to single moms.
McCain: The Reagan principles…we’ve gone away from…we came to power to change government and government changed us….cites Bridge to Nowhere…
Dan Riehl points out a new jobs entitlement that McCain’s been apparently pimping.
Romney gets an abortion question. He deflects and answers the Reagan coalition question. Another stump speech.
Someone needs to start interrupting them and throw them off their talking points.
Romney’s droning on. “Strengthen the economy. I’ll make sure they come to Amerca.”
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!
FINALLY!!!!
***9:26pm Fred interrupts.***
He wants to address the Reagan revolution. “This is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party.” Fred’ attacks Huckabee. He would be a Christian leader, but he would also be a liberal economic populist, gets NEA endorsement, would close Gitmo, ban smoking.
YES, YES, YES, YES!!
Fred: “That’s not the model of the Reagan revolution. That’s the model of the Democrat party.”
Crowd erupts in appaluse.
Huckabee answers. Sticks to defending Arkansas record. Some applause.
Giuliani gets a question. Cameron asks him to state why he’s a complete conservative “without quoting George Will.” Heh. Giuliani talks about working for Reagan, peace through strength.
Zzzzzzzzzz.
9:31pm Eastern. Cameron goes to Paul on the Truthers. Are you prepared to embrace that rhetoric or abandon it?
I can’t tell them what to do, but I’ve abandoned it.
Cameron: Would you ask them to cease it? I don’t endorse what they say.
Could I please participate in the current debate? Wants to address whether we’ve lost our way.
9:33pm Eastern. Commercial break.
9:36pm Eastern. We’re back. Brit Hume asks Huckabee if US officers responded correctly in the Strait of Hormuz incident. Huck: “Prepare to face the gates of Hell.” Applause.
***Fred’s turn.*** He pulls out a one-liner that gets applause: “I think one more step and they would have been introduced to those virgins they’re looking forward to seeing.” Applause.
I think someone gave Fred a Red Bull. This is the liveliest I’ve ever seen him at one of these debates.
Well, it is do or die time. I’d say he’s doing.
And I’d say Rudy’s dying. He’s talking, but without any pep. More careful now than with conviction. He does make a good point about the NIE and Iran’s perception of American weakness.
Brit asks McCain what he would have done if he were captain. McCain talks about history, freedom of the seas, praises Navy’s professionalism.
***Ron Paul complains about “rush to judgement” and waves the “Bush-as-war-mongerer” flag. Moonbats will be partially assuaged after getting
Brit points out that all the candidates all supported the commander’s decision to be passive. What are you reacting to?
Audience is laughing at Ron Paul.***
Romney – Paul shouldn’t be reading so many of Ahmadenijad’s press releases. (Mix of applause and boos).
9:48pm Eastern. McCain champions the surge on the anniversary of its introduction. Rudy goes after McCain, asserting that he supported the surge, too. Sorry, but Rudy is really a non-entity.
Paul gives his “blowback” speech.
McCain responds, tries to shoehorn in a packaged one-liner. “I’m not interested in trading with al Qaeda, the only thing they trade is burkas. I’m not interested in traveling with them. They only use one-way tickets.”
Thompson’s one-liner on Iraq: “You know it’s good news coming out of Iraq because you read so little about it in the NYTimes.” Talks Pakistan.
Romney talks about Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, but “we need to think more broadly…move moderate Islam to greater strength…ultimately, move the world of Islam so Muslims themselves reject the extreme.”
10:00pm Eastern. Huckabee challenges Paul, gives a strong defense of Israel. Annihilation of Israel, which is what our enemies want, “would not happen under my presidency.”
Appaluse.
Paul: “We treat Israel as a stepchild, undermine their sovereignty.” Why do we arm their enemies? No reason for not treating Israel in an adult fashion. “Besides, we don’t have any money to do this.”
Giuliani chimes in: Idea that it’s treated as a stepchild is absurd. Repeats Huckabee.
Thompson goes after Huckabee on Pakistan. “Our supporting of their military is a good thing.” Hmmm.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- No Runny Eggs » Blog Archive » Post-NH Fox Pubbie debate - Drunkblogging
- Debate Night in America (Updates? Oh Yeah, I Have Updates) : The Sundries Shack
- Blatant Reality » Blog Archive » Live-Blogging the South Carolina GOP Debate
- Bill's Bites
- Stop The ACLU
- South Carolina Republican Debate (1/10/08) « Mr. Skulduggery
- Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Luntz focus group’s verdict? Monster win for … Fred!
- Blogmeister USA
- Flopping Aces » Blog Archive » Fred “The Natural” Thompson
- SoCalPundit - Conservative News & Views from Southern California » I’m Too Biased To Say How Well Fred Thompson Did Tonight
- BobKrumm.com » Now is the time for Fred
- » Ron Paul is a Douche Bag Hennessy’s View: the conservative prescription
- » Michelle Malkin Declares Fred Thompson “Clear” Winner Hennessy’s View: the conservative prescription
- Fred! Wins SC Debate Handily « Nice Deb
- Michelle Malkin » Choose or lose? A look at two possible GOP ticket pairings
- A NEWT ONE
- BizzyBlog » Couldn’t Help But Notice (011108)
- FRED THOMPSON PROVES HE IS THE MAN FOR THE JOB AND THE FAIR TAX GETS A "PLUG" « D=S
- Fred Thompson hits it out of the park in SC « HoodaThunk?
- Fred Thompson Picking Up Momentum
- The Christ Follower Blog
- politicalpartypoop.com » Blog Archive » More Ron Paul, response Melvin…
- Leaning Straight Up » Watching Fred! come out swinging
- Michelle Malkin » Wanted: A Suck It Up candidate
- Michelle Malkin » John McCain: The Geraldo Rivera Republican
- John McCain: The Geraldo Rivera Republican « American Chaos
- politicalpartypoop.com » Blog Archive » John McCain: The Geraldo Rivera Republican
- McCain - The Geraldo Rivera Republican « No Compromise When it Comes to Being Right!
- car hire
- Michelle Malkin » Shamnesty John McCain is back in full force: No, he never “got the message”
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: 2008 campaign
Riehl World View
» More Climate Change Fraud: Et Tu New Zealand?
Ed Driscoll
» Charges Filed In Kenneth Gladney CaseThe Other McCain
» Alan Colmes, having fun at #1Riehl World View
» Bet: Ratings Fail - Oprah/Obama Christmas SpecialMudville Gazette
» The five-year planNewsBusters.org
» Oprah To Do Primetime Christmas Special With The Obamas
Israel would be gone if US wasnt there Ron
One good point from Dr. Who, we do give too much aid and comfort to nations that hate us. How that relates to our supporting our allies is beyond my personal realm of stupidity.
Maybe not, but we do have common ancestors.
McCain has over used his stay at the Hanoi Hilton… he’s a bleedin lib.
Fred to Huckabee: Duh – that’s the point! Here let me explain it to you … lmao
Pauls thought about ’sovereignty’ is food for thought regarding ours.
What is in Common between Trekkes and Buffies. There like polar opposites of sci fi world
This is much better than the dems, blah blah blah change change change, I’m going to do this that and the other thing nonsense rhetoric.
Thompson just can’t get with the program and keeps bloviating out of tern. Grrrrr. I used to like him, but this is getting crazy.
Deepdiver: a fear I have is that McCain would put extraordinary pressure on not using tough techniques. He’s too close to the problem, I think.
Gemini makes a great a point.
Star trek nerds and Buffy nerds just go tto the same conventions.
uh oh change question…lol
The problem with Ron Paul is that, even when he makes sense, the thought of him as President is a very scary thing.
But which incarnation?
Romney=boilerplate
Ron Paul only make sense if your drunk and stoned out on crack
Is it me or does McCan’t seem like he’s a slow, boring drone?
He’s way too low key, not that I care.
Fred is on fire tonight.
McCain – Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
ME: OHOHOHOH me me me I know the answer!!!
McCain-Feingold, shamnesty, no drilling in ANWR, anti-tax cuts … PROBLEM!!!!!
Cat: I can’t disagree with you. I have similar concerns.
BOB, we’re not thinking of Paul being President. Ouch!!!!!
For the record this is the second debate in which huckabee sidestepped the question about his raising of taxes as governor.
He should have ran as a Democrat.
Huckabee left out the part that he raised taxes and supported and campaigned for democrats and gave away tax payer money to illegal immigrants
For Me it a choice between Mitt or Fred I cant stand Huck or McCain
One argument for getting rid of Paul is that the others might take shots at each other then.
Apart from Thompson taking on Huck, its been all lovey-dovey.
paul would make a good president….of PETA.
The smell of warmongering hangs heavily in the air.
And as soon as I say that, Fred hits McCain.
What power I have!
My old pal Flenser. It’s been 3 months and I’m still waiting for you to answer the one simple question i asked you. Would you like me to post the link to the thread.
You were trolling here to bash rudy the last debate, i see.
Are you a Black Sabbath fan, meatpieandtatters?
Just a thought Jacob……..’fred’.
Flenser is a snide and nasty left-wing troll to bring down Republican frontrunners, boys and girls, FTR.
My old pal, Mr Neoconservative Cat!
Good to see you again. Would you like me to post Rudy’s life story on this thread? I suppose MM would ban me for it, but I’m willing.
I agree with Huck on that.
But he made the roads better, so we should just forget all that little stuff.
But which incarnation?
Military industrial complex? What? Come on? This fallacious idea is still being bandied about…? I mean, gee whiz, we only have a military presence in every theater in the world. We spend 100s of billions of dollars every year on personnel, equipment and new weapons system. Right now, we’re in two Middle Eastern countries and imparting democracy…at the tips of many guns and weapons. There’s talk of star wars-like systems to be deployed in space…Nah. There’s no military industrial complex: GE, Thiokol, TRW, SAIC, Lockheed, Boeing, GD, Bechtel etc.
Fred is a thought geminicontender
Huk playing the ‘faith’ card……hmmmmmm….
Whoops, got that blockquote backwards I see.
Huck laying the bible smack down, good for him.
They brought it up…
Unclemonkey,
Ron Paul sounds like Davros.
Huck avoided the Question and tried to spin it off
Not at all. You don’t really think that the guy who got 4% in Iowa and 9% in New Hampshire (behind Huckabee!) and is polling at 9% in SC and MI is a “front runner”, do you? Even you can’t be out of touch that badly. Heck, Duncan Hunter has as many delegates as your guy!
Uh, no Ron. Republicans don’t want you because you’re a psychotic, racist, anti-semitic ranting loony.
Hope that clears things up.
Yes Ron you are not electable I am not just suggesting it it is the truth
Why has McCain had more time than others? Or is it just me? Heck, Ron Paulinsane has had more time than Fred. I would interrupt,too. RP is a waste of time except for comedy relief.
Heh. Agreed.
I’ve been to Arkansas numerous times in the last 10 years – Missouri roads are pretty bad – but you can always tell when you hit Arkansas because it is either like suddenly driving on a washboard or there is construction as far as you can see (which is interesting that the same stretches of road were continuously under construction for years and years at a time). Essentially what appeared to happen is that they would lay down a crappy road, and then spend the next 5 years digging up 12×12 sections of that road and replacing it and then replace the entire road 5 years after that. Explains the low unemployment though … they were busy building and rebuilding the same roads year after year.
You record here is the one we need to focus on. Hit and run is your specialty. You made a promise to answer a question in a very active thread 3 mionths ago in which you shot off your big mouth the way you always do, and then ran away when it was your turn.
“Hit and run Flenser, the left-wing activist troll.”
I’ll vote for the guy that stands up and drags Ron off the Stage
Paul got one more thing correct. National Education Association. Get rid of it.
Except that he’s not funny. Even my sense of humor isn’t that twisted and I laugh at Italian Cannibal movies.
Hey Uncle,
during the commercial, what do you think of the new series?
I can’t watch anymore. I keep wanting to say what they won’t say, and ask the questions they aren’t being asked.
Fred is better than the rest…but I still think Romney is more electible.
I’ll abstain from voting if the choice is McCain.
Please don’t abstain, Bob. Every vote counts, even if it’s a vote against.
Agree 125 percent
To be honest Cat, I haven’t seen any of it yet. I’m hardly ever home so a friend is recording all the episodes to get to me at the end of the season.
Back to politics, I’m caring about politics tonight, really.
o boy here comes Mr. Amnesty
Now we’re talking….Immigration..
McCain it failed because Americans stood up to you.
Wrong John, wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!!!! He absolutely STILL does not understand what we want on illegal immigration!
All 12 million have committed a crime, John! They all crossed our borders illegally! I’m done … I can’ imagine how I could ever vote for that man!
DW: It’s good stuff, uncle. Impressive. ‘Nuff said.
time’s up
next.
He still has to ’stutter’ through his response (McCain)
There’s something surreal about hearing the co-author of the shamnesty bill talk about border security and the need to deport illegal aliens.
Dead-on, DeepDiver.
Mitt paid for his ‘garden crew’s flight’ back to Mexico. He is now a actve -anti….
yes, Fred!
Fred: Sanctuary cities go down./…YES!!!!!
no more money for sanctuary cities!
Wwwooooohooooo FRED! listened to We, the People!
Great answer from Fred on immigration, Mitt sounded good too.
don’t want the votes of people who support other people who break our laws.
Did Fred say what he’d do about the 10 million left after the felons are gone?
I had not realised that you were the site monitor, Mr Neoconservative Cat. I come here to read what Michelle has to say, not you. But since you are so insistent, you shall get your wish. I’ll post some information about Rudy.
After I do, I’m sure you will respond by telling me that I’m an obsessed Rudy hater. I believe you did that last time. Yet here you are again, just begging me to quote you Rudy in his own words.
Yes, please post a link to that thread where you called me a “tapeworm” for actually quoting something Rudy said. I’d like other people to see it.
If “tapeworm” was your response to my fairly measured remarks there, I can’t wait to see your reaction to what I’ll post tonight.
Gotta give Fred props for that.
Fred is the only one that talks straight. Huck is as ripe for attack as the loon Paul. Giaulani speaks only as the “Mayor of NY” (over and over, ad nauseam) and sounds completely impotent as he attempts to sound “tough”. Romney is a complete phony while McCain has total cred regarding terror but is as limp as Ted Kennedy laying in a stupor on the floor of the Senate chamber regarding our wide-open borders. Shamnesty is exactly what it is–a complete rip-off of the American citizen and open door to terror.
Finally we are having debate then they bring in Ron and ruin it.
Ron Paul actually almost made sense there, then he had to try to tie in Iraq. Can this guy talk for 60 seconds without saying something stupid?
Enjoyed the comments, have to run, cat sorry for being snippy.
go fred!
nite all….
Flenser,”Nobody needs your twisted recounting of Rudy’s record. i asked you to pick any candidate andpoint to what they had accomplished manifestly, tangibly, and then compare that to Rudy. Three months ago you said you would. You never did.
You’re a left-wing troll and you need to go.
Jacob, the reason to run Paul on this debate is to show what we are up against on the Democratic side..
Kucinich is asking the NH Sec. of State for a recount of Tuesday’s ballots.
‘Night, ajmontana.
Huck’s is all flash and no substance.
You have to give Rudy props for this response.
I have to admit I agree with Rudy’s point that cops shouldn’t be inquiring about the immigration status of crime VICTIMS.
Awesome display by Fred. Will it be too late?
I was thinking the same thing, Unclemonkey.
Rudy, we aren’t electing the Mayor of New York, the Mayor of the Northeast or even the Mayor of America — we are electing a President. Thanks for playing though.
Fred believes in attrition Mookie…with law enforcement
Kucinich will go from .00000001% to .0000001%
What if the crime VICTIMS are also criminals? Should they not be brought to justice?
FDT won
Let’s see what Luntz has to say this time
Whoa, I don’t give those Luntz focus groups a lot of credence, but I’m a little surprised.
I don’t believe this; a Luntz group has Fred winning.
Da winnah by a TKO…FRED !!!
Humor? I thought Conservatives/Republicans didn’t have a sense of humor?
We have a ‘Fred’ positive w/ Frank Luntz….:):):)
Unclemonkey I agree, I don’t care much for these groups either.
1 Fred
Close second Mitt
distant thrid McCain
Fourth Huck
Fifth Rudy
Deepdiver,
In many ways the President really is the Mayor of the united states. it sounds silly but the executive responsibilities, when you consider the NYC budget (3rd largest in the country) and the racial diversity for just two examples, there are very strong comparitives.
Of course, but in the case where we’re talking about someone who may or may not be an illegal immigrant being assaulted, I’m willing to make the compromise to focus on the greater of two evils in that situation.