Because I live on the West Coast and I work modern American hours, I missed the Republican Primary debate by about two hours.
I mean, who the heck other than government employees gets home from work before 5 pm?
So I wanted to pose a question to those who did have a chance to watch the debate:
Who won?
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Reflections of a Rational Republican 
Sean – I watched and they all acquitted themselves better than I expected. There was the usual claptrap of course, but it was lively, not as much dodging as usual and John King kept it moving.
The covnentional wisdom is Romeny aced it – I disagree. His lack of passion or whatever it is was evident. Ron Paul and Kain both very entertaining. Santorum whom I almost loathe seemed very on top of things. Pawlenty not bad. Bachman did very well. Gingrich a joke.
Thanks, Moe.
A most excellent rundown. I appreciate it.
I wouldn’t have expected Santorum to handle himself so well. However, I am not surprised that Romney was so wooden.
Of the 7, Romney seems to be the most qualified of the bunch and the most able to take on Obama (I believe a recent poll put them at even).
That said, he isn’t perfect. He can be wooden, has a reputation for flip-flopping, and had Romneycare. However, he appears to be actively working to reverse the flip-flopping charges. For instance, he is sticking to his belief in global warming (a good thing).
We’ll see. Given the unemployment situation, his strengths contrast well with Obama’s weaknesses (i.e., running a business, etc.).
It should all prove to be very interesting indeed.
Ezra Klein’s take this morning:
Romney won. Bachmann surged. Cain disappointed. Pawlenty whiffed. Gingrich slept. Santorum fretted. Paul scolded. . . . the debate wasn’t just interesting for the performances of the candidates. It was interesting for the focus of the questions.
Thanks again, Moe!
Who won? The Bruins!!!
Wow. I completely missed that. Oh well. Life without cable…
Gary Johnson won. His exclusion shows that neither CNN nor the GOP leadership is willing to stand for any Republican candidate who will (and already has!) actually cut the size and budget of government.
Any current or past governor or mayor whose track record is the opposite is beneath consideration.
John,
An excellent point. I was not even aware of that.
Apparently in his first 6 months as governor of New Mexico he vetoed 200 of 424 bills. Outstanding!