Who won the debate?
First, Mitt Romney because he managed to go two hours with no one really laying a glove on him which means that he keeps his frontrunner status. Pawlenty had the most to lose and he lost most of it. Spending the first hour of the debate playing an attack dog may have seemed like a good idea but he sounded awful doing it. Michele Bachmann slaughtered him and lost no ground by standing on her principles, even when she was clearly wrong as on the debt ceiling. But she seemed to wear down over the course of the two hours. Rick Santorum scored points but he’s so hopelessly behind it doesn’t make any difference. The same goes for Newt Gingrich.
The bottom line. Romney stays on top. Bachmann still in a strong position. Pawlenty looks to be finished.
And Rick Perry seems poised to join the frontrunners on Saturday.
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Romney stays on message with support for capitalism. Bachmann does the same by focusing on defeating Obama and getting people to come to the straw poll to vote for her. Pawlenty speaks of freedom and, thankfully, says nothing about Bachmann.
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Okay, give some credit to Huntsman for supporting the Boehner plan on the debt ceiling.
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Oddly enough, a candidate who has no chance has scored the most points in the second half of the debate: Rick Santorum.
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Give some credit to Rick Santorum for noting that Bachmann’s opposition to raising the debt ceiling under any circumstances is “showmanship, not leadership. Not what the Tea Party wants to hear but he’s right.
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The question about the Fed is catnip for Paul even if no one other than the libertarians in attendance care much about it.
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Bachmann still claims the credit downgrade means she was proven right for opposing raising the debt ceiling. It makes no sense but no one, not even Pawlenty, will challenge her on this.
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Huntsman’s experience creating jobs in China for his daddy’s company is a weak argument for both his own leadership and his stewardship of the economy.
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Mitt Romney makes some sense about unemployment insurance and the foolishness of endless extensions of benefits.
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Is Pawlenty really the most pro-life? Free plug for our friends at National Review.
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Santorum is scoring points with social conservatives on gay marriage. So does Bachmann but she’s sounding a little less strong and confident than when this thing started.
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Huntsman looks and sounds terrible. But he stands his ground on support for civil unions and equality but still sounds weak doing so.
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A not very submissive sounding Bachmann asked by Byron York whether she would be “submissive toward your husband” in the White House. She doesn’t take the bait. Her answer: submission means respect.
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Uncomfortable moment for Cain, accounting for comment about Southerners and their prejudice against Mormons. But he still failed to make a strong statement opposing such prejudice.
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Unfortunately, much of the foreign policy portion of the debate was hijacked by Ron Paul. Still, Pawlenty, Bachmann and especially Santorum all made some important points about Iran and the war on terror.
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Santorum points up that the mullahs trample the rights of gays in Iran.
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Good moment for Santorum. Unlike the others, he’s not willing to ignore Ron Paul’s revisionist history and isolationist apology for the mullahs.
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Embarrassing moment: Ron Paul defending Iran and denying that they’re building a nuke. Best part of it: the shot with Mitt Romney looking on with a bemused look.
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Pawlenty gives a strong answer about Iran, even endorsing the “good work” of assassinating Iranian scientists. Then rightly slams Obama on Syria and Israel. He sounds so much better now that he’s not futilely attacking Bachmann.
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The main thing about Huntsman’s largely coherent answer about cyberwar is how stressed and uncomfortable he looks.
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Newt claims calling him out for wild inconsistency about Libya. He responds by attacking the question and blaming Fox.
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Romney is called out for flip-flopping about fighting for freedom abroad. He denies the contradiction and then gives a reasonable answer about withdrawal in Afghanistan. But he still flip flopped.
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Asked about Afghanistan, Pawlenty drops the artificial attack dog routine and once again sounds like the thoughtful candidate that he was when he started out.
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Asked about Perry, Cain and Paul slam him. Huntsman makes a joke about Perry praying for the candidates. Bachmann does the smart thing and won’t take the bait about Palin or Perry.
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An odd moment. Michele Bachmann was late getting back to the stage at the commercial break.
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At the halfway point, the big story is still the new snarling attack dog Pawlenty trying to take down Bachmann. He hasn’t succeeded. Nor is he helping his own cause much. But he may be helping Romney. In terms of the straw poll, it might also be helping Ron Paul who could slip into first place if Bachmann loses some ground by being dragged into the mud by Pawlenty.
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Rick Santorum slams the field for valuing the 10th amendment over moral values.
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Bachmann gets the follow up on the constitution and health care. She sounds stronger on this issue than either attack dog Pawlenty or Romney.
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Since the point about Pawlenty’s question to Romney about health care was more about Pawlenty than Romneycare, it doesn’t sting as much. Romney gives his stock answer about the differences between his plan and Obamacare. Not that convincing but he’s still sounding calm and confident.
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Pawlenty gets a second chance to slam Romney about healthcare. He’s right. But the moment is so staged, it doesn’t have the same effect as it would have had he done it in June in New Hampshire.
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Newt slams the budget super committee as irrational. A pointless argument.
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Yes, Rick Santorum, we know you’re still there. Unfortunately, not too many are interested in listening to him instead of watching Bachmann slap Pawlenty around.
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Bachmann’s answer about her vote on the cigarette tax knocks it out of the park by saying that saving the unborn was more important than money. Pawlenty then blames her again for the fact that there was a Democratic majority in the House in 2009-10. Bachmann’s still winning.
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Pawlenty’s answer about the cigarette tax in Minnesota is long enough that by the end of it he agreed he regretted it but then talks about Obama.
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Byran York puts Romney to the question about his S&P pitch about taxes. Romney tap dances and swears he won’t raise taxes. Will anyone follow up?
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Note to Ron Paul: We’re worried about the borders in Afghanistan and Pakistan because the people who live there launched the 9/11 attacks.
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Chris Wallace seems to have awakened Gingrich. Not that it matters, but he’s doing pretty well.
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Okay, Cain scores a point about America needing to learn to take a joke.
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Romney looks relaxed while talking about giving green cards to immigrant college graduates. He’s got to be pleased that the other candidates are too busy attacking each other or Fox.
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Huntsman’s answer on immigration is to ignore his past stands. If he was a real contender that might matter.
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Herman Cain defends his ignorance by saying he’s less ignorant than he used to be. If you don’t believe him, just read his press release.
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9:30pm
Huntsman’s running on love of country. But it still doesn’t explain why he supported Obama’s stimulus.
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We’re ready for the Iowa debate. A lot of questions will be answered tonight.
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During the introductions, it sounded as if both Gingrich and Huntsman forgot to get their friends and relatives into the hall.
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Michele Bachmann gets the first question. She’s sticking to her position against raising the debt ceiling. And ends with her customary energy. Will anyone challenge her for taking an unrealistic answer?
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Brett Baier challenges Romney on being AWOL on the debt ceiling debate. After a good prior answer about the economy, he’s tap dancing now.
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Romney won’t “eat Barack Obama’s dog food?” Not much of an answer as to why he didn’t back Boehner’s final deal.
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Ron Paul was stumped for a minute when asked how he could get anything through a divided Congress. He had no answer but then danced away by reverting to his usual libertarian extremist line about stopping American “militarism.”
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Huntsman’s running on his record on his record as governor of Utah. Sounds good. But Salt Lake City isn’t Washington, D.C.
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Newt Gingrich’s answer to the question of divided government: Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. Too bad they’re not still around.
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Tim Pawlenty was armed and ready with a quip about coming to anyone’s house and cooking them dinner or mowing their lawns and concludes with a cheap shot at Romney. Good energy but it looks like he’s trying too hard.
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Chris Wallace goes right for Pawlenty’s jugular asking him about Bachmann’s record. Pawlenty stays on his feet by talking about Obama and saying her record in Congress is non-existent. Bachmann’s reply will be interesting.
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Bachmann was ready. She went right back at him about his support for cap and trade and support for the individual mandate. Then she talks about her record as a fighter against Obama. This point goes to Bachmann.
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Pawlenty doubles down on his attack on Bachmann. But accusing her of being responsible for not stopping Obama and Pelosi on Obamacare won’t wash. Pawlenty sounds a little desperate. Bachmann looks furious but manages to keep her cool even as she refuses to look at him.
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Asked about jobs in Massachusetts, Romney decides to defend his record as a layoff specialist at Bain Capital before being attacked for it. Smart.
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At the first commercial break everyone, there’s no question that the Pawlenty-Bachmann slapdown is the highlight so far. And no question that Bachmann came out the winner: “When I fought.When others ran, I fought.” So far that’s the most memorable line of the debate.
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Do we really need to re-hash Gingrich’s hopeless campaign? Chris Wallace just made Gingrich almost look good. Quite a feat.
