The Debate tonight...

[Maggie]

Did anyone watch it? I have missed the last couple, in part because I was annoyed at the questioning, format, etc, but this one was not that bad. CNN hosted it and most of the questions were asked by employees of AEI and Heritage which, in my judgment, made a huge difference (no more - "if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?").

Thoughts?

[shockerofandover0943]

DVR'd it, will watch tomorrow.

[SB Shock]

I thhought it was good debate for most all of them. I do think Cain summed up hhis performance withh his "blitz" snafu.

It is 2 horse race - gingrich vs Romney is about all I got out of it. I thought gingrichh took a chance with his stance on immigration. I think perry is bush's brother from another mother. I can't put a finger on it, but I don't like Romney - I can't tell u why, I just look at him and there is something there that annoys me

[Maggie]

I thhought it was good debate for most all of them. I do think Cain summed up hhis performance withh his "blitz" snafu.

It is 2 horse race - gingrich vs Romney is about all I got out of it. I thought gingrichh took a chance with his stance on immigration. I think perry is bush's brother from another mother. I can't put a finger on it, but I don't like Romney - I can't tell u why, I just look at him and there is something there that annoys me

I thought it was, on the whole, a civil and informed debate with most of the candidates displaying familiarity with the issues; the exceptions were Cain, Perry and Paul, who seemed out of their depth discussing foreign affairs.

You are right about Cain. He may have had the worst night of anyone on stage. It was obvious that Cain had overstudied in preparation; when a question matched his notes, he would launch into his response with pseudo-Gingrichian bluster. When he was knocked out of his comfort zone, however, he repeatedly panicked, continually evoking platitudes about only supporting plans that could be “successful” and listening to the guidance of experts.

Perry didn’t have any remarkable moments, but it’s a testimony to how far he’s fallen that the absence of a loss can be considered something of a win. One thing I will note though - pushing for a no-fly zone over Syria was not a good move.

Paul was…well, Paul. Frankly, this forum was wasted on Paul, as he spent the night proving Maslow’s dictum that for a man who only has a hammer in the toolbox every problem looks like a nail. Every question, no matter the intricacy, was answered with his unwavering conviction that the United States should have virtually no involvement overseas and that much of the aggression aimed at the nation is justifiable on the grounds of our international adventurism.

Huntsman was better informed (as he not so subtly reminded viewers with his reference to China), but he was also out of step with the other candidates - for example, by advocating a rapid drawdown in Afghanistan.

Bachmann had a stronger night than she’s had in a while - when she sparred with Perry on the issue of foreign aid for Pakistan she took him to the woodshed.

Romney turned in another characteristic performance – which is to say that I can’t remember anything he said right now, but I know he didn’t hurt himself.

Santorum had some good answers but appears incapable of answering a question without some reflexive indignity that his capacious record isn’t being appropriately cited.

The "surprise" of the night was Gingrich's answer on immigration - a lot of people think it will hurt him with the base of the GOP. Personally, I have only minor issues with what he proposed. This was an unusual debate performance for Gingrich. He did not have any big breakout moment as he has in prior contests. The closest he came was an exchange with Paul over the Patriot Act, when he knocked down Paul’s invocation of Timothy McVeigh by noting that the whole point of the legislation is to prevent terrorist acts like McVeigh’s, not to respond to them after the fact.

I also think CNN did a fine job. Blitzer, as the moderator, managed to get out of the way, acting as little more than a facilitator and avoiding the sort of nagging about the clock that turns many a moderator into one of the world’s highest-paid schoolmarms. That said, some rather serious issues were left off the table, including the European debt crisis and China (although, as I noted, Huntsman did bring up China).